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Suzuki GSX 1400, 2004 with Watsonian GP 700
Unit (Hedingham) leading link forks.
SORNed since first lockdown – burst into life and ticked over happily once battery charged
81,660 miles on the clock, hence the price.
Good tyres and shocks
Advisories on last MoT:
Sidecar chassis corroded but rigidity not significantly reduced.
Nearside and offside rear lights dim when indicator applied. (This is usually a poor earth.)
£2500 for quick sale. Buyer collects from Andover.
Dave Swindell Tel: 0778 644005 or email
Unit (Hedingham) leading link forks.
SORNed since first lockdown – burst into life and ticked over happily once battery charged
81,660 miles on the clock, hence the price.
Good tyres and shocks
Advisories on last MoT:
Sidecar chassis corroded but rigidity not significantly reduced.
Nearside and offside rear lights dim when indicator applied. (This is usually a poor earth.)
£2500 for quick sale. Buyer collects from Andover.
Dave Swindell Tel: 0778 644005 or email
2025 FIM Sidecar World Championship Calendar
Date Venue FMNs Country Combined with
18-19 April Le Mans FFM France 24h Motos
26-27 April Estoril FMP Portugal Campeonato National de Velocidade
14-15 June Pannonia Ring MAMS Hungary Alpe Adria International Motorcycle Championship
21-22 June Most ACCR Czechia IDM - Supported by Motorpress Stuttgart GmbH
16-17 August Assen KMNV Netherlands IDM - Supported by Motorpress Stuttgart GmbH
20-21 September Assen KMNV Netherlands BSB
04-05 October Oschersleben DMSB Germany IDM, Sidecar Festival/ Supported by Motorpress Stuttgart GmbH
18-19 April Le Mans FFM France 24h Motos
26-27 April Estoril FMP Portugal Campeonato National de Velocidade
14-15 June Pannonia Ring MAMS Hungary Alpe Adria International Motorcycle Championship
21-22 June Most ACCR Czechia IDM - Supported by Motorpress Stuttgart GmbH
16-17 August Assen KMNV Netherlands IDM - Supported by Motorpress Stuttgart GmbH
20-21 September Assen KMNV Netherlands BSB
04-05 October Oschersleben DMSB Germany IDM, Sidecar Festival/ Supported by Motorpress Stuttgart GmbH
2025 British Sidecar Championship Calendar
Date Venue Organiser
17-18 May Donington Park MCRCB / BSB
21-22 June Snetterton MCRCB / BSB
5-6 July Knockhill MCRCB / BSB
2-3 August Cadwell Park BMCRC / Sidecar Revival
30-31 August Snetterton BMCRC
18-19 October Brands Hatch GP MCRCB / BSB
17-18 May Donington Park MCRCB / BSB
21-22 June Snetterton MCRCB / BSB
5-6 July Knockhill MCRCB / BSB
2-3 August Cadwell Park BMCRC / Sidecar Revival
30-31 August Snetterton BMCRC
18-19 October Brands Hatch GP MCRCB / BSB
Watsonian at NMM
BSA Gold Star 650 and Watsonian GP
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Benelli Imperiale and Squire SB1
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At the recent Open Days at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull on 26 – 27 October, Watsonian Sidecars displayed a couple of new outfits.
One was an all-retro GP Sports paired up with one of the new 650cc BSA Gold Stars to produce a handsome traditional outfit which is both easy on the eye and easy to live with. I certainly wouldn’t fancy a Small Heath Goldie with a chair in today’s traffic!
However, it was the other outfit that impressed me - a Benelli Imperiale and Squire SB1. I think it’s the first Benelli I have ever seen with a chair. It’s a lightweight combination based on a 400cc air-cooled single with a basic Squire sidecar to make an ideal entry-level machine. This capacity class seems to be expanding at the moment and offers about the same power as the post-war five hundreds.
The bike is completely unmodified as it is intended for optional sidecar duty. The fittings are designed to connect this sidecar to this motorcycle and nothing else. They are not adjustable which not only ensures that alignment is maintained, but also makes them both lighter and stronger. All four fittings are straight with simple blade ends rather than the traditional blade-and-clevis type. Provided the correct bolts are used and kept tight, these fittings are entirely adequate for an outfit of modest performance.
The fitting system, the rubber-in-torsion suspension (like the original Squires) and the spartan sidecar all help to keep production costs down for an affordable outfit that won’t have a newbie struggling with sorting out the handling while learning how to ride. I reckon it would be fun for the old hand as well!
JRH 29.10.24
One was an all-retro GP Sports paired up with one of the new 650cc BSA Gold Stars to produce a handsome traditional outfit which is both easy on the eye and easy to live with. I certainly wouldn’t fancy a Small Heath Goldie with a chair in today’s traffic!
However, it was the other outfit that impressed me - a Benelli Imperiale and Squire SB1. I think it’s the first Benelli I have ever seen with a chair. It’s a lightweight combination based on a 400cc air-cooled single with a basic Squire sidecar to make an ideal entry-level machine. This capacity class seems to be expanding at the moment and offers about the same power as the post-war five hundreds.
The bike is completely unmodified as it is intended for optional sidecar duty. The fittings are designed to connect this sidecar to this motorcycle and nothing else. They are not adjustable which not only ensures that alignment is maintained, but also makes them both lighter and stronger. All four fittings are straight with simple blade ends rather than the traditional blade-and-clevis type. Provided the correct bolts are used and kept tight, these fittings are entirely adequate for an outfit of modest performance.
The fitting system, the rubber-in-torsion suspension (like the original Squires) and the spartan sidecar all help to keep production costs down for an affordable outfit that won’t have a newbie struggling with sorting out the handling while learning how to ride. I reckon it would be fun for the old hand as well!
JRH 29.10.24
Honda Sidecar Patent
A patent filed by Honda concerning sidecars is unusual enough to prompt investigation. The source article by one Ben Purvis was published on 6 September 2024 in the American magazine Cycle World.
Honda has apparently applied for, but not yet published, a patent for an electrically assisted sidecar that mitigates or eliminates some of the supposed handling problems of sidecars without altering the motorcycle.
There is little detail, but it seems to be an electrically driven sidecar wheel, powered by batteries in the chair, which can fulfil the functions of a differential. Load cells (172, 174 in the diagram below) in the two lower fittings (there don’t seem to be any upper ones) sense the direction and tightness of a bend and via electronics, the sidecar wheel speeds or slows accordingly.
The rest of the article is just fluff showing that Mr Purvis is ignorant of sidecars or prejudiced against them or both. The illustrations show Ural outfits!
I looks like a lot of weight, cost and complexity to solve a problem that we don't actually have and it doesn't appear to change the steering geometry. Honda's R&D initiatives are always worth examining, so I wouldn't discount this out of hand, but some ideas only lead down blind alleys.
A patent filed by Honda concerning sidecars is unusual enough to prompt investigation. The source article by one Ben Purvis was published on 6 September 2024 in the American magazine Cycle World.
Honda has apparently applied for, but not yet published, a patent for an electrically assisted sidecar that mitigates or eliminates some of the supposed handling problems of sidecars without altering the motorcycle.
There is little detail, but it seems to be an electrically driven sidecar wheel, powered by batteries in the chair, which can fulfil the functions of a differential. Load cells (172, 174 in the diagram below) in the two lower fittings (there don’t seem to be any upper ones) sense the direction and tightness of a bend and via electronics, the sidecar wheel speeds or slows accordingly.
The rest of the article is just fluff showing that Mr Purvis is ignorant of sidecars or prejudiced against them or both. The illustrations show Ural outfits!
I looks like a lot of weight, cost and complexity to solve a problem that we don't actually have and it doesn't appear to change the steering geometry. Honda's R&D initiatives are always worth examining, so I wouldn't discount this out of hand, but some ideas only lead down blind alleys.
