Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all,i must say a whole new world has opened up to me ,as i have poorly legs the side car game is excellent although i have bought a really robust machine the chair is metal great for welding patches on and the frame is not the spindly enfield thing and the flat twin sounds superb i bet ive done over 250 miles in the last two days although my 25lt drum filled with water is not giving me much conversation although im sure i heard it say oh shit when i took a right hander a bit too fearce wish i could spelll happy days paul.

Hi Paul, with my legs I'm looking for a combination probably a Chang but the main problem with them they are not really suited for our roads because they have only a crusing speed of about 80kph and that is the more powerfull OHV ones, sidevalve have about a max 80kph

Hi Norm, FWIW, be careful choosing a Chang. They are really poorly made. Friend of mine (an engineer) bought one new and put a huge effort into trying to make it safe and reliable. Gave up in the end. An old BMW boxer is a much better IMHO...

Yes I had a look at a Chang and they are spectacularly poorly made the bits that look well made, I was told, are made out of muck and sand. I saw a Honda CX 500 with a sidecar setup that looked pretty useful and a good use for an otherwise rather unappealing bike. Not sure about Aus or even Blighty but over here BMW's are weirdly cheap, particularly the K75's and 100's but also the old boxers and they go on forever. I know you can buy the Chang chairs without the bikes so that might be the answer although to be honest I rather make one myself out of decent material. The alternative for you gamy legged fraternity it is the three wheeler although there is something rather ageing Easy Rider about them.

A list of things that have gone wrong on my 500 Classic Bullet (2007) with Watsonian Manx chair:
[1] petrol tap came unscrewed and went all over the place with petrol pouring out all over. About 100 miles from home so botched it up and bought a new one on return. [2] Bad electrics, battery always losing power and indicators flashing too fast or too slow... traced it to bad footbrake switch, sending live to earth via the little spring. Bought a new one, all ok. [3] front top bracket holding sidecar to bike snapped. Told WS and they replaced it for free. I fitted it and it broke again a year later. Told them that it must be a problem with the bracket; they'd fitted the 1st one and I fitted the second one so I knew I did it right. They sent me a MUCH more heavy duty one which I wish had been there in the first place. It is a lot better touch wood. [4] Front wheel spindle snapped and I had to get home on the back of a truck. Bent but didn't damage front mudguard.... Fixed and ok now, maybe less of the chair in the air from now on...JUST in case it was my fault??? I think that's all. Anyway, Seasons Greetings to EVERYBODY with a combo; and everyone else. They are about as much fun as I can imagine and everybody else who's been in it agrees. Praying for ice and snow; I love getting it sideways in a car park. Etc.

Used to know a man at the vintage club with only one leg, that rode a CB400, the only coversion was that the gear change was adapted to a hand control, often wondered he never fell over if the bike leaned the wrong way when stopping, but he never did as far as im aware.

I had to put a new crank in a Chang earlier this year and I was not dismayed at the quality of the bike. Big problem with them is they have been flogged to death by the PLO and then botched back together and when we let hold of them they are in a pretty bad state. Start at the front and work your way to the back and they can be made reliable, all depends on your determination to get it right

hi norm ,somebody told me that chang were now fitting genuine bmw lumps ? cant remember who though thatl be the old age ,i see youve won the cricket happy days ,ive been out on the combi tonight it was very frosty ,i keep showing off reversing into the garage just to clock the neighbours face,hi chris i saw 2 enfields on ebay with chairs last week but as i look after the dreaded juan beast i thought i,d buy a proper job with leading link forks and a frame made of russian scaffold tubes,juans efi frame is very bent from pulling his chair and doing the lifting bit maybe the classic iron barrel 500 is a stronger frame? not to worry soon be christmas i can live in the garage for the week lol paul.

Hi Paul, cricket is done and dusted till Boxing Day. BMW motors have been being fitted in Changs for quite a while, but then it isn't a real Chang. As for the bent Enfield frame from pulling a chair, I always thought it a dumb idea pulling a chair in a frame that relied on your crank cases to take a fair part of the load, hard enough to stop them leaking oil at the best of times without the chair flexing the cases all the time

Panther Slopers were the favourite of the side car community for a long time and the motor is a stressed member in those. There is no question though that a chair does add quite a bit of stress to a frame and wheels of a bike not to mention the additional load on the motor and gearbox but ii imagine if you that them with care they will last ok. What about a Harley? Plenty of power and the handling might be improved.