THEORY
While
it is not essential to understand the theory of riding a motorcycle
and sidecar it certainly helps, so here goes. The first thing
to understand is that the motorbike with the sidecar will feel
nothing like the motorbike without the sidecar. Riding a sidecar
combination has nothing at all to do with riding a motorcycle,
or driving a car, or trike, or any other vehicle you may have
experienced.
A
sidecar combination is not symmetric so turning left is not
the same as turning right. The most basic part of riding is
to understand what should and should not happen BEFORE you try
and ride it. When you accelerate all the power delivered through
the rear wheel which is on the right of the vehicle so the vehicle
will be getting pushed forward and to the left. When you close
the throttle on the bike, only the bike will slow down so the
vehicle will be pushed to the right. The trick to riding one
is to use this left and right push to help you. So on left hand
corners go in very slowly, turn the bars to the left and accelerate
slightly to drive the bike round the sidecar. On right hand
corners go in slightly faster then seems natural, turn the bars
to the right and roll the throttle off slightly allowing the
sidecar to swing round the outside of the bike. All combinations
shake the bars a little at low speeds, be prepared for it but
don't be scared of it.
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FIRST
RIDE
Pick
a very quiet location and time, even busy areas have times in
the early hours when there is not much traffic. Add between 20
and 40 kg of ballast to the sidecar, plastic bottles of water
are ideal. Motorcycle combinations can get very out of control
in a very short distance at a very low speed. If all else fails,
hit the kill switch and brake.
Adding
weight to the handlebars helps reduce the handlebar shake at low
speeds. Move slightly back in the saddle so you lean forwards
with your arms relaxed and bent slightly. You should have
more weight on the bars then when riding a solo. Pull away in
a straight line feeling for the slight push to the left as it
picks up speed. Then close the throttle and feel for the pull
to the right as you brake to a stop. Try this a few times until
you get the feeling for when the handlebar shake starts and how
wild it is. If at this point it is wild, try leaning forward more.
Do not lock your arms as this will only make it worse. Once you
have a feel for this and are comfortable with the width of the
combination try going for second gear. Remember as you clutch
in it will move to the right and as you bring the power back on
in second gear it will move back to the left like a small S shape
wobble. The smoother you change the less this will happen. Once
you are in second you will be able to get enough speed up to ride
right through the shake, but remember it will reappear as you
slow down again. All you have done is gone up and down in a straight
line so far. |
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FIRST CORNERS
Having
mastered pulling away, driving through the shake and stopping
in a straight line you will want to try some gentle corners. All
sidecars can and do lift off the ground if you turn left too quickly,
so take it easy. Try going right first. Pull away and get some
speed up in second or third, when you want to turn right turn
the bars to the right by pushing with your left palm at the same
time decrease the throttle slightly. If you have only ever ridden
solo bikes turning the bars will feel odd, they need to turn further
than you think. All direction changes should be done by pushing
with your palms, always add weight to the bars, never pull with
your fingers. Pulling the bars gives much less control, and takes
weight off the bars. Pulling is much more likely to cause handlebar
shake. If the front wheel is not pointing in the direction you
want the combination to go it will not go there. Even at low speeds
you should be able to feel the sidecar swing round when you close
the throttle. In the diagram above there is a 45 mph right hand
corner joining two 50 mph straight roads. When turning right you
should enter the corner at a high enough speed to carry the sidecar
round the bike as you close the throttle slightly and still leave
the corner at the correct speed. In this case you would enter
the 45 mph corner at 45 mph or faster and drop progressively to
40 mph on a trailing throttle through the corner.
Turning
left can seem a little frightening at first, but with care this
can be the most exciting part of sidecar riding. Pull away again
and get past the bar shaking speed then when there is plenty of
room turn the bars to the left by pushing with your right palm
and increase the throttle very slightly to power the bike round
the sidecar. I strongly recommend you have plenty of space because
if the sidecar does lift you can then let the bars come a little
way back to the straight ahead and the sidecar will land without
bouncing. Don't panic and turn hard right to bring it down as
this will slam it in to the ground and cause it to bounce. Also
do not close the throttle once the sidecar has lifted as this
can cause a rollover in severe cases. In the diagram to the left
there is a 45 mph left hand corners joining two 50 mph straights.
When turning left you should enter the corner at a low enough
speed to allow for the increase in speed as you accelerate gently
round the sidecar. In this case you would enter the 45 mph corner
at or below 40 mph and accelerate progressively up to 45 through
the corner. |
POTENTIAL
PROBLEMS
There
will be situations when accelerating gently to turn left and rolling
the throttle off slightly to turn right can not be achieved. The
following few examples are worth considering.
Turning
right out of a minor road onto a main road. The bike will be stationary
as you wait for a gap. You have to accelerate in order to move,
but you also need to turn right. On a wet road (or with a powerful
bike) it is possible to turn the bars right and accelerate only
to find the two forces have canceled each other, so it goes in
a straight line forward with the bars still pointing right. The
correct procedure is to split the manoeuver in to smaller stages.
First accelerate briskly in a straight line to the center line
of the main road, then turn the bars sharply to the right. At
the same time dip the throttle fairly sharply, just for a moment
before bringing the power on to accelerate up to the speed required
for the main road. As you do the throttle dip the sidecar will
swing round the bike surprisingly quickly and if you have got
all the timing correct the bike will still be moving and it will
be on the correct side of the road, facing the correct direction.
Turning
left going down a steep hill. This is never going to be easy.
You need to keep the speed down, and possibly even be braking
if the hill is really steep, but turning left is easier while
accelerating. There really is no clever tricks for this. If its
a long hill with loads of corners try scrubbing off additional
speed on the short straights. Even if it just means the brakes
can be released a little on the left corners, it all helps. The
important thing is not to let the whole thing run away. NEVER
put yourself in the situation where the entry speed is already
too high for a left hand corner. |
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ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
The purpose of this
page is to give you the basic theory and enough information
to be safe on the road. There are many techniques to learn,
but for the first few months just take it easy, concentrate,
read the road and enjoy riding the motorcycle and sidecar.
Please stay safe,
know your limitations, and take the time to really feel at one
with the motorcycle combination. They are a lot of fun, even
at low speeds. But remember, like any vehicle they can cause
serious injury or worse if ridden by someone with more confidence
than ability.
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