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Driving report Kalich Swing
Tipping moment
Enjoy driving in a trailer and inclined positions: Ralph Kalich harnesses the BMW R 1200 C and – thanks to the swivel dinghy – still gives it all the freedom. Almost all.
How inclined is 32 degrees incline? And what happens after that? These are the most pressing questions from two MOTORRAD employees when they leave the town of Gondelsheim in the Karlsruhe district. There, Ralph Kalich has just entrusted them with his latest creation, a pairing of a BMW works cruiser and a dinghy developed in-house called Swing.
"The rubber buffer on the sidecar frame stops the right angle at 32 degrees", the designer had announced. The need to limit it made sense when Kalich took the motorcycle from the side stand and let it slide in the direction of the boat: At some point, a swivel team simply put an end to tilting. In the present case, it is not the protruding cylinders, but rather the exhaust system that mark this limit. It would have had to be completely redesigned around the rear of the two sidecar connections in order to achieve even more freedom from leaning. Alright.
With the boat, which weighs only 70 kilograms and is quite narrowly cut, the beefy boxer has an easy time of it, accelerating cheerfully from low revs. Of course, it takes a certain amount of practice to stay on course because the unaccelerated mass of the boat always tries to pull the BMW to the right when accelerating. Unlike a rigid combination, however, it is not done with powerful counter-steering: the motorcycle also makes a small bow to the right, which must be compensated. The construction-related instability even makes turning maneuvers difficult at first: a swivel towing vehicle can tip over, but the sidecar frame hinders when it comes to foot, and there are also significantly higher steering forces than with the solo vehicle. That needs to be practiced.
The team behaves well known when turning into bends. Almost like a solo motorcycle. No excessive tugging at the handles, hardly any steering-intensive influences from the unbraked sidecar. No climbing. Above all: no climbing. It doesn’t work either. Of course, the whole load is pretty wide around the left when the BMW angles down to the rest.
And right around? So, 32 degrees of inclination, claims the passenger, is quite angled because the rear-view mirror in the boat comes to visit him at an estimated 25, there is body contact with the driver at around 28 and there is no longer enough space at over 30. So lean out to the right. Which of course can bring joy.
The driver objects that 32 degrees is not the world. And then he wonders what will happen if reserves are needed because a corner has been approached too quickly. Because: Drifting like with a northern team is not. With which the Kalich-Cruiser would be exposed as a calming stimulant. As an excursion team that preferably strives towards the sun. Then a good mood quickly spreads in the boat with its tightly sprung suspension: the meadows and fields fly past on the right, the gleaming chrome cruiser swings to the left. On top of that, the low seat allows informative audio samples from the inner workings of a BMW transmission …
And when everyone has turned enough, the passenger gets out of the car with lightning speed and – thanks to the wide cutout – without bumping into it. He kindly helps out when the driver dismantles the entire boat before starting the solo game. Yes, for the solo part, because this is a very special gag of the Kalich construction. "Three minutes", so the builder swears, "you need to dismantle." A look at the vehicle registration document proves that he has actually succeeded in having the TÜV approved the optional operation with or without a sidecar. The subframe remains on the motorcycle, the tools only need a figure eight Allen key, special manual skills are superfluous.
D.his lure several dozen team friends have already succumbed. Kalich knows that very few make use of it all the time. “Most of them always go by boat.” And they don’t just drive cruisers for a long time: a particularly successful variant can be moved by an Africa Twin, a BMW R 1100 conversion is currently in the works. And Ralph Kalich has a reassuring answer to the unavoidable question of the lean angle: “They have more, the Africa Twin, for example, 40 degrees.” So how inclined a motorcycle drives at 40 degrees?
Technical data – Kalich-BMW R 1200 C-swivel team
Technical data BMW R 1200 C / Kalich SwingMotor Air / oil-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine, longitudinal crankshaft, one high, chain-driven camshaft, four valves, bumpers, bucket tappets, rocker arms, wet sump lubrication, electronic intake manifold injection, engine management, regulated three-way catalytic converter, E-starter, three-phase alternator 700 W, battery 12V / 19 Ah, bore x stroke 101 x 73 mm, displacement 1170 mm, compression ratio 10: 1, rated output 45 kW (61 PS) at 5000 rpm, max. Torque 98 Nm (10 kpm) at 3000 rpm Power transmission Primary drive via gear wheels, hydraulically operated single-disc dry clutch, five-speed gearbox, cardan, secondary gear ratio 2.54. Chassis Load-bearing engine / gearbox unit with screwed subframe, telescopic fork with suspension strut guided by trailing arm, standpipe diameter 35 mm, Single-joint single-sided swing arm made of tubular steel, central spring strut, adjustable spring base. Sidecar: tubular steel frame with a drawn swing arm pivoted via a subframe and ball joint heads. Double disc brake in front, four-piston calipers, floating brake discs, O 305 mm, rear disc brakes, double-piston caliper, floating brake disc, 0 285, sidecar wheel unbraked. Spoked wheels front 2.50 x 18 rear 4.00 x 15 sidecar wheel 2.50 x 18 tires 100/90 H 18; 170/80 H 15; 90/90 H 18 Chassis data: wheelbase 1650 mm, track width 1270 mm, lead side car wheel 500 mm, toe-in when driving straight ahead 15 mm, steering head angle 60.5 °, caster 80 mm, spring travel f / h / s 144/100 / XXX. Dimensions and weights Fully fueled 330 kg Permissible total weight 615 kg Load 285 kg Tank capacity 17 liters Equipment / price Available color motorcycle: Black, red-brown, ivory, sidecar: as desiredWarranty: one year on all Kalich conversion parts Price 11420 marks including VAT. for the conversion when the motorcycle is delivered
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