Learn properly operate a sidecar before driving on the road.
Although at face value driving a sidecar, or sidecar rig, seems similar to riding a solo motorbike, it requires a different skill set. In fact, due to a sidecar rig's particular handling properties, knowing ride a solo motorbike may put you at more risk on the road, according to Sidecarist. Hence, to avoid putting yourself and others in danger, you must know the correct operating procedure before you venture onto the road.
Instructions
1. Find a large deserted parking lot or other large area away from pedestrians and other road users to first practice riding your sidecar rig. An experienced motorbike sidecar rider should drive you there.
2. Check that you can reach all the controls from a near vertical body position. You will rarely need to position yourself near prone on the bike in the manner of someone riding a solo motorbike.
3. Steer in the direction you want to go. You will probably, subconsciously, have a tendency to countersteer, that is, initially turn the handle bars left to turn right and vica versa. This is how you ride a bicycle. On a sidecar rig you do not need to counter-steer.
4. Turn the handle bars with more force than you would on a solo motorbike. It is much harder to turn a sidecar rig.
5. Slow down considerably before making a right turn, or a turn into the sidecar. This is because centrifugal force will be pushing your sidecar up into the air, and the faster you go, the stronger this force is.
6. Slow down before making a left turn, that is, a turn away from the sidecar. On a left turn centrifugal force is working to push your motorbike's rear wheel into the air. The less speed you use, the less chance there is of this happening, according to Hal Kendall in The Sidecar Operators Manual.
7. Apply both the font and back brake in approximately equal proportion when braking. This is different from a solo motorbike where the back brake is only responsible for about 30 percent of your stopping force, according to the magazine "American Motorcyclist."
Tags: solo motorbike, left turn, away from, back brake, before making, centrifugal force
