During our vacation in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, my wife and I visited Dauntless Motors of Covington. We arrived in Covington on the 20th of March at around 10:00 A.M. of a gorgeous sunny day that was a continuation ofa great weekend we had spent in the Seattle area.
The visit with Tara and Jay Giese was very nice and interesting. We had the chance to visit both the shop where sidecar parts, mounts, and accessories are fabricated and sidecars are finally installed to the bikes. In that area we counted at least five employees, all very busy but also very enthusiastic and patient to answer our bombardment of “why this?” “what is that?”. Jay took us to visit the area where the famous Kenna and Liberator sidecars are built. We were particularly impressed with two beautiful, almost complete, Liberators sidecars. There were two employees attending them. One sidecar was in the process of being coupled to a Honda GL1500. The Liberator’s wheel steers, by means of an ingenious mechanism, with the bike front wheel helping the steering effort of the rider and, very likely, reducing the sidecar wheel lift, on right turns, to a minimum. The second Liberator had been color matched to a BMW oil head sport bike. We overall quality of those sidecars were impressive. Both the color matching and the finish (carpeting, upholstery, trunk area, etc.) were excellent. Jay, very proudly, told us that, on request, he ships the Liberator to Europe too, where it was originally designed and manufactured (in Sweden, according to Jay).
Considering my sidecar riding style, I have always given priority to small, single seat sidecars like my Motek Bobby/Le (attached to my Yamaha V-Max) and EML Tour/T (attached to my Honda GL1100). However, the Dauntless Liberator would be my first choice sidecar in case I wanted to upgrade to a larger, more passenger friendly sidecar.
My wife, in particular, fell in love with the “Liberator”. My only hope is that…she wont push me to decide between my beloved EML Tour/T and the Liberator.
Thank you Tara and Jay for the great time spent with you!!
Sharrin and Piero Bassi
Minneapolis, Minnesota
FYI I have stopped by Dauntless Motors twice in the last several years. I only bought "Driving a Sidecar Outfit" and nothing else. I was treated very well. Jay stopped what he was doing and made me feel like I was his #1 customer.
When I finish rebuilding my rig I plan on taking it to Dauntless for a
"Seal of Approval."
Thank you Jay & Tara,
Bruce
Kalama, WA
And you didn't bring us any souvenirs???
Sure I did!! I'll give it to you at the SKUNK rally.
Piero
Thanks for the post! Now I know what they look like as Jay has bend backwards with my new Ural on the GS... with a lot of patience and good tips... all the way to "now" even exchanging the rear upper arm for a better one!
I know it takes talent... patience and perserverance to deal with the Public... I have to do it myself and sometimes... well... tell myself some kind words!!!... one has to have the Passion... Tara and Jay sure have it...
Be well... credit should always be due were it is deserved...
Ara
http://beemerchef.smugmug.com/gallery/1204831/3/61998880
