What is Sidecar Motocross

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What is Sidecar Motocross

Post by Scott »

What is Sidecar Motocross

Sidecar Motocross is an off road sport where the bikes are similar to regular ‘solo’ motocross machines but designed to take the weight of two people riding together. The first is the driver (the one who is in charge of the controls) and there is also a passenger (generally known as the mad one!).
Sidecar motocross isn’t a large sport with fewer than 1000 teams in the UK, but it is a growing sport. In America, and Australia the sidecar addiction is catching, but the biggest growth is within Europe.
Events are held across Britain with the main championship, ‘The British Sidecar Championship’ a six round series across the UK.


‘The Sidecar Motocross World Championship’ Grand Prix events draw huge crowds, with a fourteen round series across Europe, the Baltics and the Soviet Union. The first GP of this year starts in Holland on 1st April with the final round in France on 22nd September. For more details see http://www.SidecarCross.com/
There are several sidecar manufacturers in Europe that make the special chassis (either left or right handed). Some will accept the engine, wheels, plastics, and other components from a standard motocross bikes, and others are designed as a complete rolling chassis, which just require an engine. There are also sidecar specific monster size 2-stroke engines such as the MTH, and Zabel which are made just for Sidecar Motocross racing.
One of the biggest differences with this sport is when you buy a new bike. It arrives from a small European factory as a large box of pieces (a bit like kids toys at Christmas). Unfortunately, sidecar sales are not lucrative enough for the large motorbike companies to manufacture them. You choose the chassis, engine, suspension, colour of the plastics, etc, and then assemble the bike yourself. As a result, no two bikes are the same. In fact, if you look closely you can identify each of the bikes by the teams who have built them.
These bikes are tough and ooze raw power. They are designed to race on tracks that include dramatic jumps, high-banked berms, deep bomb holes and long fast straights. The driver has to work a lot harder than a regular solo driver because the bike doesn’t lean into the bends. The job of the passenger is to help to steer and control the bike by moving his weight around to help it go faster into the bends and over jumps. The passenger does much more physical work than the driver since he moves his whole body around continuously. An excellent level of fitness is required for both the driver and passenger.
If enthusiasm were worth money, all teams would be very rich. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. What does keep the teams going is all the money they can earn at the day jobs, and as much sponsorship as they can get. There is plenty of advertising space available on the sidecar outfit and race transporters for company details, which are seen across the world on a regular basis and in the national papers motocross and on televised events. It is an expensive sport, apart from the bike and the transport there is also clothing, which includes, race jeans and shirts, goggles, helmets, boots, gloves and body protection. Other major items include tyres, fuel, lubricants and general consumables.
One of the most important aspects of sidecar racing is the ‘teamwork’. Driver and passenger have to work together as one, they also have to spend a lot of time together off the track, working on the bike during the week and travelling vast distances in the race transporters to get to the events. The size of the team required varies dramatically from a driver, passenger, a car and a trailer, to a whole team of mechanics, expensive race transporters, and spare bikes. Some where in the middle is the ‘average team’ this normally consists of a driver and passenger, their mate who mechanics and at least one wife / girlfriend who does all the jobs nobody else wants to do. To most sidecar families this becomes a way of life: fitness training and building the bike in the winter, then racing all summer, and with plenty of friends in the other teams, it not a bad life!
The end result is more than just a sport it’s a lifestyle, and although it’s just a bit crazy it also fast furious and great fun.

By Tracy Thacker - UK
Stewart Crichton

Post by Stewart Crichton »

im quite new to the\sidecar world, but its like a bug once you start you cant get enough!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:
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