Sidecars: Some people think they’re dorky, but a lot of other people think they’re very cool—and practical. But alas, sidecars come with some inherent handling issues. But, out of nowhere, we see Honda now working on tackling these old-school problems with very modern solutions.
The problem
The issue with sidecars is that their off-center chassis design makes for weird handling characteristics. Whether you’re braking, accelerating, steering or even riding in a straight line, the sidecar’s weight and the drag of the third, outbound wheel changes how the whole rig handles—sometimes rather violently.
This is also true of other three-wheeled vehicles, such as the CanAm Spyder series or Harley-Davidson’s Freewheeler. Modern trikes use the power of electronics to manage the eccentricities of three-wheeled handling; traction control makes the CanAm lineup more rideable, and the same is true of Harley’s new trikes. And now Honda plans to use the same idea for an aftermarket sidecar that can fit a wide range of motorcycles.
A patent drawing for this design ran in Cycle World, showing a system of a brake and motor in the sidecar, both governed by sensors that determine the entire vehicle’s stability. When the sensors determine the sidecar needs braking or acceleration to maintain its stability, the appropriate force is applied to the rig’s outbound wheel. That means you’re less likely to flip the rig in a turn, and theoretically, this technology could help you run the bike in a straight line more easily as well, instead of having to constantly fight the bars, especially at take-off and stops.
Honda’s sidecar design is intended to be fully self-contained, so it could be bolted up to anything from a modern electric superbike to an ancient SOHC four-cylinder.
It’s very cool stuff, and as we see electric bikes becoming more popular as transportation alternatives in some markets, perhaps this tech will eventually make its way to the real world, once again establishing sidecars as a practical alternative to a truck or car.
