Description: Yes we combine shipping for multiple purchases.Add multiple items to your cart and the combined shipping total will automatically be calculated. 1967 Sidecars - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article Original, vintage magazine article. Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each pageCondition: Good THOSE INCREDIBLECHARIOTSIn the following article, Britisher KenCraven discusses the thrills of sidecarriding and the amazing capability of thethree-wheeled machine to negotiate al-most any terrain. The author has longbeen a two- and three-wheeler enthusiastand his name in England is synonymouswith serious touring. He is president ofthe Federation of Sidecar Clubs in theUnited Kingdom.BY KEN CRAVENAuthor Ken Craven drives, coached through water crossings by sidecar expert Bill Peacock.Millions of minds the world over areindoctrinated with their own coun-try’s achievements and kept ignorant aboutwhat has been accomplished elsewhere. Mytopic, however, is not quite that momen-tous and I therefore will state that, to thebest of my knowledge, Great Britain wasthe first country to take seriously thequestion of carrying a passenger on amotorcycle.But, before the English ever put thepassenger behind the rider, they put himalongside. Oddly enough, that second seatbehind the rider had eluded the greatminds of motorcycling, or, more likely,the lightweight frames were not strongenough to provide a suitable mounting fora second seat.It is fitting, perhaps, that such a curiousappendage as the sidecar (also called hack,chair, or, in toto, rig, outfit or combina-tion) had its origin in a cartoon gag byGeorge Moore which appeared in theBritish publication, Motor Cycling on Jan-uary 7, 1903.Well, Moore may have thought it was agag, but the Graham brothers took himseriously, turning the artist’s fantasy toreality just a few months later.The cartoon appeared just at the timewhen sales of the motorcycle trailer wereon the wane. That this rickshaw-like con-veyance enjoyed even the briefest spell ofpopularity was doubtless the result of prop-aganda by those who owned them, whowanted to ensure getting rid of them asquickly as possible with minimum finan-cial loss. Luckless ladies were trailed alongin a cloud of dust mixed with blue fumes.It was a wrecker of romances, and dis-gruntled maidens formed the first hardcore of hitch hikers, thumbing their wayhome by other means.Although the trailer may have been anabomination to the passenger, at least theassembled geometry was tolerable as avehicular design. But to attach a carrieralongside the steed must have seemedabsurd. Not only was it unorthodox butit wholly lacked symmetry in shape andwheel layout, and both power and weightwere completely offset. Yet this weird im-provisation prospered and spread to othercountries and into the realms of sport.Nor did it perish with the introduction ofthe pillion seat, which merely accommo-dated one passenger; when the perchedpeach fell victim to matrimony, the side-car was an inexpensive solution to the in-evitable increase in passenger requirements.For over half a century, the sidecar wasto flourish in Britain but in recent yearsthere has been a marked decline in totalregistrations, and an even greater reces-1 sion in new ones being sold. The automo-bile has replaced it as a family convey-ance and, at the risk of being burned atthe stake for heresy, I can well under-stand the preference. My first outfit wasobtained in 1950 for domestic conveyance.My wife and I had our own solos for pri-vate and pleasure use. When fully laden,the device was about as maneuverable asthe Rock of Gibraltar and not a greatdeal faster. Nor was it a sociable vehicle;mother and daughter in the hooded chairwere isolated from pop and son .who, likeas not, were being lashed by the rain. Myfamily three-wheeler passed unlamented.With the passage of two more years,my enduring pillionist began to suffer onour long continental tours as the result ofan old knee injury sustained while playinghockey — a savage game which is com-pulsory in expensive English girls’ schools.Once more a three-wheeler entered the sta-ble, though this time it was a neat littlechariot hitched to a more potent piece ofmachinery. At once I began to appreciatethe unique virtues ascribed to the combi-nation. Here was a sporting road vehiclethat deserved to survive, and quite pos-sibly regain its lost appeal in other coun-tries.The acquisition of this road burner in-spired me to persuade sidecar master BillPeacock to give me a course of advancedtuition. Bill had been the most famous oftrials men and stunt riders and it isdoubtful if he has ever had an equal.Admittedly, a solo trials motorcycle inthe hands of an expert can tackle terrainwhich is beyond the scope of any othertype of vehicle — combination included —but it is a highly specialized mount secondonly to the mountain goat in agility. Withthis exception there is no rival (amongnormal road-going pieces of machinery)to touch the sidecar outfit for traction andversatility.Bill sat in my standard sports chaircommanding me to perform most improb-able feats. I had asked for his instructionand I got it! First of all. I had to crossa wide stream with a knobby stone bedand steep, three-foot banks on either side.. “Right!” he called out. “Ease her downthe bank slowly. The moment the exhaustpipe goes under water, open up. Don’t letthe engine stall whatever happens . . .Now! Open up — hold the throttle steady. . . more revs . . . control your forwardspeed by letting the clutch slip. Let itslip more, and go slowly, or you’ll havewater right over the engine.”As soon as my front wheel was aboutto touch the far bank, he shouted, “Pullback on the handle bars at the same timeyou let go the clutch and open up hard.That’s right, now lean forward, or you’llhave the whole device falling over back-wards!”I was then asked to drive up the wall ofa gravel pit, which 1 would have regardedas unsafe for an agile small boy on hishands and knees.The exhausting day came to an end ata farm track, half a mile long. This wasafter a wet spell, and the deep slime wouldhave caused hardship to a tractor. Herethe technique was to leave the clutch en-gaged after selecting second or third gear,the highest practicable, blipping the throt-tle rapidly from open to closed, at thesame time bouncing up and down vigorous-ly on the rear half of the dual seat Al-... 16102
Price: 12.88 USD
Location: Kingsport, Tennessee
End Time: 2025-01-06T14:01:42.000Z
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