Postie Outfit.

A couple of times lately I've seen this postie bike outfit arriving or
leaving work.
The sidecar is a light metal framework, smallish wheel and a milk crate.

The first time I saw him he was making a tight left turn. With nothing
in the crate, he had to use quite a bit of 'body english' to get it
round the corner at a fair old clip.

The second time he had a child as ballast. (10 year oldish with
helmet). First reaction was "Oh My God, that childs sitting in a milk
crate" but then I figure it's probably no more dangerous than riding
pillion. Are there any regulations about the construction of a sidecar?

Looks like a useful urban utility bike.

Must try to get a chance to chat with him.

Moike

 

X-No-archive: yes

Around 1980 Beaumont's Kawasaki here in Brisneyland had a real neat little
device.
It was their bike pick-up vehicle; a Kwak 350 Avenger with the "sidecar"
made up of a steel channel (like a bike trailer) and some tie-down points.
Being only 6" off the ground it was a piece-of-piss to get the "passenger
bike" on and it was much more manoeuvrable and "city-friendly" than a ute or
trailer.
Clem
(although a Z400 might've been a better choice of tug!)

 

In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 9 Nov 2005 10:03:18 +1000

Was standard practice until the 50s because cars were expensive and
sidecar tugs were cheap.

Hardest problem today is finding a suitable tug.

Saw once a Honda Express moped, complete with pedals, getting around
with a weird platform sidecar - bit of masonite, and some wickerwork
around it.

Then I saw it a day or two later, with a labrador asleep on the platform
that I realised what the chair was....


Zebee

 

There's a cute black Vespa with e very Zepplin-eque sidecar that I see
quite frequently around Redfern...

big (Thats "like a dirigible", not "like a 70's rock band"...)

 

If you drop into Vesbar in Surry Hills (errm Crown I think) you'll often
find it out the front (dunno if he works there or just hangs out there
for coffee - they've also got some Vespa trikes there as well.

JL

 

In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 09 Nov 2005 13:17:46 +1100

saw a Vespa with a somewhat oblong sidecar, low sided, all metal...

and with the sardine can key sticking out the side!

Zebee

 

I pity the poor bugger if he hangs out there for the coffee...

;-)

big

 

Not the spring winder?

Gary

 

In aus.motorcycles on 9 Nov 2005 15:04:00 +1000

No, but I have seen somethign like that at a toy run one year. Steib
chair on something smallish, with a rotating key on the back.

Zebee

 

There's a bright yellow Fiat Bambino Convertible running round like that
too...

big

 

Very few, in NSW all the regs are actually about how the sidecar is attached
to the bike, nothing about the sidecar itself.

Al

 

Damn. It sounded pretty cool up until then.


BTH
"Oh, the humanity!"

 

Moike said....

Hmm. Sounds a bit like what a mate of mine would do.

He buys ex-post posties (what else, you may well ask..) and does them up
and flogs them. He rode one on the Barry Sheene ride from Traralgon to
Bairnsdale then back to PI.

When he dropped round where we were staying, I had to marvel at his
engineering skills. The damn thing was fitted out with a nitrous kit!

He'd already blown two engines and was on his third. He wasn't game to
give it another burst til he was within walking distance of home...