Riding A Sidecar Motorcycle Sounds Like A Ton Of Fun: COTD

Most motorcycles have two wheels and navigate through countersteering. Then there’s the trike, which doesn’t lean, but is intuitive. Despite nearly a decade of riding several dozen motos, I have never ridden a sidecar motorcycle. A reader just described what riding a Ural is like, and it sounds so fun.

Jason wrote about how Bugatti’s CEO got his car stolen after leaving the key in it. Kevin Rhodes starts off a thread:

I feel like at this point, unless you are in an area with Boomer\Gen-X car thieves, a manual transmission and manual choke are near-perfect theft deterrents. And in the case of my Spitfire, the choke is both unlabeled and not in an obvious location. And unless the thief had driven one before, the chances of them finding reverse are about zilch too. That last is likely true of a 2CV too.

JJ:

I have the same attitude about my Ural…

Jon L:

I have a Ural as well and totally agree with you. Even if you know how to ride a motorcycle, most people will never figure out how to get it into a forward gear. And if they don’t know what a sidecar rig is all about, they won’t make it past that first right turn!

JJ:

Exactly. I remember the first time I rode it….f-ing terrifying.

Jon L:

They are asymmetrical and backwards of what you think would be logical. The sidecar is on the right, so you think turning right would be easier since it will hold you down; this is wrong. What actually happens is the sidecar lifts in a right turn. If you slow down, the sidecar lifts higher AND it pushes you to the left since the sidecar has its own independent momentum. Come into a right turn too fast and the sidecar pushes you into oncoming traffic then flips on top of you, pinning you under 700 lbs of steel all while traveling at high speeds into oncoming traffic. The only way to make a hard right turn is to accelerate, and this is opposite of everything we know from driving both cars and normal motorcycles.

Put it shortly, because of the sidecars’ weight and independent momentum, when you accelerate, it pulls you right. When you slow down, it pulls you left (left turns are very easy). Once you get it, you can do a lot of your steering through the throttle alone.

Terrifying and weird? Sign me up!

Matt wrote a Morning Dump about how Mazda killed it. Apparently, the headline might have been a little alarming. Sklooner:

Okay who else read the headline, saw the photo and thought Mazda had cancelled the Miata ?

Finally, Mark gave us a showdown between a 1989 Ford Probe GT and a 1992 Alfa Romeo 164. D4-D:

The 164 is actually a properly engineered car, no less refined and high quality (perceived and otherwise) that a German car from the same segment and era. I dare say in terms of engines (both Busso and Nord) higher quality than most e34/w124 ones. Not just the shiny headers but the bits you can’t see.

They don’t really rust with the same vigour as BMWs and Benzes from the period, from my perception they’re more comparable to Audis in that department. Subframes can go, but the bodies and exterior panels are very resilient. You’d need to look for a particularly badly mistreated 164 to find visible rust. Likewise, interiors, namely the cloth seats are that old school bombproof 80s euro thick cloth.

I wish people who perpetually repeat the same old tales about a brand got to experience and interact with the cars they did make right. That doesn’t mean if you bought a 35 year old 164 now it’d be a paragon of reliability and cheap maintanence. But it wouldn’t be any worse than an e34/9 or a w124/210.
The pressure sender is a common problem on these, i’d bet that’s the issue on the one here. The auto is a bit of a bummer though.

Have a great evening, everyone!

Top graphic image: Ural