Remembering Keith Wash

Sadly Keith Wash of Unit Sidecars passed away on December 14, 2021 at the age of 90. Here Dave Greenwood of the Federation of Sidecar Clubs remembers a legendary name in the sidecar world.

Ifirst met Keith in the very late 1970s when his new business, Unit Sidecars, had just started. On that first visit to his workshop/ house in Sible Hedingham, Essex, only three Hedingham sidecars had been produced and I remember he was making wheel hubs and other small parts for Tony Divey from Norfolk who was building Guzzi ‘Triking’ three-wheeler cars. Keith was impressed with my Guzzi’s strong frame and was sure it would make a good sidecar bike. He said: “Why don’t you take my outfit home with you, run it around for a while then decide and let me know?” I was astonished at this generous offer but I soon realised that Keith was a true enthusiast. I did take his Honda 750 4/Hedingham SS No 3 home and decided to order my own, so I returned to Sible Hedingham and left my Guzzi with Keith; mine was number eight.

Around that time small wheels were becoming fashionable and Keith had connections with Derek Yorke who owned Essex Wheels. They worked together and spoked my wheels (I had already found 2CV wheels). These then became popular and Keith was able to supply these in between waiting for sidecar orders. A while later I approached Keith asking him to make leading link forks for me. He had already made a trailing link fork a few years earlier when he was grass track racing and he agreed to first make a set for his own Guzzi outfit to test them. After trying his outfit I ordered a pair.

In later years they were so popular that almost all Fed members had Unit forks fitted and many were also sold abroad.

The Hedingham Owners Club was founded by me as Keith was keen to have a ‘one make’ sidecar club. I took all his records and wrote to each customer. The official starting date for the club was 1982 and our first rally, which had a big turnout, was held near Banbury. At one time I remember there were more than 100 members and I sent out newsletters all over the world.

Keith purchased land across the road and had a purpose-built workshop constructed, taking on extra staff. Soon afterwards he produced his 100th sidecar, an SS model, and we held a rally to celebrate. My good friend (and Keith’s) Bob Aley owned this BMW/ Hed SS outfit for many years. The new workshop gave Keith the opportunity to expand his range; his first attempt at a child/adult sidecar was similar to a Watsonian Palma but it looked ugly so was dropped. Along came the XL model with side-by-side seating. The first XL was fitted to a BMW K100 RT (called Big Lill) and a promotion ‘launch’ was organised (a collaboration between

BMW dealer Ongar Motorcycles and Unit Sidecars). Bob Aley was the ‘launch’ rider, doing a Land’s

End and a 4 Points run. One XL was fitted to an executive model Gold Wing and wouldn’t fit through the workshop door. However, it was and is very popular and lots are still about. Two other models came along; the Sprite for smaller bikes and the ETH which was popular with the first air-cooled BMW GS models.

After retirement Keith spent most days in his workshop where he was happy. He restored a 250cc racing Velo, a Guzzi Spada which he converted to Le Mans spec. He made a few ‘vintage’ looking 125s using Honda or Chinese engines with girder forks and no rear suspension. He joined the BSA Owners’ Club and his last project was a BSA B33 with his own LL forks and Sprite sidecar. When asked what was the best bike he ever had for sidecar work, Keith said it was an ancient 1200cc Indian; he said it had massive torque when pulling away.

We remained friends right up until he passed away. Keith was keen to find the present whereabouts of all his sidecars so he could archive the information and about six months ago he and his longtime friend Dougal (aka Mick Fenn) collected all my records of Unit Sidecars customers – I’d retired from the club in 2017. I gave him as much help as I could but many had been sold on several times over. I understand he was still working on this project right up until he was hospitalised.

I will miss him. He used to spend time telling me about his past. He was in the Royal Signals right at the end of the war and remembered being sent to Berlin with an urgent message after a massive bombing raid that flattened the city. He learned engineering at Marconi where his talent was spotted by management and he was given his own section and staff to manage. In his younger years he raced grasstrack outfits, mainly BSA 650cc A10s, at top level against riders like Chris Vincent and it was around this time that he made his own trailing link front forks. He was a brilliant engineer with many good ideas.

Rest in peace Keith, you will be missed. I send my condolences to his wife Ann and to all his family. Dave Greenwood

Vice President, Federation of Sidecar Clubs

PS. Thank you to Bob Aley for help with this article. He knew Keith before I did and still lives near Hedingham.