Terraplane using DMC brackets???

[Heavy Armor]

Hey guys, I'm attempting to install a Terraplane on my '03 Triumph Speedmaster. To make it a "simple" bolt up, I spent a massive wad of cash on a bike-specific setup from DMC Sidecars, which includes 2 mounting plates for the sidecar, a subframe for the bike that will attach directly to the sidecar plates, and 2 bike-side mounts up high that will also attach to the sidecar plates... in theory.

Has anyone used this mount system before for a Terraplane?? I received very little in the way of instructions, and it's not really a specific system for this combination... it's a Speedmaster sidecar bracket for whatever sidecar, and a Terraplane bracket for whatever bike, so still kind of a universal setup. There are so may joints, I'm kinda' at a loss. DMC couldn't even tell me which direction the plates should face on the sidecar, since each one has a clamp on one end and a joint on the other.

Any info or pics would be ever so helpful!

 

[cfmckay]

Hey guys, I'm attempting to install a Terraplane on my '03 Triumph Speedmaster. To make it a "simple" bolt up, I spent a massive wad of cash on a bike-specific setup from DMC Sidecars, which includes 2 mounting plates for the sidecar, a subframe for the bike that will attach directly to the sidecar plates, and 2 bike-side mounts up high that will also attach to the sidecar plates... in theory.

Has anyone used this mount system before for a Terraplane?? I received very little in the way of instructions, and it's not really a specific system for this combination... it's a Speedmaster sidecar bracket for whatever sidecar, and a Terraplane bracket for whatever bike, so still kind of a universal setup. There are so may joints, I'm kinda' at a loss. DMC couldn't even tell me which direction the plates should face on the sidecar, since each one has a clamp on one end and a joint on the other.

Any info or pics would be ever so helpful!

I have a similar setup for my BMW K100RS. I have posted photos on this site perhaps you can get a better idea of the hook up. It is labor intensive and as you noted no specific instructions. The lower heim joints with the tubes, attach to the sidecar mounts and the upper adjustable rods attach to the forward eye mounts from bike to car. You can go to sidecars .com and there is additional info for attachment. For me it was aa project that took about 50 hours of my time, to get it right.

 

[Scott-E]

The business of attaching a sidecar to a bike that was never specifically designed for a sidecar is a complex undertaking. I started a sidecar project with the intention of building a sidecar and attaching it to my 2006 Honda VLX600. After figuring out what modifications to the bikes frame would be required, I simply gave up. My Honda was never going to have a sidecar fitted to it without massive changes to the bikes frame and then there is the matter of the trail of my forks which would have made steering it very difficult so the head tube and forks would need to be modified as well. It would be better to find a bike that was more suited for attaching a sidecar. Well low and behold I found and purchased a Bike with a Sidecar. I actually purchased the sidecar and it's frame with a bike attached that was considered junk. It's a Soviet Era Dnepr MT-11 that was imported to the USA after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was purchased and delivered to a him in 1992. The bike had just 194 Km on the odometer and he told me that was the correct reading when I purchased it. He told me it was delivered with 59 Km on the odometer. I was able to talk to him about it as he was having a lucid day as I was dragging the bike out of the barn. He told me it never ran quite right and no one would work on it for him. He went ahead and played with it until ending up in a ditch, and that's when he parked it in the barn never to ride it again. His family was selling all his 'toys' in preparation for moving to an assisted living facility. The engine was stuck so the bike was considered worthless but remained attached to the sidecar and whoever purchased the sidecar had to take the bike with it. After I got it home I got it unstuck and running once again. He was right in that it did not run correctly. I managed to get the odometer up to 254 Km attempting to see if I could get it running correctly without taking the engine apart. I had to give up on that after running a second compression check after no improvmend with a few Km's so went ahead and pulled the heads and cylinders off the engine, which was very easy. I was amazed the engine ran at all! The right cylinder had just 60 psi and the left was not much better at 75 psi. The valve seats were badly undercut and the valves had never been lapped. That's not all I found. All the ring gaps were right in line with each other on both pistons. The cylinders had no crosshatching so the rings were never going to seat properly. The head gaskets were leaking as well. Whoever built the top end just did not care, at all. He put the rings on without bothering to stagger the gaps, gave the seat cutter a couple of rotations and put the valves in, and tightened 3 of the 4 head nuts without a torque wrench leaving 1 on each head not even hand tight. Little wonder the compression was so low. The bike was never registered but I had no problem registering and getting insurance on it because it's so old. It sat in a warehouse in Ukraine for a decade and then a few more in a barn here in the States. As for taking the sidecar off and putting it back on, that's a really easy 5 minute job. The manual actually warns you not to ride the bike without it's sidecar attached because the bike was designed for use only with it's sidecar attached. What little riding I did with the sidecar attached was a joy. It turns easy and rides nice. Pressing the rear brake pedal brakes the rear wheel and the sidecar wheel car as well and it's easy to balance the braking between them with the brake adjustments provided. I checked the sidecar to bike alignment and that was dead on from the factory. I've ordered parts from a shop in the Ukraine. They are actually cheap and shipping is not as horrible as you might imagine. I got everything I need to put the top end back together plus a few goodies like new points and capacitor as a back-up spare to take along on rides and a cross over kit for the carbs that helps balance them out and prevents icing in the winter. The entire order is less than $100 including shipping. Later I will order an electronic microprocessor controlled ignition system (no more points) and a 500 watt, 35 amp alternator to replace the puny 150 watt, 21 amp stock alternator. Both are sort of expensive and I want to make sure the bike is going to be worth the added expense of about $300. The bike and sidecar are the same make and model used in the Indiana Jones movies. The movie bikes were modified with military accessories (still available to order and ship stateside) to make it look WWII German Military.

 

[Charlie]

Hey guys, I'm attempting to install a Terraplane on my '03 Triumph Speedmaster. To make it a "simple" bolt up, I spent a massive wad of cash on a bike-specific setup from DMC Sidecars, which includes 2 mounting plates for the sidecar, a subframe for the bike that will attach directly to the sidecar plates, and 2 bike-side mounts up high that will also attach to the sidecar plates... in theory.

Has anyone used this mount system before for a Terraplane?? I received very little in the way of instructions, and it's not really a specific system for this combination... it's a Speedmaster sidecar bracket for whatever sidecar, and a Terraplane bracket for whatever bike, so still kind of a universal setup. There are so may joints, I'm kinda' at a loss. DMC couldn't even tell me which direction the plates should face on the sidecar, since each one has a clamp on one end and a joint on the other.

Any info or pics would be ever so helpful!

DMC wants over $2000 with shipping for the hardware to mount my Terraplane to an Electra Glide Ultra Classic. Does anyone have other suggestions? Are there any other options out there?