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The Bike: 1999 Suzuki GSF1200S Bandit
Purchased May 2000, with 2400 km on the clock.
Bought bone-stock, it was very quickly set up as a solo bike with performance goodies. Dale Walker Stage 3 carb kit, full exhaust, GSXR intake cam, along with suspension improvements. This bike didn't stay stock very long, nor did it stay in the same state of modification very long either. I couldn't leave well enough alone.
Heavily damaged in a single-vehicle, freak accident August 2002. The bike was repaired over a winter, and my personal injuries healed fine, but self-confidence on a solo motorcycle was DOA for riding the following season. Tried to get back into the spirit of riding during the 2003 season, but the enjoyment was gone after 15 years of solo riding.
Enter the Sidecar: 1988 Hannigan
Believed to have been manufactured in my home town of Oakville Ontario sometime in 1988, this Hannigan sidecar found it's way to a derelict life and an indeterminate history in the front yard of a house in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I heard about it by chance, and was at the right place, at the right time to pick it up cheaply. It needed a lot of work.
After three years of working on the project, in retrospect, I can say that it has been like teaching a Ballerina to dance with a Hippo. The motorcycle was too light, and had too short a wheelbase for the sidecar, and the sidecar was meant for duty on a motorcycle like a 1500 Goldwing. The motorcycle has enough horsepower and torque to handle it fine, but the sheer bulk of the sidecar overwhelmed it's ability to manage handling. The next three years, would be an exercise in compensating for the mismatch, in modifying virtually every aspect of the motorcycle and sidecar suspension and rolling stock.
The beginning of the project, September 2003. Hmmm.. this isn't going to be so easy..
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