Jockey Journal Forum banner

Leaning Sidecars

32K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  Richard D 
#1 ·
So I was watching some old easyriders footage of the original boozefighters. One of them was riding a sidecar rig, I think an old JD. Anyway, the rig was mounted so that the bike could still lean like a normal bike.

My O.L. and my dogs would both love for me to get a sidecar, but I always figured, why ride if you can't lean...perhaps this is the answer.

Anyone have any ideas/experience setting one of these up?
BTW, it would be going on my Guzzi Ambassador.

Cory
 
#3 ·
I forgot to mention, I'm po' and can't really buy/design a sidecar setup that costs more than my bike is worth.

I'm thinking more along the lines of buying on old sidecar, swivel mounts on the bottom and maybe some long travel off road shocks or something on top. Throw in some limiting straps and voila!

Somehow I'm feeling it's not this easy or everyone would be doing it. Any help?

Thanks again,

Cory

BTW the video of that Armec rig is awesome.

sojerscraper said:
i just googled "leaning sidecar" & came up with this:

http://www.armec.com/sidewinder.html

pretty neat setup. maybe it could be modded for a more "vintage" look.
 
#4 ·
yeah man, i agree. i think there is a lot more engineering involved to make it work properly than we could imagine. the handling characteristics of a motorcycle change constantly based on speed, acceleration, braking, etc. think about how differently your bike leans & turns at slow speed compared to high speed. to keep the sidecar from conflicting with the bike when it leans at different speeds you would have to do a lot of experimenting with pivot points, linking systems, damping systems, etc. you may come up with a design that works while the bike is still & youre rocking it back forth but then at speed, it could throw the dynamics of the bike off so bad it could result in a crash. google "pitch, yaw & roll" - terms usually associated with airplanes & youll see that its pretty damn close to how a motorcycle handles. plus, if i were to do it, id like to make the sidecar lean too. id have the sidecar with a wheel in front & back just like the bike & link them together with some sort of 4 link setup.

that standard sidecar setup is sounding better & better now isnt it? haha -

i dont want to discourage you, im just saying its not going to be easy and or cheap to make it work properly.

maybe you could find a bike that has that leaning car setup somewhere & look at the design & perhaps 're-engineer' it in your garage for yourself.
 
#6 ·
The video was something I taped off of the speed channel some time back. It was like the history of the motorcycle or something like that. In the video was some 1978 easyrider footage of the boozefighters. Just some short clips, but someone was cutting it up on a JD sidecar rig that was leaning very sweetly.

KnuckleBuster said:
Where did you find video? All I see is the order page for a DVD or VHS...
 
#7 ·
That was Lance Tidwell. Both he and John Cameron had Flexi Sidecars mounted to '26 JDH's. Lance's was a "Speedster" sidecar body, and John's was a "Premier" body.

Those sidecars were made by the Flexible Corporation, and it's the same company that later made limos and buses.

Do your search for Flexible, and see if you can get ahold of the EZ #110 August '82 issue. There's a really well photographed 6 page article on both rigs. These should get you going.

As a sidenote, both these guys rode those rigs in one of the Great American Races, and I just saw another one of the Flexible sidecars that John Cameron had restored before he died listed by the people that have it now for 25g's.....
 
#8 ·
TNCave said:
The video was something I taped off of the speed channel some time back. It was like the history of the motorcycle or something like that. In the video was some 1978 easyrider footage of the boozefighters. Just some short clips, but someone was cutting it up on a JD sidecar rig that was leaning very sweetly.
The Easyrider Video Magazine #1 on VHS has about a 10min. interview segment with both Lance Tidwell, and John Cameron, with their sidecars. It has a lot of riding footage, and some cool scenes of Lance and John riding around Sturgis in '85 I believe, after they rode them up there from SoCal and back.
 
#22 ·
this article is from the February 1952 issue of Cycle magazine. I would especially like to find this particular Ariel Square Four and leaning sidecar because it has a Von Dutch flame paint job !!! (as stated in the third LAST paragraph)
I hope this rig is alive and well, somewhere. Anybody know?
 
#18 ·
Leaning sidecars have been around for years. I think it was the 1923 sidecar TT that was won by Freddy Dixon on a leaning sidecar. The lean was controlled by the passenger through some sort of linkage. It broke on the last lap but they still crossed the line first. At a very askew angle. Leaning sidecars were banned from the TT after that.
 
#19 ·
Before you completly discard the idea of rigid sidecar you might want to take it for a ride.
Yes, it will completely change your bike and I WOULD NOT recomend one for your only bike, BUT ....
Sidecars are a blast! Your OL will love it, the kids will go nuts and everywhere you go you'll be the center of envy and attention.
I grew up with my dad's JAWA rig and when my kids were little, I got a Velorex for one of my Beemers. You can hotrod and lift it up in the air, you can power slide it thru corners and do amazing burnouts and doughnuts with them. Sidecars are COOL !!!!

 
#20 · (Edited)
Yes indeed! Sidecars are cool! But be warned. You will need to know all about it as eery time you stop you are going to get a lot of questions about it. Add that to the fact your better half will love you for it. I had a Triton/Watsonian in the early 70s.


And this is my current sidecar. It will be out at El Mirage next weekend to see if I built it right LOL!
 
#23 ·
In the '70 and ''80s there was a company called "Equilean" that made banking sidecars. They have a parallelogram mounting system and dampers. They worked really well but were a little clunky looking. Search the net, they are out there!
Robbie
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top