To sidecar or not to sidecar?
In which M2 asks the profound question, "Should I get a sidecar for the scoot?"
What with The Bunnee now gone, and the car with her, I'm relying on scooter transport a lot these days. (See To Live and Scoot in L.A.). For shorter trips, such as my daily commute to the office, I ride a bicycle. But for touring around California's Southland, seeking out new eateries, weird hangouts and experiences, it's definitely the stylish Chetak 150.
But I'm struck with a dilemma. The Chetak’s a great ride, relatively fast compared to other scoots, handy in traffic and so forth. But its carrying capacity is pretty limited, as you can imagine. So I am considering getting a sidecar for it. Bullet-shaped retro sidecars are definitely groovy looking and they would increase my hauling capacity significantly. But there are drawbacks. For one thing, I couldn’t maneuver as well in traffic (lane-splitting would be difficult). For another, it would decrease my mileage (75 – 90 mpg, currently). Lastly, Barry, who owns S.F. Scooter Centre, once told me “It’ll perform like you gotta refrigerator strapped to your side."
Still, it would be nice to be able to toss a suitcase or two into the sidecar and spend a few nights up in Mt. Baldy Village if I want to. Plus, sidecars are cool.
What do you think? To sidecare or not to sidecar? Post a comment and let me know!
What with The Bunnee now gone, and the car with her, I'm relying on scooter transport a lot these days. (See To Live and Scoot in L.A.). For shorter trips, such as my daily commute to the office, I ride a bicycle. But for touring around California's Southland, seeking out new eateries, weird hangouts and experiences, it's definitely the stylish Chetak 150.
But I'm struck with a dilemma. The Chetak’s a great ride, relatively fast compared to other scoots, handy in traffic and so forth. But its carrying capacity is pretty limited, as you can imagine. So I am considering getting a sidecar for it. Bullet-shaped retro sidecars are definitely groovy looking and they would increase my hauling capacity significantly. But there are drawbacks. For one thing, I couldn’t maneuver as well in traffic (lane-splitting would be difficult). For another, it would decrease my mileage (75 – 90 mpg, currently). Lastly, Barry, who owns S.F. Scooter Centre, once told me “It’ll perform like you gotta refrigerator strapped to your side."
Still, it would be nice to be able to toss a suitcase or two into the sidecar and spend a few nights up in Mt. Baldy Village if I want to. Plus, sidecars are cool.
What do you think? To sidecare or not to sidecar? Post a comment and let me know!
posted by M2 at 3:28 PM
2 Comments:
Sidecars are cool -- but Barry's right, they handle for shit. I think they look so cool, though, that I actually thought about getting one for my KLR 650. For about half a second.
I don't know about you, but I couldn't live without lane-splitting. Hey, you make the tall green, don't ya? And Bajaj scooters are cheap, right? Get a spare scooter and put a sidecar on one.
Oooh! Good advice. I'll look into that!
Thanks RD!
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