Sidecar Federation

Saturday 26 August 2017

Hans Veenendaal, our Rally List compiler was visiting the Sidecar Fed Annual Rally from the Netherlands. So 10 miles for me seemed only fair.

Didn't find Hans on Saturday afternoon but I could see he had arrived safely and probably gone off to town for lunch. Delighted to see Hans promoting our website so well!

I am a sucker for a nice motorcycle and sidecar combination so I was pleased to find plenty of traditional values being upheld. These are the kind I can recognise; swan-neck, ball-joint, toe-in, lean-out, stronger springs, smaller front sprocket, screw the steering damper tight ... and that's about all there was to it.

Then there were some newer versions using the latest concepts, materials, engines and technologies to swing a third wheel into the third milleneum with a vengence.

I have a soft spot for the Fed since a summer camp with Rodney Gunn in the late 70s. A casual chat turned out to be one of life's pivots.