By way of introduction, I am the founder of the United Sidecar Association, or USCA. The USCA began in Chicago in the mid 1970s and now has members worldwide. Driving a motorcycle with a sidecar presents challenges that are unique to motorcycles. These challenges, especially regarding turning, were not covered by any motorcycle course of instruction, especially those provided by the MSF. We therefore developed our in-house training programs and over the next several years were instrumental in offering training programs in as many as eleven states using voluntary instructors. As the programs developed and became more involved so the need for an independent course became apparent. This was provided by Evergreen in WA.
Unfortunately, their primary author had a pet theory regarding turning theories. He believed that counter-steering, or steering reversion occurred whenever the sidecar wheel left the ground, even if the loss of contact was momentary, and even if the travel was in a straight line. He espoused that under these circumstances that the vehicle must then be driven as a solo motorcycle – i.e., to go left one must turn the bars right, and vice versa. This you will find on Page 41 of the Sidecar-Trike Operator manual referenced. This manual was prepared by and in conjunction with the Evergreen Safety council.
http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/trikemanual.pdf
After considerable discussion with the Evergreen Safety Council these erroneous theories were deleted from their manuals and also from their teachings. However, it still remains in your manual. It is your manual that potential sidecarists must study and pass questions based on the manual.
What is the problem?
During the period when these erroneous theories were taught the number of sidecarists who had accidents, some fatally, increased. Only when this was brought to our attention, and we in turn brought it to the attention of Evergreen, did we get back to normal. We thought from previous contacts with your office that the problem with your manual had been addressed – but it seems this has slipped between the cracks.
As you can understand, if the wrong theory is used in operation, and one attempts to turn right by counter-steering or by turning to the left, that an accident will likely occur, and hence it is imperative that your manual be corrected, especially when it is in the public domain and accessible to the public at large.
There is one specific situation when counter-steering is effective for a motorcycle with a sidecar attached. When an outfit is in a right hand turn then centripetal forces act, through the center of gravity, which push out away from the sidecar opposite to the center of radius of the turn. This creates an overturning moment or couple and tends to lift the sidecar off the ground. However, there is also a restoring couple acting down on the sidecar wheel based on the weight of the vehicle and its occupants. Whether the sidecar wheel remains on the ground or lifts off the ground depends on the relative magnitude of these two couples. It should be pointed out in passing that these forces also apply to ALL two-track vehicles from cars to PUs to SUVs to trucks with trailers and so on. And they also apply whether turning to the right or to the left. The centripetal force increases with the square of the speed and inversely with the radius of turn – so it is much greater at higher speeds and with increasing tightness of the turn. However, just because the sidecar wheel is off the ground is no cause for alarm. It is in balance with the forces above, just as the inner wheel of a sports car may be off the ground as in spirited cornering.
Once the sidecar wheel has just begun to lift, then as the speed increases further and/or the radius of turn decreases so the center of gravity gets higher from the ground, and also gets closer to the tip over line between the front and the rear wheels of the motorcycle. It is only when the speed becomes so high and/or the radius of turn is so small that the center of gravity now lies directly over this tip over line that steering reversion occurs. At this point the rig will behave as if it were a lopsided solo bike. To turn right one would turn the bars to the left. But until this balance point is reached the rig would be steered using normal techniques, by turning the bars to the right to go right. Again, these remarks also apply to a car, a truck, and even a truck with a trailer. All can be driven in this manner as has been demonstrated by skilled drivers. And the term “flying” does not begin until at the balance point, not just because the sidecar wheel is off the ground.
It is not necessary for students to understand the full technical explanation given above – but it is essential that correct statements be given in your manual. We will follow this matter until we see your manual corrected. To this end, we are available for any assistance you may require.
Sincerely,
Hal Kendall, Founder, Historian USCA
281-493-5255
711 Plainwood Drive, Houston TX 77079
Cc: SCT@yahoogroups.com
Cc: sidecar.com
CC: Claude Stanley - swaybar2002@yahoo.com
When I first approached the Chair of the Washington State Transportation Department requesting a subsidized training program for three wheel vehicle operators my idea was to establish parity with the existant state subsidized two wheel motorcycle training for sidecarists and trike operators.
Since the State had no knowledge of such a program Dave Kendall of the Evergreen Safety Council was approached. The subsequent manual was a blending of your USCA Sidecar Operator's Manual and the early edition of the "Yellow Book" which was a glossy mutation of the Driving a URAL Sidecar manual prepared for URAL, America by the same author and distributed with their new sidecar equipped motorcycles. As stated the then contraversial "Steering Reversion" idea was included in the Washington State manual.
The State Legislature was quick to espouse the revenue possibilities of this new potential cash source by adding endorsement fees, but as usual the bureaucracies are slow to make changes in existing procedures. Even if lives are at risk.
I hope your pressure is successful, Hal.
Lonnie Cook
