Riding Your Motorcycle With a Sidecar

Sometimes, you just want to ride your motorcycle by yourself and explore on your own terms. However if you have a partner, a friend or a loved one who doesn't ride a motorcycle, but would like to accompany you on your trips, you can add a sidecar to your bike to accommodate them. Riding with a sidecar does present some challenges, though, so you’ll want to follow these tips to ensure that your operating your motorcycle with a sidecar attached safely.

1. Don't overestimate your skill level

Because adding a sidecar to your motorcycle can cause it to seem unbalanced and make writing more challenging, you should never do this unless you're sure that you have sufficient skill and riding a motorcycle to do so. Beginners need to avoid adding anything cumbersome like a sidecar to their motorcycles until they've gotten in enough practice to be sure that they can handle it. You can keep reading if you're confident enough in your motorcycle riding abilities to add a sidecar to the equation

2. Add Weight If Empty

If you need to ride your motorcycle with a sidecar attached, but no one is in it, then you'll have to add some weight to the sidecar to help keep your motorcycle balanced. You can put luggage inside it or you can even use something like sandbags to weigh down the sidecar until you have a passenger to ride in it. Of course, if you're not intending to carry a passenger for a long time, it may be best to Simply remove the side car until you've got a companion.

3. Brake Straight

When you have a sidecar attached to your motorcycle, several aspects of riding will change.  Something you need to avoid is braking while turning the motorcycle in any direction. You should always use the brakes carefully while the bike is going in a straight line. Bear in mind that it may take longer for the motorcycle and sidecar setup to come to a complete stop. Trying to brake while taking curves or corners is dangerous and it could significantly damage your sidecar and your motorcycle, or even cause you and your passenger serious injury.

4. Stick to Smooth Terrain

You should never take your motorcycle with a sidecar attached onto rough terrain. Trying to rides down a gravel road, over sand, across turf, or even on a dirt road will be much more challenging when you have a sidecar attached to your motorcycle, due to the extra weight and imbalance that it creates. Stay on smooth paved roads, highways, parking lots, and driveways when you have your sidecar attached.

When you're ready to check out a great selection of new and used motorcycles for sale, stop by our dealership in Westminster, CA, to see what we've got available. You can also discuss financing options with our helpful sales team. Indian Motorcycle® of Orange County serves greater Los Angeles, CA, and all of our Orange County customers here in Southern California.