I recently bought a car that’s a common “wave at other people who have the same car” car, and it got me thinking about how these parasocial relationships are among the few positive experiences one has when driving. Like it’s hard not to be amused when someone else in a similar car waves or walking out of the grocery store and noticing an early model “parking buddy” next to me while I pack my weekly shopping trip in the trunk.
It’s no secret that modern Jeeps are utter shit, and a lot of the owners don’t off-road them. Stellantis just banks on Wranglers being kinda cute cars and the parasocial relationships people have with other owners of cars like that.
Anyways, I’m just happy to have a stupid manual transmission car again after like 10 years lol
Unironically it’s one of the parts of riding a motorcycle that I appreciate the most. The little hand wave that bikers do to each other genuinely makes me happy. It’s like an acknowledgement that we’re both actively choosing to do this to ourselves and despite that, we keep doing it. And despite all of our many differences and the chaos of this crazy world, we still have that little connection to each other.
Or maybe I’m just kinda drunk and sentimental
I had a bootleg 180cc Vespa for a bit (before it caught fire while I was riding it lol) and the motorcycle waves I got were pretty cool.
it caught fire while I was riding it
I feel the same way. I parked at my college yesterday, came out at about lunch time to find three other motorcycles crammed next to me into my space, lmao. Love that stuff, love filtering through traffic and catching up to the other biker who’s pulled halfway into the crosswalk, love waving, love seeing groups of bikers riding the twisties on the weekend.
also, i just realized that both my sidecar bike and my electric bike are basically signposts that say “ASK ME ABOUT MY MOTORCYCLE!”, and that probably says something about me.
I have been looking for a sidecar motorcycle for years now. They’re just so damn expensive, it’s discouraging
Your second cheapest option (aside from just keeping your eye on the market for a used one) is to put one together from a Royal Enfield and a Cozy (or other Indian/Chinese sidecar manufacturer), but you’re still getting up to at least $15k (maybe as low as $10k if the RE is used when you buy it. maybe as low as $7k if you can marry both a used bike and a used sidecar) especially if you get a shop to actually mount it for you (which is highly recommended since sidecars can be a bit squirrely even at the best of times). This would be the easiest to register too since it’s a modern international motorcycle company.
The cheapest option, if you’re willing to go through the effort required, is to buy a refurbished Chiang Jiang from China. They made a million military motorcycles in the 70s and there are a few sites that purport to be able to sell and ship one stateside for about $5k, but idk how tarriffs and stuff play into that the price has probably gone up since I last researched it. These can probably be registered as vintage vehicles wherever you live.
Should be noted that with these first two options you’re not going to be driving on the highway with the bike in question. The 70s military CJs don’t have the power, and cheap sidecars aren’t safe at highway speeds. There’s a reason new Urals start at $20k - they’ve got the suspension/brakes/etc to handle going over 100 kmh.
I also see a listing on Alibaba for a modern CJ with an 800cc V twin, which might be from the new company called CJ in Taiwan that released their modernized CJs a couple years ago. If that listing is legit then that may be the best option overall, although idk if it’s registerable in whatever country you’re in and idk about its performance/safety.
Funny enough the modern Changjiang sidecar motorcycles are exactly what I was looking at. I keep getting videos of them on rednote and they look great. They only cost like $8k new but that doesn’t mean much since I don’t think I can get it in the US. Ural was the other choice but the price tag is the biggest issue for me
yeah I think the modern CJs only ship to Europe, or at least that was what was up when they came out originally and I looked into buying one (this was before I bought my Ural)
last thing I’ll say is Urals are great and if they’re cared for they last forever, keep an eye on the secondary market you can probably snag a 2020+ for 15k, older than that 10k or less depending on its condition.
An old friend of mine bought a Ural back when we were in our 20s and I’m pretty sure he still has it 10+ years later (god, I’m getting old lmao
). It’s a super cool motorcycle.
t’s like an acknowledgement that we’re both actively choosing to do this to ourselves
Lmao this is funny because it fucking SUCKS in anything except perfect weather conditions rofl
Except I actually love riding in shitty weather for some reason. Rain, dust storm, snow, extreme cold. Something about it just makes me feel alive in ways that nothing else really does.
I live being at the mercy of the weather. Which is also why I fancy a sailboat in the future!
It kind gives time irrelevance in a way and I love it. But yeah I’m super privileged in my current situation and that would explain that view. I have a pretty flexible schedule.
I was about to say the same too! I love it. I make a purposely ignore for people on 3 wheels monstrosity, you’re not fooling anyone.
I also had the same experience with my beat up camper van.
I could never ignore a trike - I drive a sidecar bike and that’s basically a trike designed by someone who doesn’t understand the benefits of symmetry.
I like can ams the best, or those tiny little convertibles I see sometimes. Those look like a lot of fun to operate!
You’re right, it’s petty from me, but over here most of the drivers are boomers.
But I feel like it’s not the same ?
I had to endure endless conversations of : “Is this a good bike?” in motorcycle license class to ride mine! They have it easy !
But yeah I tend towards excluvism for less than 4 wheels drive 😅
How is the sidecar driving though ? I have a 250cc bike and doubt it would be able to have that excess weight, but I dream of a road trip on it and a way to carry stuff.
Also, the only info about that kind of vehicule is from Bryan from Fortnine.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
The sidecar is super fun to ride, so long as you go into it knowing that you are learning to operate a completely new type of vehicle. All of your motorcycle instincts will be wrong, and it’s not like driving a car either. But I’ve put my dog in the sidecar and driven around with her and there’s nothing like it.
I would suggest renting or borrowing one if you can before throwing down the serious amount of cash or takes to buy/build one.
If it’s an old guy on a 3 wheeled motorcycle, I’m cool with them. A guy I know rode his whole life but had to stop when his knees and hip couldn’t do it anymore but he insisted on riding a trike. My biggest gripe is usually Harley guys who think they’re too cool for those of us on different bikes
Oh yeah absolutely. But Harley is dying over here. I see more and more “adventure” bikes around.
I make a purposely ignore for people on 3 wheels monstrosity
Like a Yamaha Tricity? Is it wrong that I’ve always wanted one? They look comfy
Nah it’s not, it’s probably way more comfy than my current bike. But I have the Spyder in mind, because it’s the most used one here.
It’s funny because my partner drives a Kia Soul and all the old people in town think it’s a Jeep for some reason and give her the wave
She just keeps getting madder and madder about it
Even the early model Kia Souls don’t have the round headlight eyes lol
That’s fucking dope lmao
It’s great living in a town where the average age is 60
I have a Sunset Sarsparilla Sheriff star sticker on my bumper and I’ve had several people in town thank me for everything I do
Thank you for your service, Mx
Get her a “wave damnit” sticker for her windshield and maybe a few rubber ducks
Oh, she’d kill me
there are things in this world worth dying for
👋
✌️😮💨 💨 💨
Jeeps from the 80s and 90s were pretty easy to work on and the straight six 4.0l was basically indestructible
Wranglers as a platform are incredibly capable vehicles. In the off road segment, its basically them and 4Runners (I suppose broncos too, but those have somehow become even more boutique and cosmopolitan than wranglers are) , but the serious off roaders like the Wrangler more because it still has a solid front axle. Any car that the roof or doors comes off is just inherently fun too. That and its one of the few vehicles you can still buy new with a manual transmission.
The infuriating part is that the people who buy them have contributed to making them worse and more expensive. A jeep used to be 2 door, stick, bare bones and they were CHEAP. YJ wranglers were the equivalent of around 20k today base. Even a base JL is 33k new today and it has no reason to be. After the AMC/Chrysler merger, Chrysler completely gave in to the insecure jackass section of people who wanted a RUGGED and MANLY car, but they need four doors for the kids, and heated seats, and cant drive stick so make it auto, and also the soft top is too loud so make a hard top and bam, the JK (first Chrysler wrangler) was born.
Not really sure where I was going with this, but yeah, on merit, construction, safety, and comfort, theres no reason anyone should ever want one of those.
Not really sure where I was going with this, but yeah, on merit, construction, safety, and comfort, theres no reason anyone should ever want one of those.
That people wanting a specialized offroading vehicle to be a regular daily car contributed to ruining it lol.
The ones with a truck bed are particularly heinous
I appreciate the pile of ducks on the dashboard as a warning sign, like a bright colored poisonous bug. You see a windshield full of yellow ducks coming down the road, you get all the way to the side and be glad you had fair warning.
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