What You Expect a Tire to Be.Sidecar rigs are used all over the world for commercial purposes, for basic transportation, and for just plain fun. Spouses may prefer a sidecar to the rear pillion of the bike. It is quite possible that your riding season will be extended to year-round. An image folks in the USA have, is that motorcycles are typically not workhorses, but toys of some form or another, & that a sidecar rig is a substitute for motorcycles ...for old or handicapped folks not capable of handling two-wheeled motorcycles. There can well be some truth in those ideas ...but it is hardly the full story. There is a small percentage of motorcyclists who commute on their bikes, some year-round, some don't own cars.  A much larger percentage use motorcycles for yearly vacations or other trips. Sidecars can and do carry much more than two-wheelers, and this can include the spouse, children, and/or family dog(s), not to mention the much larger cargo carrying capacity.   

While many motorcyclists put their motorcycles into storage in the Winter, many sidecarists enjoy driving them in Winter...after all, sidecars don't 'fall down' when in snowy, icy, muddy conditions.   In the USA in particular, sidecaring is, or is nearly, a way of life for many, and sidecaring is JUST PLAIN FUN! Sidecars were always popular in Europe, but not so much in the U.S. (since somewhat before and during the Depression of the thirties).   In the U.S., 'trikes' were used for many decades for all sorts of things, including delivery of mail, goods, pizza, whatever.  Sidecars were used a lot prior to the Depression. Sidecar rigs have some advantages, some are pronounced.  One huge advantage is the passenger/cargo area, and there are numerous other advantages.  I won't get any deeper into these ideas and variations, motorcycles to trike or sidecar, trike to sidecar, sidecar to trike.  Today, all sorts of interesting variations on motorcycles ...very broadly speaking ...are available.

There has always been sidecare groups in the U.S.   Since the late 1980's, sidecars have become moe popular again, & this trend is likely to continue.  buell motorcycles for sale denverMore sidecar outfits are on the road today than just a few decades ago.   motorcycle dealers in waukesha wiCOMPLETE sidecars rigs are manufactured by only a few world-wide companies today.   best bikes under 65000 in indiaComplete sidecar outfits, from the motorcycle frame and engine right to the finished drivable product, are produced in China, Russia, and by Harley Davidson in the USA (prior to ~2009, HD only supplied the sidecar and the bikes, the HD dealerships mated them).  motorcycle repair midland mi

HD is also again producing trikes (but modernized).   My suspicion is that considerably more trikes are produced than sidecar rigs, but I have no specific facts to back this up.motorcycle parts in galveston tx A motorcycle with a sidecar attached has numerous names, and sidecar folks themselves use terms like the following to describe either the sidecar, or the entire rig, or the tug, etc:get motorcycle endorsement indianaCombinations ....heck, even Sidecar and Sidecar Rig!  fc-tech motorcycle bootsGespanne is also used. Sidecar rigs have been designed & built from simple and conventional to complex or even outrageous, and ridden (actually we sidecarists usually say they are DRIVEN) in almost every sort of imaginable way. 

Some rigs have the motorcycle still capable of leaning, see http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/flexit.htm, some have this down so well that the motorcycle handles just like, or nearly, a motorcycle. There is an entire sidecar section of articles on this website, near the very bottom of: Having a sidecar may require the motorcycle to be serviced more often, due to the loads, strain, etc.   This need not be excessive, and properly done sidecar rigs do NOT have excessive maintenance requirements. The maintenance on the sidecar itself is usually low. Sidecar outfits do NOT handle like cars, do NOT handle like motorcycles, do NOT handle like trikes, and CAN BE dangerous for the novice.   Those with NO experience should NOT simply venture out onto road traffic.   Novices/Newbies, whether very experienced motorcyclists or not, should take instruction, preferably formal, but a REAL regimen of learning and practice will do.   Information on setting up and also on driving sidecars, in depth, will be easily found on the Internet, at:

       Click at the top of the page in the red area at Links & Books, then click on Books and Articles. In general, countries where driving is on the right, as in the U.S., have sidecars mounted on the RIGHT side of the motorcycle.  The reverse is also true, sidecars are mounted on the left in England, etc, where driving is done on the other side of the road.   Having a sidecar mounted on the 'wrong' side in a particular country can be dangerous, as your field of view for oncoming cars is poorer the closer you are to a vehicle in front of you. In addition, an oncoming car might be more inclined to turn in front of you, 'just past' the end of that truck, bus, etc., in front of your sidecar rig ...because they did not see you easily enough.   If you think about this, no matter if the sidecar is on the right or left, do not drive too close to the vehicle in front of you.   This is also good advice for a motorcyclist. An experienced sidecarist can easily transition from one country situation to another;

and same for 2 to 3 to 2 wheels.   Some motorcyclists with NO or little sidecaring experience, especially without training, have said that it is difficult for a motorcyclist to transition to a sidecar rig, and vice-versa.   This is NOT TRUE! You will likely find the initial sidecar experience exhilarating, and while you will need training/practice, you will not likely have problems going back and forth between a motorcycle and a sidecar rig.  I do suggest that when getting on either, that you say, ACTUALLY OUT-LOUD TO YOURSELF, that you are on whichever one it is.    If transitioning back to a motorcycle, do remember to put down your left foot at a stop sign! Sidecar rigs place a lot of forces onto a motorcycle that the motorcycle may well not have been designed for.   These forces must be taken into account during the design of the frame, attachments, suspension, tires, etc.    Some motorcycles will require many modifications, including a subframe.   Some actually require an entirely new frame.