Why you need sidecar driving training
by Jon Taylor

On this page are a few reasons to get sidecar driving training. But don't get the idea that reading this page constitutes training – it does not. This advice applies whether your sidecar is attached to a URAL, Norton, BMW, Yamaha, Suzuki, Triumph, BSA, Honda, Kawasaki, Harley Davidson, Indian or even a Stella or Vespa Scooter.

I learned how to ride a bike the hard way. My first ride was as a young teenager on a Harley WLA with a foot clutch. That was training in the 1960’s. I went on to ride motorcycles everyday working on the farm and riding competitions and recreationally at weekends. Nearly everything was learned the hard way with fortunately small accidents and big frights. I learned things that take years to figure out and never learned some things that would have been useful and potentially life saving to know. Even after 40 years of riding, I have recently learned some good stuff on defensive technique. There is more to safe and fun riding than just getting on a bike and going. 

This is very much the case with sidecars and is hidden by the fact we have ridden bikes for years and think we know it all. You have heard it said that driving a sidecar is completely different from riding a bike and may have asked yourself – this looks easy, how difficult can it be? Well it isn’t difficult, it is different, and that means that you need to learn new skills. Here are some of the areas to be concerned about.

Cornering - When driving a sidecar rig you cannot lean the bike into a corner, and you must steer the bike unlike a solo on which you have been counter steering around corners for years without even realizing. The peculiar three cornered geometry of a sidecar profoundly influences braking, acceleration and cornering.

We have all seen pictures of people driving a hack with the chair up in the air (see the banner of this page), commonly known as “flying the chair”. In Australia where sidecars are normally attached on the left hand side of the motorcycle, it would seem obvious that in order to fly the chair that you would turn right. WRONG. Sidecars tend to go in the air when you turn left due to centrifugal force among other things. Turning right on the other hand tends to stick the sidecar to the pavement. There are separate techniques for each type of turn. They are not difficult skills but they must be learned as they do not come naturally and are potentially fatal if you leave the road or cross the centreline.

Braking and speed control - A sidecar rig is heavier than a motorcycle alone and puts extra strain on the brakes. This is not the kind of thing you want to think about as your life is passing in front of your eyes while trying to stop. You need to learn to think ahead and so more planning than with just a solo bike. In general terms a sidecar rig will not safely corner as fast as a solo motorcycle and this takes some advance thought and control. These skills are practised in our sidecar training program.

General size - It sounds simple, but it takes a while to get used to the idea that your motorcycle is quite a bit wider than it was before you attached the chair to it. It is quite obvious when first time sidecar riders take all of the plots on our training slalom course.

Conclusion - Do yourself and your wallet a favour and take the time to get some proper sidecar training. If there is not a course near you, read everything you can get your hands on and practice a LOT in a safe parking lot or paddock before you venture into the traffic.