older 600 question
 

How much should I expect to pay for a working older 600, preferably a late 80's early 90's sportbike, possibly one that has been dropped and no body. I've been contemplating an F2 sidecar build as a project.

sorta like this one

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2318/bmwf2ppr.jpg

I'm in the very early stages of planning, but I don't think that it would be too hard or cost prohibitive to take a steel frame sportbike, slam it, fix the steering geometry and add a sidecar. Just take a bunch of time and effort

Here's a F2 from a local board, if you want, I can get pics.

http://www.ncsportbikes.com/forums/v...er=asc&start=0

can you get pics of this, i got a buddy looking for a biek like this

Working on it.

I'm guessing you have no intention of riding it on the street. When you consider how little of the original bike will end up being used you may be better off looking for just a motor. While there is more risk in the purchase because since you can't fire it up in the bike to test it, you should also save some money vs. buying a complete bike. You might also want to look at motors from early Gixxers or more recent Katanas. It will be easier to fit an air/oil cooled motor due to not having to worry about the location of a radiator. There will be very little besides the motor that you can use anyway so why not start from scratch to begin with.

When we sold my '95 ZX6r, it was running, but needed carb and suspension work. Clean title, minor cosmetic damage (needed paint, but platics were in decent shape). We got $1100 for it.

or just hang around a few races and find a used sidecar set up that needs a little work. much more economical in the end. Plus the geometry is all there already.

If you have to buy someting stay away from 80's bikes aand get a mid 90's bike. looking for parts for an 80's bike isnt as easy as you'd think. the CBR600F is a BITCH to find anything for, despite being an awesome bike. same for the piece of SHIT early ninjas.

An FZR or later model CBR like an F2 would do well though. they're solid as hell.

I'm looking for a project that I can spend time on. My current plans are to use a good majority of the frame and attach a sidecar to it. I want to use the stock steering head and keep the imprinted Vin number. This way I have the opportunity to still register and insure it for street duty if I feel like. I've been drawing designs on napkins as my preliminary sketches before i put it into a CAD program. one of my reasons for using a much older sportbike is the steel frame, I can weld steel, I can weld aluminum but I do a crappy job with aluminum.

My initial guesses are that I would be able to maintain the stock rear swingarm (slightly lengthened) and the stock tripple trees with a custom suspension and more hospitibal steering angles.

Right now is just the reaserch part, cost estimates, parts stuff like that.

funny you mention streeting it. I was going to say it would be pretty cool to put one on the street. Imagine you'd get a few looks with it. :)

I would think the parts you would be able to carry over would depend on what you want to do with it. If you are keeping stock wheels and tires you should be able to carry a lot over with less modification. If you want to use wheels and tires like those used in the picture you posted very little would carry over.

I would go cheap and use the stock rear rim, and a second rear rim up front. Considering I would have to redesign the front suspension anyway to make it possible to turn at speed, I would have the ability to use a wider motorcycle rim. This photo might give you a better idea of what I am thinking, its just a crappy picture and almost too small to see.


http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/5435/corblimey2.jpg

better picture
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/2681/revision2006.jpg

i call ballast for the test ride

we shall see how I do in court in sept

And if this makes any sense to anyone other than me, this is how I would do the 3rd wheel assembly.


http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/2...elassembly.jpg

Green is a car spindle (rwd car no driveshaft through it)
Blue are ball joints(upper and lower)
red are heim joints
black is frame tube

upper ball joint would be fixed against a load bearing hoop
lower ball joint would be on a single A arm, adjustable for caster
the front heim would be adjustable for toe

The 3rd wheel would be based off of a mcphearson strut assembly, without the actual moving suspension (3rd wheel suspension has a habit of flipping the car mid corner). The structural hoop would replace the strut and be fixed. This design gives maximum adjustability while requiring the least amount of space from the passenger platform

whisky foxtrot tango

:lol:

It looks like a good design. You have the adjustability you need while still keeping it simple. The thing I would be especially cautious of is where the sidecar structure was mounted to the rest of the motorcycle. Make sure all attachment points are solid with no flex (I'm primarily thinking the subframe). It would be a bit of a pain to hit a bump and have the geometry of the sidecar wheel change.

My bike (92) was in good condition when I got it and it was about $1700. So I would imagine you could find a more beat up one for a grand or so :beers:

I think I just secured a spot as a passenger on a sidecar the weekend of 4-6 september for a few laps at NJMP. Some of the east coast superside racers will be there for the AMA races and are trying to get the organizers to let them give taxi rides for charity!