Pictures that recall the golden age of the motorcycle sidecar

They are seldom seen on the roads nowadays, but as today’s selection from the archive reminds us, sidecars were a familiar and affordable appendage to motor bikes for the first three-quarters of the last century.
H C Mills of Blackburn entering Salisbury on his Premier motorcycle with sidecar on the Motor Car Club London to Exeter run.   (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)H C Mills of Blackburn entering Salisbury on his Premier motorcycle with sidecar on the Motor Car Club London to Exeter run.   (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
H C Mills of Blackburn entering Salisbury on his Premier motorcycle with sidecar on the Motor Car Club London to Exeter run. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The first were little more than wicker chairs mounted to a chassis – sometimes by lone mechanics in their garages – but at the height of their popularity, sidecars were turned out by small, independent manufacturers up and down the country. Even today, federations of enthusiasts survive.

Their decline was precipitated by the closure of a loophole in the law which until the 1960s allowed a bike with any size of engine to be ridden on a provisional license, so long as it had a sidecar attached. Nevertheless, custom models are still available.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

A Premier motorcycle powerful enough to carry six people in its sidecar is driven up the steep gradient of River Hill, Sevenoaks.   (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)A Premier motorcycle powerful enough to carry six people in its sidecar is driven up the steep gradient of River Hill, Sevenoaks.   (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
A Premier motorcycle powerful enough to carry six people in its sidecar is driven up the steep gradient of River Hill, Sevenoaks. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson, Editor

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.