Written by Scooter sidecars! An important topic for scooter enthusiasts. How else are you going to take the kids to the shops?
First a little history.
The first ever recorded appearance of a sidecar was way back in 1903 on January the 7th. Surprisingly in a cartoon printed in the British newspaper Motor Cycling. The first patent was granted just three weeks later to a Mr W.J. Graham in Enfield Middlesex. Partnering with John A. Kahn, Mr Graham and Mr Kahn began production of the first commercially available sidecar. Sidecars were born and the rest as you know is history.
Over the next hundred years thousands of different designs were produced and sold all over the world. In this article well take a look at some of our favourite and talk a bit about modern sidecars. A motorcycle or scooter with a sidecar in slang is sometimes referred to as an outfit, a rig, a hack or imaginatively a combination in case you were wondering.
By the way when we talk about sidecars we don’t mean like this:
Just no. I mean seriously NO.
This is what I mean:
Great design right? I’ve always loved VW vans and scooters so this is pretty much ideal.
A professionally designed commercial sidecar will set you back around $999 for a good one. I would recommend you dig deep and spend the little extra. Trust me you’ll make the money back in spades with the amount of complaints you’ll avoid from loved ones. “This is seat is soooooooooo uncomfortable” is something you don’t need to be hearing jetting down the highway.
I would recommend the Cozy range of sidecars myself. Speaking of Cozy let’s take a closer look at this line. The Cozy Sidecars produced in India (India has become the leading manufacturer of light motorcycles and accessories.). The Cozy range focuses on sidecar production for scooters and very light motorcycles more so than any other manufacturer.
In installing a Cozy sidecar for your scooter there is no need to adjust the break system or remove the scooters centre or side stand. This makes Cozy sidecar installation a breeze. Traditionally such an installation would require significant alteration to the breaking system to account for the sidecars additional weight and inertia.
Definitely a plus. Anyone that has attempted to revamp a breaking system on their scooter will be glad of this. Very very glad indeed!
Here is an example of the Cozy Stealth Raptor:
While the Cozy Stealth Raptor might not transform into a dinosaur and attack small fat children during night-time as its name would suggest, it is an earlier example of a very high quality in its design.
The current range of Cozy Sidecars are designed to bolt onto the front of small single cylinder engines on scooters or small motorcycles. Some scooters of course will require a specially fitted customised mount to ensure correct coupling. Of course in your sidecar research be sure to check with any retailers the kind of support they offer in fitting.
If your scooter is exotic you may have to do some in personal consultation with a professional to ensure you get the right fitting. Don’t take this lightly! A mistake in a fitting can be a costly mistake. You don’t want your sidecar falling offer during a tight corner and crashing into a small donut shop. Think how many donuts may be hurt!
