Sidecar Articles


Introduction

Motorcycles with attached sidecars are like nothing else in this world. Once you add a sidecar to a motorcycle, the rig that was once a motorcycle is transferred into something else. It doesn't ride like a bike any more and doesn't drive like a car. It handles - kind of like a Sidecar! You counter steer a motorcycle and you steer a sidecar rig but at the same time you have an unequal weight distribution that plays with your steering and brakes.

The ride is something like, well, maybe a truck with two bad left shocks? Seriously, I've ridden a few and all have types their own unique suspension and ride but all that I've ridden share some of the same ride characteristics. Because of the nature of sidecars, your high seating position on the bike and lean out (discussed later), you feel like you are being thrown away from the chair when you hit bumps. Trust me - the sensation goes away after a while.

But sidecars are challenging and sidecars can be fun in their own unique way. If you're looking at sidecars then have a friend or local dealership give you a ride in his chair (sidecar) and then ask your friend to let you run around in an open parking lot with him or her in the chair. Play with it and see what it'll do - you just might get hooked!

I wrote the stuff below because I'm a sidecar nut. There's a lot of sidecar info on the net but I've not found one place that gives people a solid opinion of sidecars so, right or wrong, I published my own. I'm no sidecar expert but I do have some sidecar experience. I ride 10K - 15K miles a year, some with the sidecar on and some with the sidecar off and I enjoy one riding style as much as the other. If I had my way (and the money), I'd have two motorcycles, one Harley-Davidson Dresser with a sidecar with and another just like it without a sidecar. I'd probably put most of my miles on the sidecar rig.

If you take the trouble to read what I've written then please also send me some feedback. I'll use your information to improve what I've already posted to hackpilot.com. Also, I'd be more than happy to post any other sidecar artices to this site along with full credit to the authors.

Ride safe,
Tom

Local Articles

Turns - Counter Steer Verses Steering with a Sidecar Rig

Weight Distribution, Road Crown and Handling

Sidecar Suspension

Flying the Chair

Sidecar Brakes

Just Rambling

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© Copyright Thomas P. Hargrave Jr. - All Rights Reserved
E-mail: tom@hackpilot.com