Motor bike and sidecar

[hillsbro]

Hi oscar2157 - yes, my dad thought the world of his old-style RAC badge - my brother still has it, carefully restored and on display in his house. RAC patrolmen, riding their own Norton combinations, also used to salute members in the 1950s.

[handypandy]

A common sight was the planks on the bare chassis for the learners! (and some dubious left turn manoeuvres )

 

I'm not sure what dad would have made of THIS

 

.

Edited August 7, 2016 by handypandy

[euclid]

A common sight was the planks on the bare chassis for the learners!

The maximum "CC" a learner could ride then was 250cc...now 125cc....so lots bought a "sidecar outfit"( classed as a tricycle) with just planks on the chassis so they could ride a larger cc bike.There wasn't much traffic about then so they could usually keep up with the "two wheelers"..a different story nowadays tho'

[hillsbro]

This is my favourite sidecar photo.

[kidley]

The maximum "CC" a learner could ride then was 250cc...now 125cc....so lots bought a "sidecar outfit"( classed as a tricycle) with just planks on the chassis so they could ride a larger cc bike.There wasn't much traffic about then so they could usually keep up with the "two wheelers"..a different story nowadays tho'

 

pre 1960, a learner rider could ride any cc he/she wished 1960/61 250cc limit came into force, a friend of mine was riding a Vincent 1000 for years as a learner.

[old tup]

My one and only ride in a sidecar earned me an arse warming from dear old dad ,I was 5years old at the time!.One of our old boys mates came to visit one summers evening on his motorbike and sidecar,he parked it in our yard and went indoors for a natter with mater!.At a loose end and very nosey I climbed all over it ending up in the sidecar which was very comfy ,so I closed the lid and promptly fell fast asleep!.Next thing I awoke to the noise of the motorcycle engine in the dark bobbing around as it was moving,I kept quiet for what seemed ages until the bike pulled up and the engine turned off!.My dads mate nearly had a heart attack as I opened the sidecar lid and jumped up,"Wheres tha come from?"says he,"I don,t know!"says I!.He took me indoors where his wife gave me tea and a sandwich while he called the police,when they turned up my parents had reported me missing and I was reunited with them shortly to receive a right royal smacked arse as this was one of many times I had gone missing driving them to distraction!.I think I was born with wanderlust I should have grown up to be an explorer,anyhow that was my first and last encounter with a motorbike and sidecar!.

Edited August 7, 2016 by old tup
spelling error!

[PeterR]

Hi oscar2157 - yes, my dad thought the world of his old-style RAC badge - my brother still has it, carefully restored and on display in his house. RAC patrolmen, riding their own Norton combinations, also used to salute members in the 1950s.

 

Hi hillsbro and All,

 

My dad had a combination for a short while when I was about four in 1947. I have a vague recollection of Mother and me in the sidecar going into countryside and being aware of haystacks and cattle for the first time. I remember him having bits of gearbox apart in the bedroom on Adsetts Street and then never saw it again. Unfortunately he never had any other personal transport, other than a pushbike, either before or after and died in 1960 aged 49.

 

I have an AA badge similar to the one you mention. Here's a pic of my 1953 Ford Anglia which, I no longer have, which shows the badge along with others on a rather overloaded badge bar and grille . I still have these, which are on display at home, all of which are relevant to me except perhaps the coronation badge.....

 

http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh629/peterlaurence/Phone%20Downloads%206May07%20065_zpsmx7rn3ia.jpg

 

Peter

Edited August 7, 2016 by PeterR

[joojoo]

Loved your family photo Hillsbro, always enjoy your posts. Keep them coming please.

[hillsbro]

Loved your family photo Hillsbro, always enjoy your posts. Keep them coming please.

......Here's a wider view of the same photo, and another family group. It's a pity that dad had to part with the motorbike and sidecar as we had lots of family outings. He and his brother Sydney also toured Scotland, taking with them a Scottish-born neighbour and her little girl so that they could visit relatives. Dad had actually bought the bike first without the sidecar, and with Sydney on the pillion went to Blackpool for the day. On the way back on a long, straight road with no traffic he opened the Thunderbird out at full throttle and, as he later said, "It freetened me to deeath!" That story is no doubt true, but I'm not sure about another one he told, about a workmate who was coming down Herries Road on his rickety Norton combination, and once through the Five Arches he turned right but the sidecar carried on....

[biker]

A common sight was the planks on the bare chassis for the learners! (and some dubious left turn manoeuvres )

 

I'm not sure what dad would have made of THIS

 

.

 

My friend had a Panther sidecar outfit.He took the sidecar body off and we went and fetched an Ariel NH solo and fastened it to the sidecar chassis.Without the body or Ariel on it the chassis lifted very easily.We crawled around left hand bends with me stood on the chassis trying to hold it down.As soon as he hit a straight he wound it on leaving the traffic jam behind us until the next left hander !!!!!!!!