An interesting Summer and Fall with a lot of fun thrown in.
Once again I would like to thank those of you that have sent me the dozens and dozens of emails over the last months and allowed me to share in some of your life’s adventures. It’s been an interesting time and there are seven Sweet sidecars being built or rebuilt around the world. When I say around the world that’s not a stretch. One in South Africa and another in The Outback of Australia that are being built from scratch using my frame and mounting design. As I’ve mentioned before one of my original Sweet SL-440 rigs has made its way to Prince Edwards Island in Canada and the new owner has been enjoying it as he drives it around the island. Another Sweet SL-220 has found a new home in Vermont and is waiting to be rebuilt. I was lucky enough to be able to help out with mounting hardware and a new body section for the back end. This will be the second unit for this family and I know it will turn out as good as the first Sweet sidecar that they rebuilt it should look better than new. Young Joe from Massachusetts finished his Sweet SL-440 and got to take it out for a few shakedown runs before he put it away for the Winter. He and his fiancé have been driving some of the same roads as my Dad and Mom did when they were dating back in the 1930’s with my Dad’s Indian sidecar rig. We also received our first email to our new sweet sidecars.com website and it was a real surprise. Rusty a gentleman from my home town when I was building my Sweet sidecars dropped us a line. Rusty was a fellow that I knew and respected because he worked his tail off and always knew how important the customer is and that they can make or break a business. Rusty like any hard working businessman liked nice things. I would see Rusty out at different professional functions or with other friends of mine but we never hung out together but were at the same places at times. Like anything in life you know the people that matter in a community and that are doing the best they can, Rusty is one of these. As it turns out thirty five plus years go by and Rusty picks up one of my Sweet SL sidecars. A fellow purchased a BMW motorcycle with one of my Sweet sidecars attached to it. Rusty mentioned that it’s one that we have posed pictures of on our site. The fellow that purchased the BMW didn’t want the sidecar so Rusty picked it up and mounted it on one of his Sportsters. He was excited about it and said that his wife found it easier to drive than a two wheeler and that it ran straight and didn’t pull left or right at all. I’m thinking that Rusty may have wanted one of my sidecars for some time because he mentioned about three of my first sidecars that I built for friends that were people that he knew or were friends with. So it’s been fun hearing about other people’s adventures and at times being able to help out as I live and enjoy my own.
In some parts of the Southeast especially in my area we had the wettest summer in history but it finished up being one of the most pleasant in modern time. In mid-Summer I put together one of my Sweet Classic Sidecars and drove the wheels off it like a kid with a new toy putting on around eighteen hundred miles. I then wanted to prove a point and took my blue Sweet SL-220 Sidecar body and built one of my new frames for it and installed it on the same motorcycle. I had been saying for years that my Sweet Sidecars can be removed in three to five minutes and re installed in eight to ten. With two totally different Sweet Sidecars in the shop that fit the same bike I could prove my point and at the same time document it. I started out by attending different motorcycle events in the upstate of South Carolina and as the Summer wore on I spreading out to North Carolina. Most events are Harley related but not all and my Sweet Classic Sidecar has always been very well received. I found it funny that the old time riders that are getting up there in age like me could appreciate a sidecar but the yuppie late thirty, forty something’s don’t give it a second look. Not that I care if anyone takes a look but I just found it interesting. My Sweet SL-220 is a totally different deal. The Harley people won’t give it a second look unless they started out driving a Honda Magna and they then will comment on how they liked the Honda and drove theirs in some cases over one hundred thousand miles. Each sidecar will bring a smile to the faces of different people but it more or less matters as to what group they are with or in. It’s an interesting example of the “human condition” and how it relates to two different sidecar models.
Does a sidecar attract attention? You bet it does and the interest seems to be genuine. I’m not telling any of you that drive a sidecar rig anything new but most every place that I stop at as I’m out driving the roads people will come over for a look or wave as I’m driving by. When I stop to get gas the sidecar seems to become a focal point for good conversation with people from all walks of life. I don’t advertise but rather wait for someone to ask about the sidecar. The conversations can take different directions depending on who’s doing the asking. It can be a casual comment like “I like your sidecar, or I haven’t seen a sidecar in a long time”. I just say that “it’s a lot of fun” and leave it at that. I had one situation where a young guy no more that nineteen years old walked up to me and said “ I haven’t seen a sidecar in a long time”. I thought that was funny but only said one more time, “it’s a lot of fun”. I couldn’t help but think how long “is a long time” to a nineteen year older. Then others will ask “where did you get the sidecar” and when I answer that “I built it” the conversation always changes and sometimes can get interesting. The conversation can go in a few different directions depending on the person; if the person asking is a fellow that works with his hands the questions can be many and sometimes very technical. The more skilled asking about the sidecar will look over the mounts and rods and comment about me using tubing for the rods. I always come back with a short story on how the rods are made from solid one inch “Hot Rolled” steel and no
t tubing. I then explain about how the sidecar is mounted. It’s interesting how many out there are qualified welders and a conversation on how I bend the rods and stress relieve them or how the rods are welded to the brackets under the frame. Then the body and paint guys will look over the fiberglass body. Some that have worked with fiberglass will comment on how it always itches and how they will never work with it again. The more skilled will ask how I came up with the body style of the SL-220 and how they have never seen anything like that before. I do a short dissertation on how I’m one of those old designers that started out sculpturing fifty years ago and moved into fiberglass composites later on. The thing that surprised me the most is when they ask about the upholstery. They will except that I built the sidecar without question but when I say that I stitched up the upholstery they almost always look at me like I’m telling a “fib”. I then tell the story about how when I was in the process of building my first sidecar over forty years ago and went to a school friend that was just starting out with his upholstery shop. He told me that he could stitch up an upholstery for me and when I asked “how much” he told me around three hundred dollars. At the time the first sidecars were going to sell for four hundred dollars or four thousand in today’s money so three hundred dollars was way too much. So I went into Boston and purchased a brand new Konsew machine. I then went to the library and spent the afternoon reading about how to stitch upholstery. So by teaching myself how to stitch and over four hundred and fifty upholstery’s later this is what I end up with. That little story always gets a laugh and they always seem to take a second look at the upholstery commenting that “it looks good”. By this time the conversation will move to cars and “Hot Rods” and what cars they have built. A lot of car guys out there and it’s always fun talking about the set up. A car guy can understand it and when I go over the sidecar wheel lead, tow in and bike camber they get it the first time and then re-look at the sidecar and how it sits next to the motorcycle checking out the set up and almost always comment on the bike camber. The conversation sometimes moves to race cars and setting them up. We have a lot of dirt track racers in the South and they understand setting stuff up. When asked if I have a business card I pull one out of the pocket on the side of the upholstery. But today’s world is different and most people walking around today have a hand held device and if they are asking questions and I notice that they are carrying one I tell them to do a Goggle images “Sweet SL sidecars”. As we are standing there a full page comes up and at the top of the page is one picture of me in my younger years in front of three of my sidecars. It’s funny about the human condition; if you’re on the internet and they see a picture of you, you somehow become legitimate or official or something like that. I’ll never understand it. They then save the page and mention that they will be getting in touch with me. It seems to be the same thing in that the “Good Old Boy’s” are interested in the Sweet Classic for their older Big Harley. It’s funny because I don’t want to build any sidecars for the big Harley s but they still keep coming in my direction. Sometimes it’s difficult to figure life out and what may come your way.
I still belong to a few professional groups and we old retired guys meet once a month for lunch. It’s always fun seeing some of the old timers that I worked with years ago. Some will ask if I still have my Ferrari and when I say” no my Ferrari days are over “they then ask if I still have the Jags. I then tell them that I’m driving a motorcycle with a sidecar these days. After the first luncheon that I took a sidecar to the entire group had to file out to see this so called “sidecar”. The first sidecar that they saw was the black Sweet Classic and they thought it was something “different, interesting, cool and neat” were the comments. I even had to give out a few rides around the parking lot. The next month I had the blue Sweet SL-220 and when they saw it they just shook their heads smiling as one said “Sweet you’re always building something different”. So every month they ask “what am I driving today”.
There was a time at these luncheons that all we talked about were new ideas and business when most still had the Entrepreneurial spirit and “The American dream” was still alive and well but it’s funny but since 2008 when this new “Hope and Change “took over with the “Left’s” social reconstruction of our country all conversations relating to business and new start up’s have stopped. The only thing any of them will say is “things sure don’t look good out their”. At a luncheon in September I mentioned that I was tooling up with some new fresh ideas and improvements on my old design and have considered bringing my Sweet Sidecars back to the market place. I just thought that I would throw it out there and see what their response would be. I figured that I would never get another chance to throw out an idea like this in front of a crowd with such diverse credentials. Thinking back some of these gentlemen ran some of the largest corporations in the country at one time and had thousands and thousands of employees working under them. After being bombarded with questions from all sides for about fifteen minutes and answering all of them like a kid taking an oral exam. I must have passed because they all had positive things to say about my new proposed venture. One thing about this group is they will say it like it is and not pull any punches. I was somewhat humbled when former business men of this stature gave me nothing but positive feedback and nothing but encouragement with my new project. So as I headed back home after our monthly luncheon I had a new found excitement about my son and I’s new project bringing back our Sweet sidecars. It’s been a few months and a few more luncheons and each time I get grilled as to what’s the latest on my sidecar project. I will admit that it’s fun having an entire group behind you wishing you only the best in my next adventure.
I drive one of my sidecar rigs almost every day and being so close to the mountains I can be up in the hills in around twelve minutes from my equestrian farm. One of my neighbors who also grew up in Massachusetts and is a “motorcycle nut” hangs out with a group and whenever they are headed out will always invite me to come along. Our little gaggle of motorcycles with one sidecar had gotten to be one of the weekly regulars at some of the stop offs along some of these mountain roads this last Summer and Fall. It was funny when I first started riding with this group. They had the impression that I wouldn’t be able to keep up because after all,” I had a sidecar”. After the first outing one fellow from Europe named John was so impressed that he wanted a sidecar for his second bike just to run around town with. He didn’t realize that I built sidecars and had a shop full of them. He went looking on Craig’s List and found a complete rig for the price of just a used sidecar but he was too late and someone else bought it up. It was funny to see it on this site with the new owner asking questions. So for this Winter we put a deal together and next season there will be two of us with sidecars out running the mountain roads together with the other two wheelers.
Well thanks for reading and as I make more progress on my new Sweet 16 sidecar I will post pictures and show the steps
and design processes along the way.
Johnny Sweet,
Sweet Sidecars.
My new Sweet SL-220 sidecar built from a new mold. The chances of me building many SL-220 sidecars is slim to none but for me after building hundreds of sidecars the SL-220 was always my favorite. As I drive it down the road in my mind it takes me back to forty plus years ago when was just starting out on this grand adventure and I haven't had this much fun in years.
The new aluminum wheel I think looks good on the SL-220; they never had such a good looking wheels back in the day. I've put almost two thousand miles on this sidecar and out of the shop till now not one adjustment has had to be made. Soon this frame and bike will be going to Florida where a new "Carbon Fiber" body awaits it. It will be the first Sweet carbon fiber body that my son Eric is in the process of building. The body will be yellow with black with the carbon fiber showing through on the hood, side indent, and fender edge. It will also have one of our trademarked whale tails that will be accented in carbon fiber. It will emulate pretty much what my son built when he was in High School back twenty five years ago. The upholstery will also be in a carbon fiber look alike material that I've been working with. Under the blue seat is a carbon fiber seat done in black. I have the blue cover installed with snaps under the seat and the color can be changed in a matter of minutes so that when I change sidecars the seat matches the sidecar color. I'm looking at detailing the welting on the new carbon fiber sidecar with upholstery with a yellow carbon fiber for an added ascent. My son will be driving with my grandson David just like my son Eric and I did when he was young and my Dad and I did sixty plus years ago. Not forgetting my Grandfather and my Dad back in the mid 1930's with my Grandfather sitting in the sidecar with his wheelchair strapped on the back of the sidecar.
Mr. Sweet, as usual you have written another chapter or two for that book that you will publish one of these days. When you do let me know and I will be the first to buy a copy.
Also, thank you for taking the time to PM me about my 'going to take for ever to restore but having fun' Honda CB400a bike. I may never ride it but it will either get my Cozy
sidecar or a trike conversion done. I prefer the sidecar. Keep on writing and riding.!!!!
As of yesterday I am the new owner of a Sweet SL! Haven't picked it up yet, but it's officially mine.
I'll be sending along an email to the Guru of SL-ness shortly.
You lucky dog!!! Congratulations.
Are we having fun yet, you bet we are.
A year is about to end and a new one is upon us. After a hiatus from sidecars of twenty five years I’m back out on the road and really didn’t realize just what I had been missing. 2013 has had its up’s and downs and as we move on to 2014 the future looks good when it comes to sidecars in the upstate of South Carolina. I’ve decided to go back into the business of building a limited number of my custom Sweet Sidecars. This new project is turning into more fun than I ever imagined. The basic concept is the same as I started with over forty years ago but this time I come to the table with a lifetime of experience and a full library of information and knowledge. In reality it makes it a lot easier. In my area of the South sidecars are almost nonexistent and I intend on changing that just like I did forty years ago in the greater Boston area. I’ve only been on the road for six months and have made quite a few new friends all because of the sidecars. By building two different models of my Sweet sidecar and spending most good days out on the road I have a good idea of just what model today’s public will be interested in. I would have wished that it was anyone of my Sweet SL models but here in the South it’s not. Those that are interested drive Harley’s and prefer a more vintage look like the Liberty. So that’s what I will make available. I’m still in the design and development stages of my new Sweet 16 model but with all that my friends and I are working on the Sweet 16 won’t be finished for some time to come. One by one old friends have shown an interest in my sidecars and as I write this we have six different Sweet sidecar rigs in different stages of completion. We have also received information about three other sidecars (non Sweet of course) that have been tucked away in garages. With some luck we may be able to talk the owners into once again taking them out and driving them. One of the biggest surprises came in a phone call last week from a friend that I’ve known for over twenty years. He’s an early Harley Davidson collector and has eleven Harley Davidson 45’s. He just this year ordered and received one of those Goolding metal reproduction sidecars manufactured out of Poland. He was thinking of me remembering when I was building my Sweet Liberty Sidecars for the “good old boys” and I gave him one of my fiberglass bodies so that he could fabricate a frame and build a sidecar for himself. He asked to be included in our little sidecar gaggle when we start riding when the weather warms up. Discussions of a sidecar group or club have been talked about but in the end we may do as the local BMW motorcycle group is doing. No club meetings, not club dues, no politics just a bunch of people meeting with no agenda at a prescribed restaurant once a week on the weekends just for the enjoyment of riding. After breakfast they assemble and head out on the road with no firm plan just riding for the shear enjoyment. A group of six to ten sidecars should attract some attention and who knows along the way possible some new people may get interested in a sidecar. Back forty years ago I grew the sidecar numbers in New England from a handful to hundreds in just a few short years. If we could have twenty five new units out on the road in two years I would consider that a success. I’ve learned over time with lots of experience that you don’t promote the sidecars when you’re out driving them but wait until someone shows an interest and then be as polite and informative as you possible can. First impression’s always stick and if you are approached by a new prospective customer and act like a fool you not only loose a new client but they also are the lesser for it because if they are turned off by the new experience they never get to see or enjoy what a great adventure being part of sidecars can really be. This is just my opinion and treating people in this manner has worked for me my entire life. On rare occasions you will meet the moron that just does not like sidecars and can’t help himself and has to tell you but I never give them the time of day. I truly believe that in this time in history there are a lot of people out there just yearning for something different and new and a sidecar sure will make someone different; if that’s what they are looking for.
The new group of guys that are interested in my sidecars are friends that I’ve known for years. It’s funny that we all did the Hot Rod or airplane thing and at this time in our lives it’s moved to sidecar of all things. All of them are bike guys and have done the custom and hot bike thing and with age the sidecars seem to be in order. All of us are looking forward to the upcoming year and the many trips up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.
As the year ends it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention that we lost one of the good ones this past year. The late great designer Richard “Dick” Lyon passed away last Fall and he will truly be missed. Dick was instrumental in our collaboration of the designing of the original SL-110 sidecar body over forty years ago. The SL stands for “Sweet-Lyon” and without Dick I’m convinced that the design would never have been what we ended up with. When I took the SL-110 and modified it into the SL-220 I had Dick come over and run his hands over the surface to make sure that I “had it”. A phrase used by designers when the final model is completed and ready for production. Dick anointed the SL-220 and I was grateful for that. We stayed friend for a lifetime and with Dick’s passing it’s just another reminder that “nothing is forever”. Rest in peace my friend “you did good” as some say.
I would like to take this time to thank all of you that take the time to write to me and allow me to share in part in your lives even if it is through the written word. Believe me I’m truly humbled by that.
Well my little group and I wish everyone that reads this thread a Happy New Year and let’s hope that it will be a safe, healthy and prospers New Year.
Thanks for reading,
Johnny Sweet
Sweet Sidecars
Test driving a new rig.
New/old frame the simplest of design. It's totally adjustable and can be mounted and set up and running in one hours time.
Another chapter for the book, Mr. Sweet. Beautiful side cars and that frame is a winner. Your business philosophy always a winner no matter what you are doing and is the only correct way to deal with people
in general.Happy New Year to you and may the new year bring you success.
SWEET SIDECARS ARE BACK IN PRODUCTION:
It's been some time since I've posted and once again I would like to thank
all of my many followers that are so kind as to write and in some cases phone me. I’ve receive almost one hundred emails
over the last year asking me to “please post about what’s going on in my life and what’s the latest with my
Sweet Sidecars”.
Around a year and a half ago I was with a friend that at one time was the head of the Kennedy Space Center.
We were talking about retirement and he said something that made me think for a minute. My thinking about
retirement was once you retire your done and out of the free market place. Dan on the other hand told me
that “he had retired six times and was back in it with both feet”. I reflected on Dan’s statement and it turned
around my thinking. Over the next months I decided to re join the market place and bring my Sweet Sidecars
back into production but in limited numbers. What happened next has been interesting.
A year ago I was thinking that I would be quite pleased if by the end of 2015 not 2014 I could have twenty
five new Sweet sidecars out on the road. It's been less than a year and I just finished up the twenty fourth
Sweet sidecar and I’m working on number twenty five. I’m a year ahead of my projections. I never thought
that the market or the interest would be so positive and some day's I have to almost pinch myself. I started the
year 2014 with a plan to build three Sweet sidecars for a motorcycle show. The show was in March, 2014 in
Charlotte, North Carolina. My friend John and I ended up building two new Sweet Classic sidecars installing
them on Sportsters. We also built a Sweet Classic specifically for the show with no rods or brackets figuring
that they; that's those interested would figure it out. Well, they didn't and we ended up spending more time
explaining what the show sidecar was all about. You would think that someone with my experience would
know better but it just goes to show you that best laid plans can and go astray. They thought that I was selling
just the body. It was funny because many at the show would pass through one hall where John's two
Sweet Classic sidecars were in t
he bike show. Then walk into the manufacturers area and see the display
sidecar and not figure it out. In the end, we learned a few things, but we did have some interest and I sold a
few sidecars.
My friend John had a great show entering both his Sweet Sidecars against many of your big hog factory built
rigs. The show in Charlotte is one of your better shows because they let the people make the choices as to
what bikes win. Many of the other shows be it cars or bikes will have the entrants pay an absorbent entry fee
so that the trophies are paid for and then the show promoters will hand them out to their friends. This was a
peoples choice bike show and as luck would have it John won not only first place but a second with his other
sidecar. To say that the hog guys were upset would be an understatement. All I did was stand back in the
crowd and smile as I listened to all the griping. It was the first time that John had ever won a trophy and he
surely was excited not only winning one but two. The promoters liked his Sweet sidecars and asked John to
bring them back in the Fall for the next show. As it turned out we were just to busy doing other things to
attend the Fall show. Possibly this Spring we will make another appearance.
The show is over and the crowd has gone as John stops for a quick picture.
Once the Charlotte show was over we went back to the shop and the orders started to come in. We met some
great people and had a good time building and teaching the new owners how to drive their new
Sweet sidecar rigs. Along the way something very surprising happened. I figured that at this time in history
the only interest would be with my Sweet Classic sidecar. But once some prospective customers saw my
Sweet SL-220 and 440 sidecars they were not only interested but they wanted one. I had some SL models in
stock and the interest in them surprised me. At times I’ve thought that I’m to close to this sidecar stuff can’t
see it like someone that’s new to sidecars. Envisions it A good example is when I’m out on the road with
one of my sweet SL-220 sidecars and stop for gas or a snack. People come up to me all the time and ask
“how I like the sidecar”. The answers always the same as I reply, “I’m sure having a lot of fun with it”.
They then ask “where I got it” and when I mention that “I build them“ the conversation always gets
interesting. The average person in this day and age doesn't know anyone that manufactures something.
They go to a store or dealership and never think about how the product got their. When they meet someone
that actually builds something they always have interesting questions. I always get a lot of enjoyment out of
talking with these people. I know that they will never want or consider a sidecar but the interaction with
them is always enjoyable. Especially when I describe the manufacturing process in simple terms that they
can understand. The smile on their face is always great to see. Then if they at one time in their life worked
on a line producing something. They will explain just what they did and a one minute conversation will last
for five minutes. In the end a new friend is made with sidecars being shown in a good light. When I mention
that I sculpted the original sidecar design over forty years ago they're always quite surprised.
An interesting little side note: I had a thirty, forty something tell me not to build my sidecars with the wing
on the back because they would never sell. So when I started driving the roads and showing one of my
Sweet SL-220 units with the whale tail it seemed that the comments about the little wing were always
positive. Some that wanted an SL-220 or 440 would ask if they could get it with the little wing and we even
had one lady that called it a whale tail. It always reminded me of an add that I saw on TV about a guy
selling a green AMC Gremlin. Who would want a green Gremlin in this day and age? Then it shows some
young guy in his bedroom on his computer all excited as he hits the buy button. The room is all green with
everything in it green. Go figure; with three hundred million people there is a buyer for almost everything.
It’s just finding the buyer. So even though my little whale tail isn’t for everyone I still have people interested
in it.
Over the Summer months I spent a lot of time out on the road and it didn’t take long to meet and become
friends with other military brothers. One thing about us military veterans is that we befriend and respect any
veteran but their is an unwritten pecking order that’s never talked about. Many times Marines will hang with
Marines and Navy with Navy and that’s the way it should be. Then their are us Army Combat vets that hold
the “Combat Infantrymen badge”. It’s something that’s never talked about but we holders of the “CIB” do
hang out together and will find each other in a crowd. We are friends to all but the bond between the
CIB brotherhood is a bond that few understand. This last Summer I met and spent time with many new
CIB brothers that without my sidecar I may have never met. Most are from my generation but more and
more are from the Iraq War. Many of these young vets need help just like many from my generation did
over forty five years ago when we came home. Seeing one generation of CIB brothers reach out to the
next generation is comforting to say the least.
So when I was asked by a young CIB brother if I would build a sidecar for both he and his “Service Dog”
I jumped at the chance. Mike was with the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and did his time in hell as an
11 B. If you the reader are wondering what an 11 B is all about “look it up”. During his deployment Mike
at one point spent four days in a fox hole that started out shoulder deep and after firing 20,000 rounds was
knee deep with spent rounds under his boots. This is probably something that the protected will never
understand but it’s the way it was for Mike. It’s interesting in that the rest of our great nation were home
complaining because the cable TV went out or that they were out of Chicken Mc Nuggets. It is what it is
but for Mike his world was changed forever.
When Mike asked if I would build him a sidecar it was not only an honor and a privilege but it became a
“Labor of Love” from one CIB brother to another.
Mike with his service dog Annie who took right to Mikes new Sweet SL-440 sidecar.
Mikes new Sweet sidecar when it was painted honoring those missing in action and with the CIB badge on the whale tail.
I travel with friends driving one rig with a Sweet Classic sidecar and the other with a Sweet SL-220.
Just up the street from my shop is the Cherokee Scenic Trail and at the local four way stop intersection is a
gas, restaurant and service area. At almost any time during the warm season there can be any number of
motorcycles coming and going. As we hung out over the Summer our sidecars were seen by hundreds of
people. At first both John and I were surprised at the interest and response to the sidecars. We soon figured
that we needed some business cards to pass out. Vista Print has the best deals. We have gotten use to the
attention the sidecars bring. It doesn't matter where we go the interest and attention is always the same.
It's something people never get to see and the differences in the two models make it interesting. The Harley
people both woman and men will look over John’s Sweet Classic sidecar and not give the SL-220 a second
look. Then you will have a guy or gal that drives a Harley that will walk over and start asking questions
about the the SL-220. Some have said “I have two other bikes one a BMW and the other a Honda”. So not
all the Harley people snub the SL-220. In fact as the year has passed I’ve found that many motorcycle riders
have as many as four different bikes. So the interest in all my model sidecars come from people with many
different brands of motorcycles. This was not the case forty years ago.
Some of you may like this little story. At times the study of human nature can be interesting. One Saturday
morning John and I pulled into the service area and the parking lot was full of bikes. We split up and parked
in front of the store but on opposite ends of the parking lot. A big mouth guy walks up and had some
comment about my little red rocket being a crotch rocket or some such thing, that is the SL-220. I’m so
thick skinned that stuff like that just rolls off. He was all Harley with all the crap, tats, piercings, and full
leathers. Not that I think that’s a bad thing it’s just an identifier. He then walked to the other end of the
parking lot running his mouth the entire time and then he saw John’s Sweet Classic sidecar on his Sportster.
He asked who owned it and John walked up and introduced himself in his European Polish accent .
The guy went nuts and wanted to know where John got the sidecar. John told the guy that “we build em”.
The guy was all excited and wanted to know how he could get one and how much. So John told the guy to
follow him and they walked back across the parking lot in my direction. I was talking to some fellow bikers
Vets that I have gotten to know over the past months as we hung out at the corner. As they were walking in
our direction I mentioned to my fellow Vets about the guy having a “Big Mouth” and what he had said.
As John walked up he introduced the guy to me and said “that’s Johnny, he’s the designer and builder”.
At that time my Vet friends in the group chimed in and the guy didn’t know what to say. He knew that I had
heard his comment because he was purposely trying to be insulting. That one in a thousand just can’t seem
to help them self's; they are what they are. I was polite to the guy but told him “I don’t think sidecars are
for you” and left it at that. Moral of the story follow one of the Golden Rules. One should not treat others
in ways like one would not like to be treated. He was then ignored by everyone and got the point and walked
away. “No sidecar for you ”! In another time in history when all us young former combat soldiers were just
back home we looked at guys like him and just figured that we will allow you to live another day.
Funny how some things never change; the one in a thousand will always pop their ugly head up.
My Little Red rocket:
I decided to do something a little different on the side. We have a former BMW 1100 racing bike and figured
why not install one of my Sweet SL-220 sidecars with the whale tail on the back. I looked over the bike and
figured it would need a sub frame under it to mount the lower rods . Like all my sidecars the way I set them
up is different. My set up allows me to remove the sidecar in three to five minutes and re install it in five to
ten. The advantage is that there is never any need for any adjustment when remounting the sidecar.
The "Little Red Rocket" as we call it was built in a matter of just a few day’s. As we were assembling it the
idea of attaching F
errari badges on it came about. I’ve always liked the Ferrari’s and in the mid1990’s my
wife and I had a Testarossa. So the Ferrari sidecar theme was born. It’s been great fun interacting with
people when they ask “is that a Ferrari” or “I didn’t know they made a Ferrari motorcycle”. We always tell
them the same thing, “It’s not a Ferrari motorcycle but a BMW. So the little red rocket with the Ferrari badge
s makes it to a lot of the different places including a few bike shows. I pull it right in the middle of all the
Harleys and It’s always a fun time because you never know what the response will be. It’s funny but it’s always positive. Plus I’m an old vet and the bond that we vets have is a brotherhood that the protected will never understand. Fun is always being had by all.
The old man with his Little Red Rocket and a Buell with a SL-220 sidecar on the side.
My new sidecar customers are more astute than one would think.
When word got out that I started building my old/new Sweet sidecars once again I started getting calls and
visits from people that had been following me for years on the sidecar forum. and through word of mouth.
I didn’t know this at first and thought it interesting that they knew so much about my sidecars and how they
are built. Many of the twenty plus new customers have been driving sidecar rigs for years and a few have
had as many as five other sidecars. So when they decided on having me build them a new Sweet sidecar I
did have to ask; “why me? Some of the answers were interesting to say the least.
As in the past going back decades my customers are looking for a sidecar that they can easily remove in a
short time and re install it without it being a big production. Most will only drive their sidecar rig a few
thousands miles a year. If anything the sidecar rig is something different; a status symbol if you will.
Others need a sidecar because they can no longer hold their bike up and others need a sidecar for their pet
dog. So as you can see the needs are different but the end result is always the same. Customers are looking
for a product that’s well designed and within their price range. Not everyone is looking for all the frills, bells
and whistles. There looking for a sidecar that’s bare bones and that’s what I build.
This is a copy of just one of the emails that I have received from customers.
Johnny,
I can't tell you how happy I am with the rig! You were right, it cruises at 75 mph
on I-95 and I can steer it with one finger. I'm running 50 lbs of sand in a duffel bag on the
floor. With that, I haven't had the wheel lift. It gets a little light on exit ramps, but
completely predictable. This is my 7th rig and I've driven 2 others, without a doubt the best rig
I've ever had. It poured Monday so i drove the truck to work, every other day this week I've
taken the hack. I just love it. I put a Ural nose rack (I had it in the garage) on the trunk.
I have a bag with my rain suit and bike cover on it. Just for show more than anything.
I plan on taking the dog out in it this weekend. Thanks again for everything, I'll keep you
posted and send pictures of its adventures. Dave
Dave's new Sweet Classic sidecar mounted on his duel sport BMW.
What’s up for 2015:
I’m projecting that the same thing will happen regarding my Sweet sidecars as happened back in the 1970’s
now that the words out that a guy is building sidecars in the South. Building sidecar seems to be more fun
the second time around. Not that it wasn’t a great time the first time around but I’m an old man now and
consider every day is a gift. At the moment I have ten individuals planning on having a Sweet Sidecar built
next season. Again that remains to be seen. I’ve been asked about a new body design from two different
gentleman for their new modern day Indian Classic motorcycles; so that’s a possibility. Designing and
modeling a new product takes time and energy and in the end the Indian sidecar market would most likely
be very limited. In the end I like what I’m building and may just stay with what I have.
A few more pictures of some of the different Sweet sidecar that I've recently built.
Another Sweet SL-220 mounted on a BMW in blue.
Dad purchased a Sweet SL-220 sidecar for his daughter so I let Dad drive the Little Red Rocket as his daughter learned how to drive her new sidecar.
New 2014 out of the box Honda with a new Sweet SL-220 sidecar.
New Sweet Hot Rod Sidecar.
Thanks for reading,
Johnny Sweet
Sweet Sidecars
Johnny,
Very glad to hear from you again!!
I always enjoy your posts.
Roman
HOT ROD SIDECAR:
I received an email from a fellow from Charlotte North Carolina asking if I could build him a custom sidecar
for his Victory motorcycle. He sent along a picture of a sidecar rig that some guy in Europe had built. I told
him that I had never seen a sidecar like that before but knew where the body came from. It was a scaled down
version of a 1933 Ford Hot Rod roadster. They installed these Hot Rod bodies on Go Karts back in the 1970’s
and 80’s. I also mentioned that I had a friend that had one of those little Hot Rod fiberglass bodies. He then
asked how much I would charge. As we talked about his new project he told me that he wanted the sidecar
mounted on the left side. I told him that I only built one sidecar rig with the sidecar on the left and that it was
a different design. I told him that I wouldn’t build him a sidecar and mount it on the left side of the motorcycle.
He was putting his passengers in harms way. He informed me that he wouldn’t compromise and wanted the
sidecar mounted on the left. He was told “good luck with that and that I wouldn’t be building it for him”.
The idea of a Hot Rod sidecar was planted in my mind and I decided to run with it. I picked up the
little hot rod body and made a few changes to it like rolling the rear pan just like we did with the real cars
back in the day. I then made a mold so that I could build an unlimited number of bodies if needed.
We built a prototype and installed it on one of our Sportsters. Right out of the box it has been a big hit
everywhere it’s been driven. I have a few customers lined up for the Hot Rod sidecar this Spring but will
only consider mounting the Hot Rod sidecar on an American made bike. It’s a Hot Rod thing.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE LIFE WILL TAKE YOU.
My good friend Mike gave me the original Hot Rod body and when we stopped by his shop for a visit with three
different sidecars including the Hot Rod sidecar I was told that he wanted one. Mike is staring in a reality show
that they have been filming for the last eight months. I’ve known Mike and his entire family for over twenty
five years. Southern “Good Old Boy’s” not red necks, “Red Necks” are the worst but good old boy’s are the
salt of the earth. Some Northerners have a hard time figuring that out when they move South but that’s their
problem. Mike and his groups new show is called Back Road Outlaws” that will come out in mid 2015 with
three cable channels bidding for the rights. The show is similar to many of the reality shows that they have
today. The guys are “car guys” and the show is based around drag racing, mud running and car shows.
They build cars and race em with all the conflicts thrown in for good measure. At the moment one hundred
episode are scheduled for filming. As I write this they have nine episodes completed and in the can.
The merchandising schedule is in the design process and all of the pieces should fall into place by mid year
2015. The plan is to have me install one of my Sweet Hot Rod sidecars on an American made motorcycle.
It will be featured with “Big Block Mike” driving it with his actress girlfriend riding in the sidecar.
His reality girlfriend looks like Dazy Duke and should look great riding in the sidecar. Will all this come to be?
If it doesn’t then millions will have been lost. If the Back Road Outlaws reality show ever catches on then
possibly it could boost the popularity for sidecars like nothing before it. I remember when I was a teenager back
in the 1950’s and they had a show called “77 Sunset Strip”. Norm Grabowski’s T Bucket Hot Rod was featured
in it and hot rods were never the same again. To this day thousands of T Buckets have been built and it traces
itself back to that show and Norms little T Bucket. I look at it like this. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Only time will tell if it all comes together and the public world wide takes to it. Look at some of the nutty stuff
that’s on the TV and one only has to wonder. Check out Back Road Outlaws on U Tube.
The little Red Rocket up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Good to see you back and back to making sidecars. Mr. Sweet, your designs set the standard for others to follow. I particularly liked the 'hot rod' and the 'whale tail'.
Wolfhound - 2/2/2015 10:27 AM Good to see you back and back to making sidecars. Mr. Sweet, your designs set the standard for others to follow. I particularly liked the 'hot rod' and the 'whale tail'.
Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm not sure if my sidecar design should be a standard for others to go by. Things like that are very subjective and everyone has an opinion as to how a sidecar should be designed. Many fine company's are spread out around the country and each has their own distinctive design. Designing and setting up a sidecar is not very difacult if your trained in a few different disciplines. In my opinion the most important aspect of sidecar manufacturing is the frame and where the mounting brackets will attach to the motorcycle. The set up as to where the sidecar wheel should be positioned along with the "tow in" and "motorcycle camber" are pretty much a standard throughout the sidecar industry. When they are not the results are sometimes disastrous. Remember your only dealing with three wheels and the two motorcycle wheels are a fixed unit of measure for each model and brand. When one sets out to become a designer or builder of sidecars the frame and mounting brackets become very important in the total design. When it comes to the mounting rods my design is totally different than anything else on the market. I've been asked a number of times if I would post pictures of how I build the mounting brackets, frame and rods. With the design being different it's still very simple to fabricate. I have the use of a complete machine shop and never use it. If a guy has fabricating skills and is a very good welder he could build a frame complete mounted to a bike for under a few hundred dollars or even less. You can't use one of those table top mig welders with the flux core. If a guy is a good welder with good equipment it's possible to build my frame. Look at Roman; he did it in a matter of a few days. I fabricate the mounting brackets and weld up a frame in just a few hours with simple hand tools, a drill press, and a cutting torch. The torch is to bend the one inch "Hot Rolled" round rods. I build the frame first and mount it to the bike before I fabricate the swing arm with the wheel and shock. It's the simplest way to do it and when it's time to set up the wheel it's set up right out of the box and ready for the road without any further adjustment needed. I've read about people tweaking their sidecar rigs for weeks and I still "don't get it". How about setting it up the correct way the first time and forgetting about it so that they can go riding. In the last year I walked eight different guys through the building process with nothing more than emails and pictures without any problems. One as far away as South Africa.
Well thanks again for the kind words.
Johnny Sweet PE.
Sweet Sidecars
jsweet450@yahoo.com
A sidecar frame set up doesn't get any simpler than this.
I agree with your opening statements. However you have a gift and are a true artisan. I have no doubt that any one with skills could copy your designs but they could not put your 'signature' on the end product. I predict that your sidecars will be classics long after we are all gone. You have my philosophy: Never Retire.
Don Johnny,
¡Saco el sombrero ante Usted!
I pull my hat in front of You!
What cannot get adjusted, cannot get misadjusted.
What is not on it cannot break.
Beef, where beef is needed.
I love your clear frame design. Simple and straight forward.
Most important the person who sets up the rig has to know what he does...reading your history over the last years with all back feed comments it makes it obvious, You talk out of experience and know exactly what you do.
Do it, not talking, that is your way to be.
Thank you for the living example to follow.
God bless you and may he be always on your side.
Sven
Building sidecars in the twenty first century:
My thinking over the last year has been that if a strong sidecar market does exists then there is room around the country for more manufacturers. I didn't always think this way and at one time thought that possibly sidecars were dead. Boy was I ever wrong! I just have a passion for the Entrepreneurial spirit and want to see anyone that has the same spirit thrive. This last year has proved to me that a need for sidecars does exists. Like anything in life it will take time to reach those that are either looking for a sidecar or have been thinking about one. In the end they may never be reached because of poor marketing and they may never know the fun that they can have with a sidecar. And yes I do understand that many are totally against sidecars. Ill be honest with you. I spend no time with these types. I did have one customer that had a best friend that just hated sidecars. The friend spent most of his time trying to talk his buddy out of purchasing my Sweet sidecar. The thing is without the sidecar the customer couldn't ride. He needs the sidecar to hold up the bike. Many individuals that are getting up in age need some kind of help holding the bike up or their done riding. It's funny but when Ric got his new Sweet Sidecar his buddy that was totally against sidecars is now one of their biggest supporters; go figure. Situations like Ric's are one of the reasons why the trike industry became so popular. Some people need that third wheel. Isn't it interesting since the economy went South that the trike market almost priced themselves out. The value of money and who has it will always dictate how well a market will do.Trikes are being sold but nothing like in the past. To get a feel for how the public looks at sidecars I had to go out on the road and spend a lot of time with my friends riding our sidecar rigs and stopping wherever motorcycle people were gathered. Almost always a crowd will surround us asking questions. My approach is simple, I only interact when asked. My thinking is that no need to push sidecar onto anyone that's not interested in them. Now the distance between someone interested in purchasing a sidecar or just curios can be miles apart. But I will be honest with you; I don't mind being an ambassador for sidecars, if anything it's a lot of fun and you meet the most interesting people. At the motorcycle shows and events that we attend I almost always visit with the show producers and get a gate number. Almost always they will give it up. If I sell two sidecars at a show and the gate was two thousand people well that's one in a thousand. These numbers have been consistent for this past year. Is this a window into the true sidecar market? That's really hard to say.
Advertising on Craigs List:
I had customers and sales but my friend John thought that an add on Craigs List for sidecars might work. He and another friend put an add togehter and posted it. Three days went by and I figured that it was a waist of time. Then after three days the phone started to ring and every day after that for around ten days I received calls from prospective customers. I sold and built some sidecars and made a few new friends. Once the add dropped down and out of sight the calls stopped and that's to be expected; out of site out of mind.. A month or so had past and I was busy building sidecars and figured why not give it another try. I constructed what I thought was a good well thought out add with a dozen pictures and posted it. Within five minutes the phone rang. At first I thought that it was someone else but soon realized that people are looking all the time and timing is everything. In my opinion if one wants to generate interest in their product; in this case sidecars then Craigs List does work. Or at least it does for me and it's free. The thing with Craigs List is that there is now way of knowing how many people look at the add and no way of analyzing the numbers.
We have finally moved into the computer age with our Sweet Sidecars:
My son Eric who's a World Class Composites Engineer built his first sidecar when he was just a kid. He also stopped riding motorcycles and sidecars for over twenty years. It's been some long exciting years for Eric and at this time in history he's at the top of his game. With years of engineering experience behind him in both the automotive and aviation industries he now today running a composites company in Florida. With me bringing back our Sweet Sidecars Eric wanted in and has taken it one more step into the future. He built the first Carbon Fiber Sweet SL-220 Sidecar body. Like any good design the SL-220 tailors it self nicely to the carbon fiber materials. So when he brought home his first new Sweet sidecar in over twenty five years his three and a half year old son David went nuts. David calls his new Sweet Sidecar "His Rocket". I never said a word to anyone but I had been thinking about sculpturing a half size Sweet SL-220 body for David so that it could be mounted to one of those small electric motorcycles for kids. That way David would have his own little Sweet SL-220 sidecar rig. What happened next surprised me. Eric took his carbon fiber body and had it digitized and the file placed on his computer. The next step is to have a piece of foam cut with one of those CNC machines using the CAD file from the digitized SL-220 body. When I mentioned to Eric that I was thinking about sculpturing a half size SL-220 body for my grandson David he said "great idea but we will just use the CAD file and make it half scale. Then CNC a body in foam". I couldn't help think for a second about all that the late Dick Lyon and I went through to get the original SL shape and in an instant in the twenty first century it can be done with the push of a few computer keys. What a world we live in. I guess in reality I am an old dinosaur but I don't mind because this new age stuff is really exciting. The days of modeling by hand are almost a thing of the past.
Seeing my SL-220 sidecar body in CAD on the computer screen for the first time was interesting to say the least.
The digitizing process.
I'm not sure if other sidecar company's have gone to this technology but it sure would make it easy when designing a new body shape.
My grandson David standing for the first time in "His Rocket". Later the sidecar was finished with his car seat bolted in place and off they went.
Some of you may notice the space between the sidecar body and the bike. It looks a little wide doesn't it? It is, the sidecar was set up that way so that two suitcases that hold archery bows could be transported between the sidecar and the bike. The extra width will work fine providi
ng that the set up is correct.
Again thanks for reading,
Johnny Sweet PE.
