Searched but could not find. Can anyone direct me to a source for listing side car driving training by state or region? Secondary question. Would Hough's book suffice for such training to get one by?
Training is ran by the Evergreen safety council http://evergreenmotorcycletraining.org/
We also offer the book "Driving a sidecar outfit" by David Hough
And if you have any specific questions I am also a S/tep instructor.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
Slablog, I live in GA and can instruct you. Used to do sidecar instruction in IL. Do you have a rig?
I have the BMW F650GS Twin (800cc) and am wanting to ride out to let Jay at DMC install/attach a rig that I will buy from them. From there I want to ride it back home touring along the way going and coming. I've been across the country several times on this bike and my previous one. No stranger to long multi week rides. The strange part will be riding the side car back since I am new to it. A riding course here in Georgia would be great, but I don't have the rig yet.
Am also looking at taking the course out there once I get there. But doing it here beforehand would be even better. PM me a cell number and I'll call you. Or call me. I'll send you the number.
In my youth (the sixties ) I learned to side hack this way.
Ride until you crash. Get up and ride again not doing what you were doing when you crashed. Repeat as needed until you know how to pilot a rig.
Now days you can attend a school and learn from the mistakes of someone who probably learned my way. Much less painful and less expensive.
Any sidecarist that says he hasn't gone in the ditch is lying.
GuzziSteve - 1/1/2015 1:57 PM
Any sidecarist that says he hasn't gone in the ditch is lying.
And Earth is flat...
,,,or over the curb
Slablog,
The class that Evergreen offers is great. They supply both sidecar rigs and trikes during the class.
You might sign up for their class, ride out and drop your BMW with Jay, take the class, pick up your new rig and head East.
From where Jay is located in Enumclaw, WA you will be able to leave and have NO traffic for several hundred miles. You will have the Cascade Mountain range to cross, but not any major traffic to encounter.
Just a thought.
Keith
Slablog,
I did exactly what Marinebychoice is recommending, save I used our rig (after Jay built it) to take the training with, instead of the provided rigs. Outside of that difference, I completely endorse his recommendation.
My thought process was that you learn to do what you want to do by practicing what you plan on doing. What I planned on was driving my own rig, so I tried to gain as much experience in it as possible before setting off. The PNW safety folks pushed me far beyond my comfort level, so that when I did hit the highway, it was anti-climatic. (the thought did run through my mind that, given the options, if I was going to crash, I'd prefer to do it with their rigs as it would cost me much less, but practicality won out over frugality! 🙂 ).
After the class, I spent another day driving around local to Auburn, then we then set off to points east, then south, so as to avoid traffic as much as possible (and, frankly, to look at the forest), so I wouldn't get 'pushed' for speed. If traffic started to accumulate behind me, I'd just pull over at a wide spot.
By the time we hit any traffic worth speaking of, I was relatively comfortable.
I'd like to re-take the class 'sometime', and ride all of the different rigs so I can be a better driver.
edit: Please don't take this to mean that I learned everything, or that I am done learning; I keep learning and practicing everytime I take the rig out. What I learned in the class is how not to kill myself straight away. I also memorised everything I could find in print, including a great thread over at advrider called something to the effect of 'going into a turn too hot'.
