First of all, I'm not your average BMW motorcycle owner. Like many of us, I live from paycheck to paycheck. I'm your typical overworked, over stressed American worker. I have two sets of teenage twins and a very busy life. My wife is also overwhelmed with our hectic daily schedule. For some reason, she has no appreciation for the attributes of BMW motorcycles or sidecars.

I know there are baby boomers and BMW owners who are insulated from the economic burdens of the average working stiff, but I don't fall in that category. I would not have been able to put together my most current project without the network of several firms and friends that assisted me with this project. I owe a special thanks to all those that helped in both America and Germany, in completing my R1200CA Custom Stiletto / Steib S-500 sidecar project. America really provides wonderful opportunities and this cruiser sidecar combination is cool!

I'm really not your typical motorcyclist. Mainstream solo motorcycling doesn't particularly capture my interest, nor fit my hectic lifestyle. I recently returned to motorcycling, after a 30-year hiatus. My riding interest is specific to sidecars. My early solo motorcycling experience was nocturnal. This riding style (no lights at night) was developed out of need. I found this technique effective since I often went with long periods with revoked driving privileges. Legal and parental edicts were handed down both by my parents and State authorities. My needs were simple; a girl friend needed a ride home. Why attract the attention of authorities and or add to growing collection of citations. These girls never seem to appreciate the solitude of pushing my bike silently down the street past the hearing range of my parent's house. After I would turn the engine over they would continue to complain as I drove in dark. Some people are just not romantic.

My early solo motorcycling interest came to an abrupt end after hitting a tree. This was while driving in the snow without my lights on. Bad combination. After I had my elbow repaired I gave up motorcycling. I must admit as a teenager I didn't fare much better in cars either. My next major life change was the Navy. This was a reasonable choice; since I no longer had driving privileges. I was trained initially as a navy medical corpsman and my interest in motorcycling continued to diminish. During hospital ward rotations I attended to large numbers of military personnel injured in motorcycle accidents.

The total hospital consensus was primarily with motorcycle accidents. Hospital beds on every floor and in every ward were filled with motorcyclists, injured in motorcycle accidents. The numbers of injured was staggering. Numerous specialty wards were filled with young men lying in bed with countless pins protruding through both bone and skin, while traction devices held them together. I still recall their agony during bandage changes and simple wound inspections.

After more specialized military training, I was qualified as a special operations technician. In this specialized diving medical capacity, I assisted with early experimental oxygen recompression chamber treatments. I recall one case where I spent several weeks attempting to eradicate gangrene present in a close friend's foot. This serious infection had set in as a complication of surgery. This frogman had most of his foot reattached after a motorcycle accident. These real world experiences diminished my interest in riding, for years to come.

Today, I build custom telephone booths and other types of building projects, in addition to a full time outside sales career. I have always appreciated, well made American, European, and Japanese tools and machinery. I likewise, admire BMW motorcycles and their reputation for reliability and fine German engineering. Several of my friends own vintage BMW cycles and others who own the modern K bikes. I became interested in the idea of using an early BMW/2 & sidecar combination for both business use and pleasure. I researched sidecar related information on the web and discovered that Evergreen Safety Council; offered a novice sidecar training course www.esc.org/sidecar.html.

My friend, an experienced BMW rider and I attended the program located in Seattle. It was a great way to get off on the right foot. That program should be mandatory for anyone considering operating a sidecar rig. They have an outstanding program. I cannot emphasize this enough. Even the experienced solo motorcycle riders attending this program, found that operating sidecars required a whole new set of skills. If you are considering operating a sidecar, please take a sidecar safety course! I was hooked; I really enjoyed operating a sidecar. I had to find one.

Shortly after attending the Evergreen Safety Council Sidecar program, I found a vintage 1963 R60/2 with an early Ural sidecar attached. The sidecar rig was in Christmas Valley, Oregon. I heard about the BMW R60/2 through another Oregon BMW sidecar owner, Hal Thompson. I arrived at this remote Oregon location and met the owner. I was amazed when this older gentleman opened his shed and there sat 10 different BMW motorcycles, all from different eras. I could immediately see that collecting these fine machines can be a disease. Yes, in fact this sidecar owner was divorced. The owner was very up front and admitted he never liked the feel of operating his sidecar. He enjoyed solo riding and wanted to part ways with the sidecar. It was a good beginner sidecar rig for me. It was in fair condition and what I could afford. It was a riot putting around my town servicing my telephone booth route, or running errands. Our family Golden Retriever and kids all enjoyed riding in it. It was forty years old though and I did have had some mechanical concerns. I had to push it home a few times. I figured that's the trade off of owning a vintage bike.

Click on the photos to see a larger version.
Click to view larger map	Keegan and "Doggles"

I was dismayed though, when I learned that our local BMW dealer would not service slash 2 series or series 5 BMW motorcycles. Early BMW sidecar interest or service was out totally out of the question, as a local option. The local BMW dealer in my area stated that they had sidecar liability concerns, lack of experience, no lift capacity or tooling for sidecar rigs or vintage BMW's. Their mission statement seems to be geared towards sales, and not service I soon learned from other BMW owners in the area. This specific dealer had not built a reputation on service. Many of the local BMW owners are transporting their machines requiring service, to BMW dealers out of town. I received the same response regarding service options for my early BMW sidecar rig, after contacting other BMW dealers in my State.

The real problem was that the older, more experienced vintage BMW mechanics in my area have retired. I did not feel competent to perform much other than routine maintenance or simple repairs on my R60/2, and could identify no mentor. I also was not comfortable on busier streets on my older R60/2, with its limited speed and braking capacity. I enjoy the vintage sidecar driving experience, but desired the performance and advances that the newer BMW technology offered. You really notice how inattentive and fast automobiles are driving when operating a motorcycle or sidecar rig. I wanted to keep both the vintage ambiance and the vertical riding position with my next BMW sidecar motorcycle selection. I also desired the evolution of BMW's advanced Telelever suspension, Telescopic forks, and ABS brake designs. The lines and styling of the German BMW R1200C caught my attention when I first saw it. I also appreciated the American cruiser design influence. Production of the BMW R1200C cruiser began in 1998. The majority of my riding is in town, yet if I wanted to ride to the coast or mountains nearby, I felt the R1200C cruiser had the power to do so. I chose the BMW R1200C for my future sidecar project.

R1200C Sidecar Photo Gallery

Blue Moon Cycle	Thomas Gietl's custom BMW R1200C from Germany	Mobec Rig

Armec Rig	R1200C MotorvationSpyder	Armec Rig

A search of the web led to several R1200C sidecar combinations. Most of the examples were European. I stumbled across the Blue Moon Cycle website. This is a great site. They are located in Norcross, Georgia. It is a full service BMW dealer with expertise in sidecars and vintage BMW motorcycles. They in fact, have paired several R1200C cruisers to Steib sidecars. Walneck's Classic Cycle trader ran an article on the BMW R1200C sidecar combination in May of 2000, by Katie Black. This article (Teutonic Twosome) is linked from the sidecar link, found on the Blue Moon Cycle website: www.bluemooncycle.com. I enjoy just exploring their vintage motorcycle & sidecar inventory. Blue Moon Cycle also handles Ural sidecars. I was very excited when I found this website.

Need a Custom Phone Booth?

I built a custom vintage style telephone booth, complete with Blue Moon Cycle signage, unsolicited. I felt it was a perfect advertisement icon for their business, I knew they had to have it. I contacted the owner and offered my R60/2 & Ural sidecar and custom telephone booth for trade towards a BMW R1200C. I also explained my intention to write an article on this project. I thought they might be excited about further promoting their business as a resource for BMW owners, interested in sidecars. They weren't as excited. It turned out too, that the logistics of their cross-country location wasn't viable for my project. The total projected costs involved, were too excessive. They also stated, they had no interest in taking an Ural sidecar in on trade. I realized I required a reasonable dealer trade in value for my 1963 BMW R60/2 & sidecar, or sell it to a private party, if I was going to put this project together. I also wanted to eliminate shipping costs, if possible. If anyone needs a custom telephone booth with Blue Moon Cycle signage, please let me know: www.pacinfo.com/~eps!

In the BMW Owners News, I saw an ad for Vintage Imports advertising Steib sidecars, at what appeared to be discounted pricing. In late September I called Vintage Imports and ordered a S-500 Steib sidecar, sub frame, and R1200C sidecar attachment brackets. The owner stated he was on his way to Germany the next day and would obtain the appropriate attachment brackets and steering dampener for my future BMW R1200C. I was thrilled. I agreed and provided my MasterCard for payment.

Later I learned the brackets were not ordered and paid for until late November of 2002. These R1200C sidecar attachment parts were contracted through Stern Gespannservice of Germany, www.gespannservice.de. Stern Gespannservice is an established sidecar resource and puts together some fantastic projects. The R1200C attachment parts ended up lost in shipping. At the end of September, I was sure my sidecar project was finally on its way to completion, or so I thought. Vintage Imports was the weak link in this project. More on the completion of this project, later.

I was open to a low mileage, used R1200C, if I could find one. My philosophy is to buy locally when possible. Service was a major consideration in choosing a BMW dealer. I did not feel compelled to support my local BMW dealer, on the basis of their poor reputation for service, as mentioned earlier. At some point the R1200C will be a slash 2 or an earlier series BMW product. I wanted to buy a motorcycle from a dealer who would support it. Service is important, with my hectic lifestyle. I researched R1200C options outside of Oregon, after running in to dead ends with Oregon BMW dealerships. I located several potential used BMW R1200C cruisers at BMW dealerships in the Seattle and Tacoma area. I contacted Cascade BMW, www.cascadebmw.com, just East of Seattle. Paul Baker, the owner of Cascade BMW expressed genuine interest in my vintage sidecar rig and the proposed R1200C Steib sidecar project. A potential trip North started to formulate in my mind.

My next contact was Dauntless Motors, which was also not to far away from Cascade BMW. They specialize and support all makes of sidecars. They also sell complete sidecar rigs, used and new. They have a great website at: www.dauntlessmotors.com. The owners, Jay & Tara Giese are experienced sidecar installation enthusiasts and were just completing a Moto Guzzi/Steib project when I called. I had met them previously through the Evergreen Sidecar program, in which they are active. They also were excited about my proposed R1200C/S500 Steib project. Dauntless Motors quoted a viable price to assemble my R1200C Steib project. At the time, it never occurred to me to inquiry about fabricating the R1200C sidecar attachment brackets, since I had just ordered them through Vintage Imports. There are numerous sidecar resources in the Seattle area, perhaps more per capita than anywhere else in the country. The sidecar resources in Seattle area seemed to make sense for my project. I transported my 1963 BMW R60/2 & sidecar North, for a potential trade.

I looked over several cruisers in Tacoma and Seattle and made my last stop of the day at Cascade BMW. I met Paul Baker the owner. He and his staff were a pleasure to work with. Their service department appears to be first rate and they went out of their way to contact me regarding follow up matters I had, post sale. The first item that caught my attention walking into the Cascade BMW, dealership, was the beautiful vintage R12 on their showroom floor. They also had several used cruisers. There was a customized R1200CA Stiletto cruiser with custom red & black paint for sale.

R1200CA Stiletto Cruiser at Cascade BMW	R1200CA Stiletto Cruiser BMW digitized insignias in paint	R1200CA Stiletto Cruiser Custom Painted Tank

The paint job was incredible. The custom deep red paint job had BMW digitized insignias imbedded in the paint. The BMW insignias looked as if they were floating in the paint. Too cool, I usually choose function over style, but this special effect paint job was spectacular. In fact, if there is an area where BMW could improve, it is in their stock paint selections, in my opinion. Traditional well-made brown German colored shoes are one thing, but light metallic brown as a motorcycle color choice? I'm prejudiced, I prefer the solid, vibrant motorcycle colors found on vintage BMW's (Black, Dover White, & Green, etc…). Many of the new, soft metallic BMW colors don't inspire me. This paint job was very unique. That was the cruiser I wanted, if possible.

Cascade BMW and I came to an agreement on the cruiser and took my R60/2 & sidecar in on trade. Aren't I smart! Mr. Thrifty had chosen Cascade BMW's trade show and rally bike! It was designed to advertise just about every aftermarket accruement that could be mounted on a cruiser. Paul Baker of Cascade BMW informed me that the custom paint job and custom Stiletto modifications were done by Moslander's Rod & Custom www.moslanders.com. I was in the soup now! Kevin Carper of Moslander's was responsible for the extensive custom fabrication on this spectacular trade show cruiser. Moslander's holds numerous awards, such as Dupont TopGun grand prize award winner. They paint exotic machines for the Pebble Beach Car Show and the like. I don't think Moslander's have won any awards for budget paint jobs though; I'll have to call back and ask. I was out of my league, but didn't know it.

Moslander's Talbot Lago	Moslander's Bus	Moslander's 37 Ford

I called Moslanders and Ray Goodwin painter extraordinaire, answered the phone. Ray is one of those cool people you come across in life that you immediately click with. It turned out that Ray had painted the custom Stiletto. Ray does fantastic work and expressed genuine interest about the possibility of matching the Steib S-500 paint with the Stiletto motif. Clyde Moslander, the owner called me back and was also interested in my article and we agreed on a price.

The one question I had in the back of my mind though, was what was I going to tell my wife. I reached a compromise with myself. I decided on a policy of: "no news was good news". I contacted Dauntless Motors and updated Jay that the sidecar paint would match the R1200CA custom Stiletto. He proposed entering it in the Seattle motorcycle show. I thought that was a great idea and a wonderful finale for this article and the project. I was thrilled.

I received a call from Clyde when the sidecar from Vintage Imports arrived. There were numerous problems. The shipping crate was substandard. The chipboard was so saturated with water, it disintegrated upon arrival. The sidecar was covered with surface rust. The seat and interior pieces were all soaking wet and covered with mildew. Additional rust was found beneath the primer paint, which indicated poor initial prep work. There also were visual waves in the sidecar sheet metal. The Steib sidecar tire and wheel were also missing. The R1200C attachment brackets and steering dampener the owner said he would pick up in Germany at time of sale were also missing. At this time, I thought about returning the Steib S-500 sidecar for refund as a non-conforming purchase. After talking to Clyde at Moslander's, I was confident his staff could rework the sidecar deficiencies. I also was not interested in returning to Seattle to re-crate the sidecar for shipment back to New Jersey, with a firm I had never done business with before. I decided to let Moslander's do their magic, cross my fingers, and have a scotch.

Rust Photo	Rust Photo	Rust Photo	Rust Photo

Primered with light grey	Primered with light grey

The sidecar purchase from Vintage Imports became more frustrating as time went on. It also turned out that the windshield and tonneau cover (standard options by other Steib dealers), are not included with Vintage Import sidecar purchases. I was specifically told at time of order that all options were included. The owner indicated that their Steib sidecar orders included an additional chrome luggage rack (which did arrive), which was not a standard option through Blue Moon Cycle, or other Steib sidecar dealers. The schematic of the Steib S-500 sidecar on the Vintage Import web page also features a wheel and brake assembly diagram on the bottom of their page.

Do not construe that any of these items are to be included with their sidecar purchases. The Vintage Imports website provides no specifics, regarding what is or is not included in a sidecar order. Buyers beware. What was so irritating about this was I had discussed the selection of this specific sidecar project with Vintage Imports at time of sale. I also explained I was writing an Internet article about this project, which would including photos. I specifically requested the owner of Vintage Imports to personally inspect the sidecar I was buying and insure the quality prior to shipping. Time for another scotch!

Moslander's work is top shelf. Clyde Moslander and all the staff at Moslander's Rod & custom were great. Clyde Moslander emailed me detailed photos throughout the sidecar preparation and painting process. I was very confident that he could correct all Vintage Imports Steib S-500 sidecar shortcomings. His input was sound, they bead blasted off the original Steib primer and discovered more rust below the primer. The sidecar was then taken down to bare metal. He had Monte Sherlock tackle the sidecar metal bodywork. Monte removed the visible waves in the sheet metal and smoothed out the visible spot welds across the lower trunk. The entire sidecar was dipped and re-primed with a high quality Dupont epoxy primer. The numerous Steib sidecar photos you see in this article were courtesy of Moslander's Rod & Custom. The new S-500 Steib paint job might have failed, without removing all of the original primer, due to the poor original prep work and the rust found beneath the primer. Moslander's corrected all of the Steib S-500 sidecar cosmetic problems and the mid December Seattle Motorcycle show date still appeared to be viable.

Sandblasted	Down to bare metal

Newly Primed	Newly Primed	Newly Primed	Newly Primed

Ray Goodwin, painter extraordinaire took over next. He painted the entire sidecar with BMW gloss black stock paint. Ray and Clyde decided the fender's raised surface area should incorporate the matching R1200C Stiletto paint, complete with digitized BMW rondels. Ray took the raised fender area and laid down a base coat of stock Mercedes silver paint. Ray's next step, was to layout the digitized BMW stencils and add black paint. Dupont candy apple red base was built up over the black digitized BMW stencils. This process made the black BMW insignias appear as they are floating in the candy apple red base. The final step was to clear coat this custom work with V-7500 acrylic urethane. Ray's work was spectacular. Clyde called me upon completion of the custom painting. I returned to Moslanders and replaced all the Steib S-500 trim and dropped the sidecar off at Dauntless Motors for assembly, but still minus the Vintage Import sidecar attachment brackets.

Final Black Paint	Final Black Paint	Final Black Paint

From October through early December, I continued to hound Vintage Imports for the missing sidecar attachment parts. I was informed they were "on their way", over and over. During this period, upon review of my "Sent Items" box in Outlook Express, I had on record 39 emails sent to Vintage Imports, and this did not include the phone calls. Vintage Imports continued to insist they had been shipped, or they were being re-shipped, or were still in route. Where were these air freighted attachment brackets that Vintage Imports stated they had ordered during the trip to Germany in late September? I felt after this unacceptable time period, I was being given the run around. I later learned that shipments prior to November appeared to be non-existent. It appears that these brackets were not ordered and paid for until over a month and a half after the initial order, according to written communications from Stern Gespannservice, the sidecar parts manufacturer. The mid-December Seattle motorcycle show has since come and gone. All my single malt scotch also disappeared.

In January 2003, Vintage Imports suggested that I contact Stern Gespannservice (www.gespannservice.de) on my own (I guess this is their idea of customer support and follow through) to obtain the missing sidecar attachment parts. I insisted that Vintage Imports continue to follow up on the missing R1200C attachment brackets that I ordered in September 2002. I decided to also contact Stern Gespannservice (the German TUV approved sidecar attachment parts builders), to get confirmation of the Vintage Imports order of the R1200C brackets I ordered and paid for in September of 2002. Vintage Imports previously indicated that a German native speaker was required to transact business with Stern Gespannservice.

I do not speak German and decided to also seek assistance through German R1200C owners found at www.chromeheads.org, which is the BMW Chromehead R1200C Owner's Forum website. I performed a reverse search of all German members and their locations in Germany. I then selected an Internet German mapping service and followed the arrowed trails to Stern Gespannservice, from various German cities. Although I could not read German, I could determine where the directional arrows mapping the route to Stern ended. I next referenced a World Atlas and selected the closet R1200C owner's town name, to the Stern Gespannservice facility location. My first cross-referenced R1200C owner choice I came up with was Michael Huettner, a custom R1200C fabricator and Wurth tool representative (www.wurth.com). I sent Michael an email seeking assistance.

Michael had a little trouble deciphering my text and forwarded in on to another Chromehead member Thomas Gietl, who happened to be my next proposed contact. The BMW R1200C Chromehead Forum is an invaluable resource for cruiser owners. This is an amazingly resourceful and informative group of BMW R1200C owners. It is a much smaller world than we think. It turned out that Stern Gespannservice was a client of Michael Huettner. Michael knew Mr. Helmutt Herrmann, the owner of Stern Gespannservice on a first hand basis. Thomas Gietl also happened to also be Mr. Huettner's R1200C Cruso custom fabrication Internet site web page builder and R1200Cruiser Webring. See the R1200C German owner's forum: R1200Cruiser Webring: www.demmelhuber.info/indexseiten/bmw.html.

Thomas Gietl's Custom Cruiser	Thomas Gietl's Custom Cruiser

The GG Cruso Internet site is a must see custom R1200C website. Michael's custom work is spectacular. See this website at: www.cruso.info. This site has great graphics that change by running your cursor over the image and is accompanied with Dave Brubeck 's immortal: "Take Five", jazz track. Thomas Gietl's personal custom R1200C, the GG Crusso, customized by Michael Huettner is the R1200C GG Cruso displayed here. Thomas and Michael said they would assist me. Thomas was able to decipher my emails and translate appropriate questions for Michael to ask Mr. Herrmann of Stern, regarding my sidecar attachment parts order. Thomas informed me Mr. Herrmann could in fact understand English. I sent emails on to Mr. Herrmann to verify my Vintage Imports order and shipping dates.

I learned the shipments prior to November 2002 were non-existent, according to Stern Gespannservice. I also learned that my initial order with Vintage Imports to Stern Gespannservice and the payment received for the attachment parts was not made until mid November of 2002. This was almost two months after what I had been told. The sidecar attachment parts were in fact shipped, but not until late November. They were tracked from Stern Gespannservice to America, but now could not be located. I inquired about the possibility of a replacement order. I was informed that unfortunately, I would have to wait an indefinite period. To build an additional set, another BMW R1200C had to be provided at their facility. Each set of custom attachment brackets is apparently built one at a time. There is no stock inventory of these items. Stern Gespannservice is a small custom sidecar company, specializing in approximately 50-55 hacks per year. My last bottle of Scotch was empty, but at least I had some straight answers for a change. Thank you Thomas and Michael, my fellow Chromehead members.

It is bad enough at this stage of my life I have so few minutes to ride. My few moments of freedom to ride are primarily derived between insurance payments, gas fill ups, and running quick errands in town. The smiling riders in the motorcycle touring photos you see in BMW sales brochures are fantasy for me. The logistical problems and time frame I incurred with this project was upsetting, to say the least. I always thought others were exaggerating their frustration with projects involved with these types of logistics.

Vintage Import's next customer service step was to contact me in mid January 2003 and stated they were refunding my September 2002 sidecar attachment parts payment. Since Vintage Imports was no longer supporting this business transaction, I was own my own to come up with attachment parts. I learned Dauntless Motors fabricated sidecar attachment brackets, but this was not until after my initial Steib S-500 sidecar order. I called Jay back at Dauntless Motors and informed him the Vintage Import brackets would not be forth coming. He was very busy with numerous sidecar projects ahead of mine. I apologized for taking up shop space for such a long duration, due to lack of sales support by Vintage Imports. Jay said he would fabricate the R1200C attachment brackets. He estimated it would take three weeks to complete my project. Wouldn't you know it, only a week later he called and informed me the attachment brackets were completed and ready to be powdercoated. If I had only known this all along, I might still have an ample supply of scotch.

Rear Bracket, Unprimed	Bottom Rear Bracket, Unprimed	Side View, Unprimed	Front Lower View, Unprimed

Rear Bracket, Powdercoated	Bottom Rear Bracket, Powdercoated	Side View, Powdercoated	Top Bracket, Powdercoated

Dauntless Motors R1200C sidecar attachment brackets were also significantly priced under Stern Gespannservice pricing, which was another bonus. Blue Moon Cycle R1200C attachment brackets were quoted significantly higher than all other sources. Dauntless Motors R1200C attachment option also included no shipping costs, since they are built on site. During the sidecar attachment bracket fabrication the sidecar sub frame must be approximated in position to the motorcycle with the sidecar wheel attached. Jay next learned the Vintage Import Steib S-500 missing replacement wheel did not fit. The 20mm wheel bearing size and the 22mm sized axle were incompatible. Jay contacted Vintage Imports to request the correct sized wheel bearings be shipped to attach the wheel. This fabrication layout step is done prior to bead blasting and powder coating all the attachment parts, prior to final assembly. You will have to excuse me, if I continue to appear reluctant to endorse future business transactions with Vintage Imports.

Jay's next call from Dauntless Motors was to inform me that the R1200C and Steib sidecar assembly was complete. This was accomplished in under two weeks! I was not really prepared for this efficient timetable! I left for Seattle. I arrived at Dauntless Motors the next morning and was able to attend the Dauntless Motors First Sidecar Breakfast. I met a great group of sidecar owners from all over the Northwest. There was a great collection of different owner's sidecar rigs. The free breakfast was also a bonus. The Dauntless Motors R1200C attachment brackets were very substantial. Four very solid attachment points were fabricated. All tubing was bent and shaped to maintain structural integrity with the brackets, the attachment joints, and the sidecar sub frame. A solid rod ran end to end, between the tires, housing the bottom Heim joints. The numerous photos show the attachment bracket design features. For example, adjustment of the bottom Heim joints, controls sidecar adjustment (toe-in & toe-out). David Hough, the author of Driving A Sidecar Outfit, has a brief overview of this subject and is a highly recommended resource for sidecar operators. The key design feature for my sidecar sub frame attachment parts, were to incorporate both top front and rear "I" bolt attachment points and bottom front and rear Heim joint attachment points. This design would allow for easy future sidecar removal and attachment. This feature would be required to detach the sidecar for potential BMW dealership service, as mentioned earlier.

Now you get to see the final project. Upon first inspection I noticed no steering damper was attached. The steering damper (also often called a steering dampener) helps reduce front end steering wobble found in operating any sidecar. Steering dampers were not generally used on vintage BMW Earls Fork designs, but seem to be prevalent on most new sidecar rigs. I have found the BMW R1200C telescopic fork design to be very stable with the Steib S-500 sidecar combination and I do not detect a need for a steering damper at this time. The R1200C and Steib sidecar is tracking true and straight at various speeds during initial rides. Steering wobbles have been only remotely perceptible. I have been able to eliminate any slight wobble by just firmly gripping the handlebars. The handling characteristics of my BMW R1200C Stiletto combined with the Steib S-500 is superb. I was impressed. The Dauntless Motors sidecar attachment design is a huge improvement over my earlier R60/2 sidecar, in which I often experienced steering wobble with almost any change in speed or variations in road surface. The R1200C appears to be the ideal cruiser for a Steib sidecar companion.

R1200C/Steib S-500 Completed Project

Right Front Profile	VIP	Driver's Profile	Steib S-500 Fender

Side Profile	Rear Profile	Trunk

Sidecar Attachment Brackets	Sidecar Brackets

I hope that this chronicle is helpful for others and provides insight for others considering undertaking a sidecar project such as this. I have also tried to identify numerous resources I used. Costs involved with this project were significant, as I mentioned earlier. A used sidecar may be another option. The BMW motorcycle marketplace, at www.ibmwr.org/market/ often has sidecars listed. Another source offering sidecars is Ebay, at www.ebay.com. Cycle Trader www.cycletrader.com, maybe also be a viable sidecar resource. Sidecar ads often appear in the rear of BMW Owners News and other cycle and sidecar related publications. If I did it all over again, I would have ordered the sidecar direct from the manufacturer in Germany: www.zweiradmuseum.com. I would also consider a Steib sidecar purchase through Bench Mark Works located in Sturgis, Mississippi. They are a good resource for the vintage BMW airheads and Steib sidecars: www.benchmarkworks.com. R1200C sub frame attachment parts are not available through any of the above mentioned Steib sidecar resources at this time.

I would use Dauntless Motors (www.dauntlessmotors.com) to purchase BMW R1200C sidecar sub frame attachment parts. Final sidecar assembly may depend on your location. Dauntless Motors would still be my first choice. I live in the Pacific Northwest. I found Dauntless Motors assembly and attachment parts option was more cost effective, than pricing I was quoted by one specific BMW sidecar assembler. This would have been the case even if I had lived on the East Coast of the America and factored in all shipping costs. I found costs greatly varied from firm to firm. It pays to do your homework prior to undertaking a project like this. Service may also be a key factor, unfortunately during the completion of my project my local BMW dealer went out of business.

At this time I must say thank you again to everyone involved in this project. Photo credits go to Cascade BMW, Dauntless Motors, Thomas Gietl, Dr. Kraig Jacobson, Jean Jensen, and Moslander's Rod & Custom. All other commercial photos were non-copy written photos found on the web. Special tribute to Shirley Walker-Combs, my website designer. Shirley spent many hours on this project and created the format you see. Please contact Shirley to create or assist your ongoing website project at One Woman Production: www.onewomanproduction.com.

Have a safe ride!

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