Exploring Sidecars

Story and photos: Lucinda Belden

Maybe you are stubborn like me and not ready to give up riding yet. As some of us get older, holding up a bike, pushing a bike or backing it up doesn’t always cooperate with our back or knees. Or maybe you just have companions who would be more comfortable riding beside you. If you are looking for options to keep on exploring the open roads or bring along a reluctant companion, don’t pass up the concept of a sidecar. Here are some of the pros and cons to get you thinking:

PROS

* It still rides like a motorcycle on the open road, so you get that motorcycle feel. You still get to shift, feel the throttle, and control your corners.

* The nostalgia is awesome! Be prepared to spend extra time at stops because you will be caught up in questions – and who doesn’t like to talk about their bike! We call that the ‘sidecar delay factor’.

* You can adjust your sidecar options based on your budget. Going from stripped down to basic amenities to luxury. They do have sidecars with reverse gears, dampeners for wobbles, air-conditioned tubs and more. CONS

* If you are adding a sidecar to your existing motorcycle, you may need to add other features to help you with reverses, dampening, wobbles, two-wheel drive and other smooth operating options.

* A sidecar can become a costly hobby if you don’t or can’t do some of the work yourself. (But what motorcycle isn’t!)

* Finding a good vendor to get you started can be very difficult. There are only about 15,000 sidecarist in the U.S. and if you are lucky, maybe one vendor in a state. Your best way to find them - join sidecar Facebook groups and ask for referrals.

Important Tips Getting Started

Tip#1 – If you plan on adding a sidecar to your existing motorcycle, be sure to thoroughly vet the vendor. When I first got started with sidecars, I knew ZERO. I bought a small tub with a universal kit. Tip#2 – no kits are universal! They all must be adapted, or different parts used to fit your motorcycle. Because I didn’t investigate the sidecar company, they attempted to put the sidecar on with what was available due to their lack of knowledge as well. They delivered my sidecar to me with a bent axle. After they fixed that, I took off on a road trip and my tire came off at about 60mph when I was less than 300 miles along. The ball bearings were completely disintegrated and later I found out the bearings were not even the correct kind to use. Vet your vendor and never use the sidecar vendor in Fort Worth, Texas!

18 www.BehindBarz.com

I did happily find the Texas Sidecar Company in Donie, Texas and they made all my riding dreams a reality.

Tip#3 – You need to know how you plan to ride your sidecar. What type of roads, what locations and who will be riding in the sidecar if anyone or any special pet? All those numbers and details will determine how the sidecar is mounted, what tires will be used and how it will be toed-in for the smoothest ride possible. Note a good vendor will talk with you, listen, and help you match a sidecar with how you ride.

Main Differences Between Motorcycle and Motorcycle with Sidecar

* Turning left will be upper body strength and using your throttle skills.

* Turning right you will still want to lean like you are on a motorcycle if you don’t have weight in the sidecar. Otherwise, the tub pops up in the air when you round a corner – we call that ‘flying the chair’. That can be fun though and you can practice your throttle skills with right turns too.

No matter what type of sidecar you decide to get – a custom one mounted to your existing bike or a sidecar rig I hope you enjoy the ride!

About the Author Lucinda Belden is an avid motorcyclist and sidecarist. She is on the board of the United Sidecar Association, and she is a travel writer and agent. Follow Lucinda’s adventures at www.fb.com/ DirectionWideOpen and dwo.net.