Quote from Deleted user on April 25, 2012, 8:32 am

the Sidecarist is a magazine of the United Sidecar Association whose site this is. past issuses are availible for download. the Federation of Sidecar Clubs puts out the Outlook 6 times a year. back issuses can be had on a cd. Hal Kendall's books can be down loaded on this site. The Sidecar a history byGeoff Brazendale is the best book on sidecars i have read. published in England. this should keep you busy for a while..........fly

Quote from Guest on April 25, 2012, 10:29 am

Here is the link to our online information:

http://sidecar.com/links.asp

Quote from Al Olme on April 25, 2012, 12:55 pm

Andreas,

Several years ago Motorad-Gespanne was sold with an insert that had several of the stories translated into English by a native German speaker and then those stories were sent to me to be rewritten into colloquial American English. There were very few of these issues but you might contact the publisher to get copies.

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try to help. Al@AlOlme.com

Quote from Peter Pan on April 26, 2012, 6:57 pm

Vergleiche auch mal die englische Uebersetzung des deutschen Handbuches fuer Gespannfahrer im Downloadbereich.
Uebrigens ist das hier im Forum ein tolles Klima fuer alle Sorten von Gedankenaustausch...
Teu Teu Teu.
Sven

Quote from Txart on April 27, 2012, 12:25 am

A Pedro Bandja - de acuerdo con todo 🙂

Quote from Guest on April 27, 2012, 6:30 am

Thanks for all the input.

The Hal Kendall texts are a gem (as is the sidecar.com download section), especially since I have some German-language parallel texts. Great. The Brazendale book seems to to have become a collector's item though, the few issues I found had a rather hefty price tag.

Oh, and it's a small world. The original German version of the manual for sidecar enthusiasts has taught me quite a lot about sidecars and how to ride them!

Quote from Guest on July 24, 2012, 7:32 am

Hi,

I could use some help (again).
Right now I'm researching American sidecar history, Harley-Davidson's to be exact.
Can anyone confirm that Harley-sidecars were fitted with a brake as standard?

And as a general question: do American-made sidecars usually have a sidecar brake?
I found some that do and some that don't. It seems to me though as if, at least for rigs with heavy bikes, a sidecar brake seems to be standard.

edit: And another one...
Has HD ever built a box-type sidecar for cargo transport? Maybe some fire/rescue-versions back in the day?
I'm just wondering why Harley could have been bothered to build the Servi-car when for most applications, a box sidecar would have done the job just as well.

Quote from Hack__n on July 24, 2012, 6:12 pm

Andreas.
The Harley sidecars have come standard with a drum brake until 1998 ( 95th Anniversary) when they started using a disc brake as standard on the sidecar.

Most american manufacturers offer sidecar brakes as an extra cost option. Some models come equipped with a brake. Brembo disc seems to be the current brake of choice, compact and efficient.

Harley sold a handyman sidecar with an opening top in the past that was popular with commercial shops as a pickup and delivery unit. Some were also used by vendors of ice cream, goats milk, groceries and other door to door deliveries. Craftsmen used them to carry tools and parts to service jobs. Longer cargo like pipes and poles could be carried easily with the utility box rig that couldn't be with a Servi-car.

We know of wooden boat repairmen who liked them because they could drive out on the docks next to their work with all needed tools at hand.

The utility box cars were available in wood and steel construction.

Quote from Chuck on July 24, 2012, 8:36 pm

Andreas - 7/24/2012 8:32 AM Hi, I could use some help (again). Right now I'm researching American sidecar history, Harley-Davidson's to be exact. Can anyone confirm that Harley-sidecars were fitted with a brake as standard? And as a general question: do American-made sidecars usually have a sidecar brake? I found some that do and some that don't. It seems to me though as if, at least for rigs with heavy bikes, a sidecar brake seems to be standard. edit: And another one... Has HD ever built a box-type sidecar for cargo transport? Maybe some fire/rescue-versions back in the day? I'm just wondering why Harley could have been bothered to build the Servi-car when for most applications, a box sidecar would have done the job just as well.

Some where I have a photo of a 30's Indian motorcycle/sidecar rig that was used for fire fighting the sidecar frame had a wocker basket to haul extra hose and it also carried large size fire extingushers a shovel and a ax.

The servi-cars were used for various applications service stations used them to chase for parts,and a also they were rode to a customers home to pick up a vehicle for repair there was a attachment mounted to the front fork that clamped to the rear bumper to tow the servi back to the station and when the repair service was complete the car was returned in the same way with the servi-car in tow for the repairmans ride home.

The servi-car was also a popular item for city police on parking patrol where they could pull up to a car and mark the tire with chalk this would tell the patrol man if the car was moved from the parking spot

Quote from Guest on July 25, 2012, 3:36 am

That helped a lot, thank you.

And yet another question: When did HD switch from metal bodies to glass fibre bodies? I guess it must have been sometime in the late 50s/early 60s but I can't find any proof. Was there at some point a cut when HD decided to switch or was there more of a gradual transition period?

In Europe glass fibre bodies seemed to become standard when sidecar production went from industrial scale (1920s-late 50s) to more or less workshop level (60s-present day), since glass fibre was cheaper and easier to work with.

Quote from OldSchool_IsCool on July 25, 2012, 10:10 am

Here is an example of what I think Lonnie & Chuck are talking about when it comes to a Handyman Car on a Harley. Sorry I don't have the details on the bike, but I'm guessing it's from the teens or early 20's.

Quote from Chuck on July 25, 2012, 12:23 pm

Andreas - 7/25/2012 4:36 AM That helped a lot, thank you. And yet another question: When did HD switch from metal bodies to glass fibre bodies? I guess it must have been sometime in the late 50s/early 60s but I can't find any proof. Was there at some point a cut when HD decided to switch or was there more of a gradual transition period? In Europe glass fibre bodies seemed to become standard when sidecar production went from industrial scale (1920s-late 50s) to more or less workshop level (60s-present day), since glass fibre was cheaper and easier to work with.

Andreas

I had a sidecar with a fiberglass body from the Ottowa Canada police department, it was the same as the 1936 to 1967 metal style. I have seen the fiberglass bodies listed in the early 1960's parts books this may have been the gradual transition. I am not 100% sure but I believe that when the moco switched body styles in 1968 that is when they officially offered fiberglass bodies only in new sidecar sales

Quote from Hack__n on July 26, 2012, 10:11 pm

I think the total switch to fiberglass was after the last panhead model. 1966
The (Banana style) fiberglass bodies went till they stopped production of sidecars in 2010.

Quote from Guest on August 8, 2012, 4:52 am

Hi, again. I'm having yet another question 🙂

What does it take to get a new rig on the road in the US? I guess there's less red tape than in Germany or the EU? Which organisations are involved in the process?

Here, it seems like attaching a sidecar to a perfectly road legal, registered bike will immediately cause the rig to be illegal to drive on public roads (assuming the bike hasn't been approved for sidecar use by the manufacturer AND the sidecar hasn't been officially tested for road safety).
Before you may take it for a trip, you will have to have the whole rig tested for safety by an authorized technical organisation. If they consider the rig safe and in compliance with the law, they will issue a document which in turn can be taken to the appropriate offical bodies. There, you can finally have your rig registered. Since this seems common EU practice, the same procedure applies for every EU member state.

Quote from jaydmc on August 8, 2012, 10:22 am

In the USA as a whole as long as the bike is street legal then it still is with a sidecar. Adding a sidecar is no different then adding any thing else to the bike such as saddle bags. Some states do have yearly inspections but only for things like working lights and if the sidecar has a brake a few states require it to be hooked up and working.
On the national level all sidecars are required to meet department of transportation specifications for tires, lights, brake hoses, windsheild material and wheels. However the DOT seldom checks any of these items.
As a manifacure of sidecars as well as an importer I have had to learn all of these laws as while the DOT may not enforce them US customs often does.
As a result there are a lot of really marginaly safe sidecars on the road in the USA often assembled with just "universal" type frame clamps or worse. I once saw one where the sub frame was made up out of bed frame steel and some of these marginaly safe sidecars are being built by the dealers who sell the sidecars who either put sales ahead of saftey or simply do not know the difference between a properly assembled rig and one that is not.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Quote from timo482 on August 11, 2012, 8:57 pm

harley DID sell cargo sidecars - the fender is mounted to the body and the frame is a bit different

very rare to find one and very little info for them

there was one on ebay a few years ago that was set up for blueprint delivery

to

Quote from Guest on August 16, 2012, 9:15 am

@timo: Thanks for the info.

On it goes:

Are there currently any manufacturers of leaning sidecars in the US? It seems to me like the scene pretty much vanished after Equalean came to an end. Is that correct?

Quote from Hack__n on August 16, 2012, 10:46 am

No present leaner Mfg'rs. in the US.
Equalean went by the wayside the same time most other sidecar makers in the US did around 1982/1983 due to the new consumer protection laws enacted at the time that required the manufacturers to have liability insurance in case of any personal injury claims against them. The cost was prohibitive for most and only a few companies could afford it. The number of sidecar makers went from triple digits to two in a very short period of time. Some of the old marques have reappeared under new management and names but no leaners (yet).

Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars

Quote from Guest on August 17, 2012, 3:45 am

Thanks, that's what I thought. It's a bit of a shame, since leaners (at least the ones that allow only the bike to lean) seem to be quite straightforward construction-wise. At least that's my impression after having figured out how some of the european leaners (like the kalich swing or the armec sidewinder) actually work.