Up Front

UP FRONT

ON THE “EQUA-LEAN” DESIGN CONCEPT FOR SIDECARS

TYLING ASIDE, street sidecar design hasn’t progressed much over the years. The majority of chairs are still attached rigidly to a solo machine’s frame. This prevents the motorcycle from leaning in turns, necessitating some interesting compromises in riding style.

Most designers are content with this and state rather emphatically that it is possible to learn how to drive a sidehack in a fairly short period of time.

This is true, but is it necessary? That’s what designer Clarence Wallick asked himself, and the answer he came up with was “No.” He felt that if a sidecar could be made to lean with a motorcycle, it wouldn’t drastically alter the feel of the bike.

In the last year, Clarence has turned his thoughts into reality. His current unit is for carrying baggage only, and is attached to a CB750 Honda. Pivot points on both the sidecar and motorcycle frame allow the sidecar to move up and down independently of the bike, as well as to lean with it. A slotted track attached to the sidecar and a roller attached to the bike insure that the sidecar duplicates the bike’s angle of lean. Teflon spacers are used to minimize friction. Suspension is handled by an air shock.

Much to my surprise, Clarence was right, in that his design has minimal effect on the motorcycle it’s attached to. To prove this, 150 lb. of tools were placed in the sidecar and I headed for Ortega Highway, a local stretch of blacktop with turns too numerous to count.

When accelerating, the bike pulls slightly to the right, and it’s a good thing, because at constant speed it is easy to forget that the “chair” is there at all. When entering broad sweepers, there is a slight lean hesitation, necessitating more rider English than usual.

Once in a turn, and while exiting, there is again no feel characteristic with sidecars. In tight turns, a good deal of rider lean is required to bank the outfit over, but this is easy to get accustomed to and should present no problems for riders of average ability.

If there is a drawback at all, it is in the lack of space between the right footpeg and the side of the chair. On conventional rigs, this would be no problem, as it is not necessary to balance them; but on the Equa-Lean, it is necessary to occasionally put your right foot down at stop signs, or when maneuvering into a parking space.

Whether the Equa-Lean concept will catch on or not is a matter of pure speculation, even though the concept does simplify sidecar operation a great deal. If enough interest is generated, the unit pictured here and a passenger-carrying version may see production. I for one hope it gets built, because it will definitely further the state of the art.