New to sidecars

Alex Bingham

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I just bought a 1997 Honda Valkyrie with an attached Terraplane Vetter sidecar. It is like nothing I have ever ridden before. Any advice or words of wisdom are much appreciated. Also, I am looking for a rubber hold down for the sidecar hatch because it is currently torn in half on my rig.
 
Welcome to the forum Alex! Pictures are a requirement around these parts! :D
 
Here's a quick picture of my new rig. I think it is set up good, but I have nothing to compare it to. I guess that makes my opinion on the matter pretty worthless.

Welcome to the forum Alex! Pictures are a requirement around these parts! :D
 

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That is NICE! I was looking at a 97 Valk, but I went with an 84 1200 Standard instead.
 
Welcome to the site,we are a good group.How do you keep your bike looking like show room condition?:)
 
Welcome to the site,we are a good group.How do you keep your bike looking like show room condition?:)
It's funny you ask because I just bought it on Sunday. It will be garage kept, though. And I have my regular commuter bike (09 Kawasaki er6n). The Valkyrie is beautiful and the terraplane is comfy. It pulls hard to the right at highway speeds and when accelerating. I am trying to find a replacement rubber hold down for the hatch.
 
Wow, that is a clean setup. Somebody spent some time making it perdy!

Welcome to the forum Alex!

I am sure Tom is sitting at home now smelling this Terraplane post. He will be around soon. ;)
 
It's funny you ask because I just bought it on Sunday. It will be garage kept, though. And I have my regular commuter bike (09 Kawasaki er6n). The Valkyrie is beautiful and the terraplane is comfy. It pulls hard to the right at highway speeds and when accelerating. I am trying to find a replacement rubber hold down for the hatch.
Welcome Alex. Nice setup. Pulling to the right during acceleration is normal, but to adjust the pull to the right during normal driving, you need to adjust the trim-grip. See attached link, http://www.craigvetter.com/images/V...Windjammer_instructions/Terraplane Manual.pdf
And my best suggestion for replacing the rubber hold down, since finding one is near impossible, is modifying one of the hood hold downs from a Jeep Wrangler.
 
I had talked to Craig about the Terraplane when I was thinking of getting one. While he developed it, he also scrapped it as being unsafe and did not sell any while he owned the Company. He noted the things you said and more. I'll look on my other PC for his email and post it if I find it.
 
Here it is:

Hi Craig,

Can you tell me some of your reasons for cancelling the Terraplane project.
I wouldn’t think you would start a project as complex as a sidecar without some benefit.
I understand the 2 pros and cons you listed, but was there any other reason?
My ultimate goal is to go camping with my wife comfortably.
I was looking at making a trailer too.
Thanks,
Mike

Craig's Reply:

When I owned the company, I cancelled the Terraplane project. Never sold a one.

What I learned was:

Side cars are the safest thing you can ride with when the roads are slippery

The are the most dangerous thing you can be riding with when the roads are dry and twisty.

Consider this carefully before you buy.
Personally, I never had any incident riding with my Terraplane. I loved it in the winter when the roads were slippery. That is why I made it

There are situations when the road is dry - if you were not very experienced - you could crash. Everybody at my company had some kind of unexpected incident. Nobody got hurt. But I figured that sidecars were so touchy - on dry pavement - that I would not risk the reputation of my company by producing one.

What am I going to say: "Caution, don't ride on dry roads"

But I loved that Terraplane! It allowed me to ride all winter.

I could do tricks in Illinois winters that defied belief.

Now that I live in California, along the Pacific ocean, where - it does not freeze os this year, anyway, rain, - an unexpected situation could send me into the ocean, it does not solve any problem I have. I don't need one.

Knowing what I know, I would not ride roads like Hwy 1 on the Cal coast or 550 in Colorado with a sidecar.

Comments?
 
The Trim-Grip is the key to the Terraplane. Mastering the art of driving a sidecar takes skill. Turning is difficult and it is not at all like riding just a motorcycle, it's more like driving a semi.
 
Thanks for sharing the letter from Craig. He gave me the same response over coffee when I asked him about the Terraplane.
 
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