out for a ride through the countryside i stopped at a crossroads & another outfit came along side, this being extremely rare we pulled over at the next greasy spoon had tea & swopped stories for a good hour then swapped email addresses & went our separate ways i wondered if this was a rare thing in the usa as well or are sidecars more popular over there. Hank
There's not a lot of them in any one neighborhood, but they are getting more common. Yesterday I was helping my son move to a new home and passed a bright red Harley rig parked at a tavern. Unfortunately, I was part of a caravan so I couldn't stop. Last week, coming through Tomah, Wisconsin I met a guy on a white Harley rig. It is getting to the point that I see a different one once or twice a month.
Just the other day we were coming back from the machine shop and a pickup truck heading the other way waved us down. He was an older fella and asked us to come back to his place with him as he had something he wanted to show us. He said he had seen us go up the road quite a few times on the sidecar and wanted to talk to us. Anyhow come to find out that he was an avid sidecarist years ago and had a sidecar in his barn he wished to hook up. He had purchased a Honda shadow just for the sidecar he had acquired and health issues had prevented him from carrying on with his project.Earlier he had a couple of Goulding sidecars but sold them. The one he has now ( a dirty but otherwise pristine Velorex 560)was buried amongst a lot of 'stuff' in the barn. Anyhow it is now dug out and will be mounted soon.
Small world.
Every so often I see a guy with a Ural outfit on the Island I live on. I'm keeping my eyes open for a chance to talk with him and find out just how much "tinkering" you have to actually do on a Ural to keep it in shape. They look like they would be great a winter outfit for the pacific northwest.....
Quite a few in WA state - actually ~seeing~ another rig on the road (other than at an event or rally)? Well, it happens sometimes. 8^D
We have a sidecar rally in May, only 100 miles east or so from here... and there were a few at the SNOWCAMP gathering in January (lots of two-wheelers also).
Every now and then I see another rig going down 1st Ave in downtown Seattle and sometimes on 35th Ave SW but rarely outside the Metro area. I suspect that's because there are several dealers/manufacturers in the area and interest is high enough to give WA the dubious recognition of being the only State with a separate endorsement for 3 wheel motorcycles.
Just a while ago Barb and I were coming down 231 after looping out through the county roads checking on harvest and coming down through Tamrack Canyon onto the hiway. Hadn't quite got up to speed yet (in the cage) when I saw a sidecar outfit coming up behind us. It was a Harley/Liberty. He went around fast and we realized it was a long time friend we hadn't seen in a long time. I proceeded to catch up and flash my lights. It was obvious when he pulled over he thought some crazy person was behind him until he realized it was us. Had a good but brief visit since he was headed for a 6:00 PM meeting in Moses Lake....
There at least 5 in my area plus mine. I see them around from time to time. Its like seeing an old friend!!!!!
Originally written by david lloyd on 8/11/2008 6:05 PM
There at least 5 in my area plus mine. I see them around from time to time. Its like seeing an old friend!!!!!
Same here. GrubyGust is just down the road, as is Algross. Hahnda, Sheldon Aubut, Moodier, Newfiedad, Modelflyered and his lovely wife (with her own rig), and a few others are all within an hour of me. Extending that ring to 2 hours includes and even bigger list.
I live in the San Francisco bay area which is fairly densely populated. In the two years that I have been a sidecarist, I’ve probably seen maybe a dozen rigs. One day parked In front of my local pub were two Urals! Of course I had to stop for a pint a chat so for a short while there were three rigs parked on the curb!
I’m a paraplegic, so a sidecar with a wheelchair hanging off the back is pretty rare sight right? One day at an indoor short track race I spotted a Harley Springer with a Liberty sidecar. I noticed it too had Pingel electric shifter. Once inside I spotted a guy in a wheelchair and I went over introduced myself. What are the chances of two paraplegics riding Harley rigs in the same place at the same time?
I work in downtown seattle too. there's a guy with a beautiful blue bmw & california hack. parks it sometimes near the public library, can see it out my office window. jealous!
In the two years that I've had my rig I've seen only two
other rigs here in the Ft. Wayne, In area. Although Ft. Wayne has a population of over 300,000 apparently there's not much interest here.
On the other hand, my friend Ron in New Mexico regularly attends local sidecar events. Tom Hanson down there does a great job.
Wayne
Sometimes you'd be suprised at what is out there. My wife and I went "yard sale-ing" in Eau Claire one Saturday. We were on the Valkyrie outfit. At the first sale, an older gent took me to a small shop in his back yard and showed me a restored 1928 Harley with a sidecar and a second 1937 80c.i. Harley. He said the sidecar for it was at the body shop being painted. Later that same day we met a guy with a little M65 Harley with a sidecar on it and a ten year old with a sidecar on a minibike.
We seldom get out without someone telling about a friend or neighbor or relative who has one. Not all of them are on the road all the time. Just yesterday I discovered that a gentleman I correspond with on a regular basis, mostly about guns and shooting sports, is also a sidecarist. We've known each other for 2 or 3 years and he never mentioned it before.
