Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ CLASS ....... THREE-WHEELER Not long after Gottleib Daimler inven ted a co n trap tion called a motorcycle, some fellow addeda box and an outrigger wheel and called it a sidecar. Today, the sidecar is an oddity a p peali ng to a rela tivel y sma ll g ro up of ent h us iasts withi n th e motorcycle sp ort, so it is hard for us to co m p re he nd how important it was durin g mot orcycli ng's form at ive years, especia lly p rior to 1920. To u nderstand th e ro le th at th e mot orcycle sidecar pl ayed in the ea rly days of motorized transporta tio n, one m ust consider the economics of the era. By 1909 Henry Ford a lready was producing a utomobi les, but he ha d n ot yet perfected assem bly-lin e mass produc tion suffici ent ly to lower th e price. A Mod el T cos t $850, rep resentin g co nsi dera ble earni ngs a t th e tim e. By co m pa rison, a n In di an or Harl eyDavidson was ava ilab le Ior abo ut $300, and less tha n $400 wit h a sidecar. While th e sidecar wa s a'n eng ineer- ing compromise wi th many technica l fai lings from its inception. the pri ce was right, pu rring the married coup le and even the small family on wheels. By 19 15 Ind ian was selling over 4.500 sidecar models per year. Harley-Da vidson's demand was so high th at the. co mpa ny co ntracted with outside suppl iers. de livering 3,000 sidecars to a market that deman ded 5.000 or mo re. So me estimate th a t prior to World Wa r I as ma ny as 10%of the m otorcycles sol d in Am erica ro lle d o u t o f th e showroom with a sideca r a ttac hed. Bu t th ose trends reversed th em selves with p ost- wa r pro sperit y a n d th e em ergenc e of th e cheap a utomobi le. (Above) Leading link front suspension uses adjustable Konf 761 OP shocks; wide steel wheels are fitted with automotive radial tires, Note EML brake.calipers. (Below) Windshield hinges forward for passenger access. 28 By 1921 H enry Ford's price for ca rs had co me down to $400. and Chevrol et was n o t fa r behi nd wi th a $425 product. In terms of cos t, the brea kin g p o int for si decars had arrived . For a few dollars more. one co u ld h ave an a utomobi le. By 1924 th e Mode l T cou ld be purchased for $265 for the sta ndard model, a nd $285 with a n .electric starter. By co ntrast. a sing le-cylinder motorcycle cost as m uch o r more, whereas the top-of-the-line Harley-Davidso ns and India ns were 325. T he era of th e sidecar as Everyman's preferred transportat ion had come to a n end. Even d u rin g its heyday, th e sidecar was an engineering co mprom ise. As an o u tr igger h u ng o n a mot orcycle, it inflicted stress that th e bike had n ever been designed for. Pi ctures o f ea rly sidecars lreqben tly show ext ra wheels mou nted on the rea r. T hese were carried as much to co ntend wit h sp oke fa ilure as for punctures on th e prim itive, ro ug h roa ds. T he ex tra weight o f a sideca r a nd th e la teral stress th at it crea ted ca used sp okes to break , wh eels to co lla pse , a nd tir es to be torn fro m th eir rim s o n a regular basis. Furthermore, brak es that were n one too effective on a so lo bik e came under even grea ter abuse with the add itiona l weight o f a sideca r and passenger or two . The lifespan of u nder-powered mo to rs was reduced by the addi tio nal load , d rive trains were m ore apt to fai l, a nd structura l fai lure was not unheard of. But th en, prior to 1920 automob iles were sometimes even less reliabl e, so th e faults of a sidecar co u ld eas ily be overloo ked . Wit h th e developme nt of modern motorcycles, th ese faults hav e becom e even more pronounced . The la test co m purer derived frames a nd suspensions are tun ed to dea l only with th e str esses of two-wheeled motorcycling. Add a thi rd wheel, an d modern cycle fram es a re simply inadequate for sidecar use. Today, o n ly Ha rley-Davidson produces a sidecar-dedica ted mo tor cycle: a li mi ted p roduct ion purposebuilt vehicle. B;\

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