Royal Enfield and sidecar performances

[rabbit7]

I am very interested in the Royal Enfield Bullet 500 with Cosy sidecar.  Could anybody fill me in on the performances of this unit, especially expected cruising speed with and without passenger.  Fuel consumption and overheating or not would be interesting.

Thanks for your help.

Rabbit7

[The Garbone]

Is this a new Bullet or an old Iron barrel you are thinking about.   

If its a new bullet the performance and would be better than the Iron barrel I have.

That said the basic rig is just that, basic.  It is a motorcycle with a tub attached to the side.  Are you familiar with outfits? 

I would not take a hack on the superslab but anyplace reasonable with speeds under 55mph would be fine.   Stopping takes longer and you can't readily dodge the folks cutting you off.  They are not that bad for trips in that you have more freedom of movement in the saddle when riding.

I get about mid 40s for mileage on my rig, not bad.  I would not worry about overheating if you set the engine up correctly on th eolder models. 

[rabbit7]

I'm looking at  a new Royal enfield either a classic with the Inder side car
or i here the electra  with  19 instead of 18 inchwheels and a cozy could be
a better combination.So again What can i expect as performance with and without a passenger.ANY THOUGHTS??thanks
RABBIT7

[The Garbone]

Its a sidecar outfit...  Don't expect it to perform or ride like a motorcycle.       On a motorcycle you ride it,  leaning into corners and countersteering, not so with a hack. 

On a sidecar you steer it, lean and make the rig in the direction you want it to go through pure force of will.   If you have a monkey you are less prone to fly the car.   Depending on the lean of the bike and tow in of the car depends on if it pulls left or right.  I keep mine setup to go perfectly straight empty and I sense an ever slight pull to the right with a monkey.   

Get an UCE engined bike if possible,  19 or 18 inch rims really won't make that much of a difference in performance when hooked to a rig. I would go with the old style 19" speedmaster on the rear as those things are already square and last a good long time.  I personally would go with a B5 for the looks and rubber.

[Okie Enfield]

Br. Garbone.

Would the "less rake" of the C5's forks make for a better rig than the B5? I may be wrong, often am, but I thought that the G and B5 were a bit longer than the C5, in particular the C5 rake angle was less. 

love,
Hackless in Oklahoma 

[The Garbone]

I think the C5 takes an adapter dodad that drives up the cost a few $100 also.   I don't remember about rake but do recall it being important.   

Here is a good thread on it..

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?s=7d2f3cb77bfd3f7c1becf1e1442503fe&t=468196

I would consider the steering force on the B5 (same chassis as my bike) to be heavy at about 15mph to 25mph or so.  Lower speeds it is not an issue and at higher speed you chance rolling the rig over if you turn too sharp anyway.     Wider bars and shifting your body weight help a great deal.

[dynamyt]

I have a Bulllet G5 with the inder side car set up from the dealer. This is my first side hack rig so I do not have much experience, but I love it. I've tweeked the set up just a little and it handles great at speeds up to 55mph. I'm not certain of my gas mileage, but it seems I hardly ever fill the tank. I usually have my son as the ballast, and at about 40lbs, that's not much. It handles even better with my wife and him as ballast. I would recommend a 50lb bag of sand in the bottom if you're going alone.

[GA-DK]

2009 G5 with Euro Cozy and 0 to 60 lb of dog or cargo in tub gives top speed of not much above 55 mph.  At 50 to 55 mph I get tank avg of 50 - 55 mpg.  If most of the tank is at speeds of 40 - 45 it comes up to 60 - 65 mpg.  Higher tire pressure may increase top speed, but at the cost of more tire wear in center.  The adaptor kit sold for the G-5 is poor quality and will block use of kickstarter.  I found it easy to make my own which is stronger and does not block KS or change original rider foot peg.  It does delete folding passenger foot peg.  I used that mounting point for a stronger sidecar mount.  GA-DK

[Thumper]

In my experience with many different types of hacks  Urals, Yamaha 650/Velorex, old '75 Goldwing/Velorex, HD Nightster/Cozy -
   
To do it right and get the best driveability - you will need to have the correct lean-out and toe-in adjustments for your particular rig.
In my experience, that is essential.
   
Further, you have to have the sidecar mounting system robust enough that it allows you to secure it into that correct lean-out and toe-in - and hold it here. And even then, expect occasional tweaking/correction.

[GA-DK]

My custom mounts are very strong and stable.  have never needed to adjust for movement.  Set up with Cozy suggested toe-in (same as BMW recommendations), but almost no lean-out without rider.  Weight of rider gives almost the recommended lean-out, but not quite.  At constant speed of 40 - 45 mph there is very slight pull to right.  On breaking, there is a similar pull to left.  Note, Cozy has no brake.  I find this to be a comfortable compromise.  GA-DK

[AwL]

Checked MPG today and getting 50 mpg with sidecar attached.  That's local riding, mostly w/160 lb. passenger.  Cruises at 55 mph in 5th gear, though even small hills require downshift to 4th.  Sometimes i don't go to 5th for the 6 miles to town as 45-55mph seems to be good range for 4th gear with multiple small hills.  Al

[Blue Ridge Wheeltor]

I'm looking at  a new Royal enfield either a classic with the Inder side car
or i here the electra  with  19 instead of 18 inchwheels and a cozy could be
a better combination.So again What can i expect as performance with and without a passenger.ANY THOUGHTS??thanks
RABBIT7

Go to this website, they are also an Enfield dealer:
http://uralnw.com/
They have units already put together.
Check the prices.
Now check the prices for the Ural T.
Then compare the specs.
If you buy the Enfield over the Ural, you must have money to burn.