Lean on me
This month, Mick Payne takes a look at the curious innovation that has come and gone several times over the years, the leaning sidecar.
If you follow any of the sidecar groups on social media, then you may have seen the amazing number of leaning sidecars appearing.
Many of these seem to allow the motorcycle to lean while the chair remains basically upright. But, over the years, others have taken the option to allow both the bike and sidecar to lean, which is to my mind a more elegant solution. This, of course, isn’t a new concept.
Go back to the 1923 Sidecar TT when Freddie Dixon and his passenger Walter Denny took their Douglas, complete with leaning sidecar (and disc brakes), to victory. However, this never really filtered through to road use, I assume because of the fact that the outfit was a budget item for most. There were Brough and Vincent sporting combinations around and the BMW/
Steib was a popular mount for the faster rider, but for many it was to be a BSA and family saloon. These were all non-tilting sidecars, although I dare say a few of the less well fitted chassis moved about a bit.
One leaning sidecar that did make a brief splash in the 1980s was the stylish Flexit, created by Hannes Myburgh, an accomplished South African engineer and designer.
I rode one attached to a Triumph back in the late 1980s when Peter Rivers-Fletcher was importing them – they were badged as a Squire as I recall. After a little taster in the futuristic chair I was allowed a test myself. I rode it to Stratford-uponAvon and it seemed weird with a large aerodynamic box moving about under my left elbow.
In the car park I could lock it into a rigid more conventional mode. Safe to ride at very low speeds!
The design of the Flexit reminded me of a glider fuselage; it had a motor driven canopy and a small wheel on the centreline, and the cleverness didn’t stop there. Bike and sidecar were coupled by chain; most leaners rely on the fittings to provide the pivoting, although generally modern ones are the upright sidecar banking bike type. As I mentioned, I’ve ridden in a Flexit and you lean with the pilot, it really feels akin to being in a small aircraft. I think it must be an odd feeling in a static chair with the rider leaning across or away from you. Dixon’s Douglas was a different concept entirely with Denny controlling the lean of the chair by means of a lever.
While looking at leaning sidecars we can’t ignore the Sidewinder. This was a small platform that fitted to a solo to circumnavigate the GB learner laws of the 1980s. It allowed those with sporty usually two-stroke 250s to continue riding. They still turn up at autojumbles, although I can’t imagine anyone actually using one now; I’d love to try one, though.
So, the South African-conceived Flexit was a well engineered route to the banking sidecar and the
Sidewinder was the epitome of British design and construction. Not!
So, will the banking sidecar ever oust the conventional set up?
I think that, for classic and retro bikes, the answer is no, although the outfit I tried all those years ago at Watsonian Squire would be considered classic now, as is Frank
Sumner’s Honda Pan European and Flexit (pictured). At the end of the day, sidecars are a broad church and younger riders might tend towards the quirky leaner. I’d rather ride one myself than some of the car-tyred, hub-centre steered outfits creeping onto the scene. There, I’ve got that off my chest!