This is a new one to me. Saw a motorcycle w/sidecar on the highway last weekend. One ‘rider’. Only the rider was in the sidecar. There was no one on the bike. Of this I’m quite sure.
It passed on a two lane highway going in the other direction, so I did not get a very close look. It appeared to have handle bars in the sidecar. It was sort of chariot like. And appeared to be a bit Steam Punk.
Anyone see or hear of such a thing? I suspect it was just a onetime hack. Not turning up anything on a Google.
In my quick view of it, It did look ‘Steam Punk’. But the rider may have dressed it that way. And with all the extra control rods and such it sort of looks that way anyway.
Johnny, didn’t you start on the LT2 and then have a DT250? Me too. I now have a '78 Yamaha 650 that I really should get rid of.
For now, it’s off to the store. I’ll have to look into handicappped rider bikes.
I started out on a Taco 44 mini-bike when I was five. The first proper motorcycle I road was a 1964 Yamaha 80 similar to this one when I was ten. Dad’s was yellow, and a previous owner had removed the lights and put a very loud restricted ‘muffler’ on it. I got a new, 1973 Yamaha LT2 Enduro 100cc for a birthday; and a new, previous-year-model, 1976 250cc DT1 for another birthday. I now have a 1994 Yamaha XJ600 Seca II 600cc (another birthday present) that hasn’t been started in years, and a 2002 Yamaha YZF-R1 that I bought new in 2003.
You should keep the '78. Restore it, if it isn’t already. Vintage bikes are .
My mini bike was bought at a K-Mart in 1970. It had ‘suspension’ and a disk brake that clamped onto the oily rear sprocket. So, no brakes.
My first bike was the LT2 Though the add I had for it had a girl riding it in white disco boots. Never did meet that girl…
I put myself in the hospital with that bike. 130 stitches. Hit a culvert and got my head sucked in between the fender and my helmet. Scalped by the rear tire and fender. A bad Thanksgiving day.
My DT250B was my next bike. I stripped it of every ounce including the oil mix pump. I used pre-mix. Put a 55 tooth rear sprocket on it and the biggest knobby that would fit. Great trail mountain machine. Those where the days. Top end was about 50mph, but I got there very, very quickly.
Not sure what to do with the Yam 650. It’s actually a bit small for myself. I’m 6’3”. And the 650 is small framed. If I had a garage, and time and money, I would love to strip it and turn it into a Flat Tracker and squirt around the valley.
I went the other way with the sprocket. I lived in the Mojave Desert, which was pretty much flat where I rode. Before changing the sprocket, I could go 55 mph in 5th gear at 5,000 rpm. After, I could do 65.
In order to keep my membership in the Big Bad Biker Chick Club it’s imperative that I say, “Rice burners!” Okay. All better now.
(My first bike was a Honda, so I can’t crow too loud.)
I’m wondering if the man you saw may have been an amputee or had a mobility handicap of some sort. I’ve seen a number of odd vehicles people put together to keep them out on the road. Once saw an armchair complete with reading light rigged up like a motorcycle at the annual rally! Can hardly call that riding but sounds like a sidecar would still fit the definition.
And two years ago I saw a motorcycle hearse giving someone their last ride.
A friend of mine swears he saw a one-armed man riding a motorcycle a few months ago. I’m still trying to figure that one out.
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