If a Bullet 350 can pull a Cozy, the 500 should be more than capable. You may want to install a steering damper and square tires, though....

 

wait, steering damper and square tires? what the heck are those?!

 

The steering damper is a little pneumatic thing that dampens the handlebars a little. Otherwise you'll get a lot of shake at lower speeds. The ideal setup for a hack is to have a leading-link front end, but that's expensive. :3

Square tires since the bike won't be leaning anymore. They'll give you longer life and help keep the chair from flying a little. They're pretty hard to find. :/ Probably darkside on the back, and hopefully some kind of square sidecar tire will fit the front... Iunno any brands off the top of my head anymore, other than the coker antique car tires (and I hear they're not really manufactured very well).

You don't /have/ to have square tires, but... I'd at least go darkside on the pusher. Otherwise you'll probably find yourself replacing it every 3-4k......

Edit: This is what pushed me away from getting a Ural. The rims are sized such and the drive shaft is close enough that you can't put a car tire on the back. Apparently the foilheads are only getting like 5k kilometers per rear tire, and to me one of the primary reasons to own a bike is because it's soooooo much cheaper than operating a car (well, with the right bike at least).

More Edit: Decent hacks also seem to cost as much as a tow-pac or voyager trike kit, which would be much safer all around and usable on snowy roads... I'd /like/ to get one of those for winter riding, but I can't rationalize putting a $2500 kit that I'd only use 2-3 months out of the year on a $1200 bike... So I'm still using the $400 car for haulage and bad roads..... :s

 

Edit: This is what pushed me away from getting a Ural. The rims are sized such and the drive shaft is close enough that you can't put a car tire on the back. Apparently the foilheads are only getting like 5k kilometers per rear tire, and to me one of the primary reasons to own a bike is because it's soooooo much cheaper than operating a car (well, with the right bike at least).

Damned good to know about the Urals. That's too bad ... I am a fan of classically-designed bikes, but that write it off of the list.

Still wanting a Royal Enfield though... but have no place to enjoy it where I currently live.

 

I agree with the comments made, if a Ural can pull a sidecar so can a Vulcan 500 and do it better. The 500 is liquid cooled so over heating should not be a problem. Although, I think you might notice a power drain on big hills.

 

Nice, thank you all for your helpful advice so far! Out of curiosity, what manufacturers should I look at when trying to find a sidecar? Am I pretty much stuck with buying one new for $2500+, or do they come up on the used market ever? Can I buy pretty much "any" sidecar and then get the appropriate mounting kit for my bike, or does the sidecar have to match my bike model? Also, once I get a sidecar mounted, is it pretty much on there for good, or is there a "quick release" method so I can have a regular 2-wheeler when I don't need to haul copious amounts of dog or guitar somewhere?

 

I'd go to a local metal fabrication shop that wants to stay in business in this economy, and have them make you one with some form of quick-releases. For a dog or cargo all it needs to be is a compartmentalized area - it's not like you need the custom upholstery that comes in nicer side-cars. Yeah, it would take some designing on your and their parts, but following the principles of other successful sidecars should help. Moreover, I would think they could do it for $1000 or less.

 

I'd buy a prebuilt frame at least. The things have to be lined up just so or they'll eat up tires and steer badly.

Best case: Brand new Ural Retro (these have slightly smaller rims than stock, and I /think/ people have gone darkside on these. But they are /really/ expensive and don't have 2wd). Very attractive. Bike comes with leading link front end, sidecar all set up, has reverse. Parts are crazy expensive. Air cooled. :/ Splash oiler. :/ Pushrods... :/

Next best case: Brand new Cozy sidecar on EN500. Lightweight. New. Fiberglass. Attractive.

Most realistic cheap case maybe: Thrashed frame and tub from a dnepr or a CJ750 hooked to the EN500 (though if you end up with one of the 2wd setups, you'll have to hack it to be 1wd, though I expect this would only involve cutting the axle off. Cheap(ish). Heavy. Solid steel. Attractive if you like ugly utilitarian stuff. May be too heavy for the bike (you need a heavy bike for a heavy hack, light bike for a light hack, or the steering is crazy).

Least realistic cheap case: You fabricate one from scratch. If you've got the skill/patience to do this, you'd probably be better off building a trike with a light pickup truck or jeep axle and building a special doggie seat into it.

If I were you, I'd read more about sidecars before deciding that you really want one. There's a reason you don't see them anymore. They're slow, because if you go fast, you'll either fly the car over and wreck of nose over and wreck. The center of gravity is way off, and you have to throw your body weight all around to keep them under control. They have cool factor, sure, but unless you'll be keeping it under 60 mph on fairly untrafficed roads and have forearms like Popeye, I'd seriously consider a trike or towpac/voyager kit with a doggie seat and/or big trunk/trailer first.....

 

There is nothing like a sidecar to suck the power out of a bike!!!
The set-up is critical and they handle like crap.
Your bike will do it, but expect performance not much above that of a Ural...

 

The co-passenger is his dog... not sure he's a high-speed side-car guy. Plus if it is made to disconnect via clamps and/or pins, the bike is back to its original glory (to a degree, depending on the tires he chooses to use) pretty easily. It's just gonna take some real design-work to make a good set-up.