Threesome

Seddo tries a bit on the side.

- Geoff Seddon

The last time I rode a sidecar was in 1984. It was a 1942 WLA Harley-Davidson with a homemade wedge-shaped body built from plywood, wide enough to fit the bride and our two-year-old who squealed the whole time she was in it. We all liked it so much I nearly bought it.

It was for sale for not much money and the owner had generously lent it to me for the weekend to see if I liked it. With the arrival of children, I missed having my wife on the pillion seat so an outfit seemed the logical answer. It was also the first Harley I'd ever ridden but luckily it had been anglicised with a hand-operated clutch and foot-shift gearbox, so all I had to master was that pesky third wheel.

Learning curves don't come much steeper, I'll give you the tip. Sidecars steer and handle nothing like solo motorcycles and nothing like cars. Properly set up they'll steer straight enough at constant speeds, but back off the throttle and it'll want to turn right as the inertia of the sidecar wheel overtakes the slowing bike. Get on the gas and it will pull to the left as the sidecar wheel acts as a drag. The sidecar will lift if provoked, and sometimes it all happens very quickly.