How does a motorcycle sidecar work

A sidecar is a one-wheeled attachment for your motorcycle that allows you to carry an additional passenger. Since it has an additional wheel, it makes your motorcycle into a three-wheeled vehicle. A bike with a sidecar attached can go by various nicknames:. Its popularity exploded early as an alternative to the family car, providing both fun and practicality for the rider.

We can see from early Harley-Davidson marketing photos how the sidecar could be used for supporting the owner's job functions such as rural mail routes, and how it could double for recreational activities such as hunting and fishing. The sidecar was initially developed for bicycles back in in France. The inspiration for their invention was a newspaper competition that wanted to discover the best way to get a passenger onto a bike. Turns out on the side was better than on the back.

The winner of the contest was a French army officer named M. It wasn't till ten years later, in , however, that a patent was filed by Mr. Sidecar mounting lugs or "fittings" began to show up on Harley-Davidson frames as early as , even though it was before the sidecar is made available in factory literature. The Rogers Sidecar Company made the earliest sidecar versions, and it was not until the following year before Harley begins manufacturing their version.

Initially, the sidecar is linked up to only the larger displacement twin cylinder models. From the inception, the sidecar was built in both right-hand and left-hand versions, the latter for international export.

In , a Dealer Service Bulletin appeared with directions in "swapping out" a standard motor, with a specially designed engine for sidecar use. The following year, a special two-passenger Model QT or "Chummy-Car" is made available to the public. By , a decision was made to make available a lighter sidecar for use with the 45 cubic inch models, which had been released the previous year.

The Goulding Manufacturing Company of Saginaw Michigan was contracted to provide the LS or litecar chassis and body to enhance the model lineup. The next major change took place when a substitute was sought out to replace the metal boxes used by the Servi-car model, to a new fiberglass box. The fiberglass body, which debuted in , was manufactured until the sidecar was discontinued in Contrary to what you may expect, the side wheel of a sidecar is not directly aligned with the rear wheel of a motorcycle.

This is unlike a motor tricycle trike , where both rear wheels are powered by and share the same axle. Instead, the sidecar is a frame and a wheel. The frame can be fixed to the bike, or it can be attached in a manner that allows the bike to ride as if there was no sidecar attached at all. The sidecar, historically, is a one passenger vehicle with a small trunk compartment in the back. It's not uncommon for the sidecar to be constructed in a manner that makes it functionally a large cargo hold.

Most often, the sidecar is attached to the bike's right side so that it's the bike and not the sidecar that's closest to the middle of the road. Sidecars make the bike asymmetrical. Sidecars can tip in either direction. If you corner too fast when turning towards the sidecar the sidecar can lift. If you corner too fast turning away from the chair, the rear motorcycle wheel can lift, digging the nose of the sidecar into the road see photo above.

Both scenarios are best avoided and with a properly set up sidecar, neither should be a problem with responsible riding. As stated before, left and right hand corners have different issues but both have their dangers to catch out the unwary. Many documents talk in detail about the centre of gravity, wheel track etc Centrifugal force is a combination of bike speed and corner radius. A gentle bend at 40mph might have the same centrifugal force as a sharp bend at 10 mph.

Bend radius is not within the rider's control - but speed is. It is therefore imperative to get speed correct for a given corner and to stay away from the point at which the combination can tip. If in doubt slow down. To get started, get some practice in an empty car park or similar I used an industrial park on a Sunday. Drive some circles to find the tipping point both left and right at a slow speed.

Once you get a feel for this limit you can take steps to stay within it on the road. If preferred ballast can be added to the sidecar to stop it lifting up so easily. This will typically increase the possible cornering speed when turning towards the sidecar, but makes slewing during speed changes worse.

Finding the tipping point turning Left. If the sidecar wheel does lift you have a choice. You can either steer away from the sidecar to put it down again, or you can balance it in the air once you have the control. Which action you take is likely to be guided by the road situation at the time. Using the throttle-on method you learned above, approach right hand corners slowly while shifting as much of your body weight as possible over the sidecar.

Ballast helps here. Throw a couple sandbags, a tool chest, your dog, girlfriend or anything else heavy into the sidecar to help keep it planted in right hand corners. As you turn in, get on the throttle to initiate the turn and look through the corner to where you want to go. Enter fast and throttle off as you turn in, this will force the whole rig to steer left. Left handers are the easiest in which to initiate a slide, just downshift as you enter to break the rear loose. Like a motorcycle, the front brake is operated through the right hand lever and the rear brakes work via the right foot lever.

A notable exception is in snow or other low traction situations, in which the front will easily lock, but the rear may have some stopping power remaining thanks to the extra weight over those wheels. To engage reverse on a Ural, the only manufacturer of sidecars, find neutral, then reach down to the lever immediately behind your right heel.

With the clutch pulled in, push the lever backwards, then use the gas and clutch to pull away just as you would in 1 st gear. As on an ATV, this can lead to dangerous instability in high-traction situations. With the bike at a complete stop, grasp the lever on top of the driveshaft and wiggle the handlebars to move the coupler as you move the lever rearwards.

Riding in feet-deep snow?