I made the long trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles for Side Striders 35th Annual Sidecar Rally in Griffith Park to view the most stunning array of sidecar motorcycles ever assembled in one place. Here are some photos from last year. The smallest was a motorized bicycle with a mailbox sidecar. There was a 30’s Indian motorcycle, a KLR 650 with a wagon sidecar, a Vespa with a baby-buggy style car, the famous speedboat sidecar…I can’t begin to list them all. And Greg and his daughter Jennifer brought "my" American Borders Ural sidecar to the show. I guess I’ll always call it "mine" even though, as you might remember, I sold it a few years ago. It was like selling a pet and, of those who offered to buy it, I decided on Greg, who is an electrician, and his wife and two teenaged daughters. It was a good decision. Greg fixed the electrical gremlins and installed Russian carbs and now it happily cruises the mountains of LA.
A bunch of Ural folks were there, and I saw Guy of Sun Valley Service Center in Nevada (Reno area) who sells and services the new Enfields; he recently made some modifications to my bike (muffler, sprocket, carbs). With him was Kevin Mahoney of Enfield Motorcycles, who I’ve known for several years via email and phone calls. They had a couple of Bullets with sidecars there that were really beautiful. Alice Sexton, the WIMA USA president made an appearance, and I also met famous world travelers Monica and Emilio of The Longest Ride. Emilio has been riding the world for ten years straight, Monica with him for about the past five. Emilio holds a Guiness world record for distance on a motorcycle, he’s gone around the world twice. Originally from Argentina, they’re settling down in LA now in preparation for another few years on the road, but first they’re going to the January 2007 Penguin event in Spain, which they say attracts 40,000 motorcyclists. I can’t find a website for it though. Maybe it’s all in Spanish language.
Definitely a fun event, with lots creative bikes, families, and of course, sidecar-loving dogs!
side cars r great. am crazy about them though i dont have one now. hope to have a BEAUTIFUL side car which will put the best cars to shame.