American Reacts The INSANE World of Sidecar Racing 

i'd highly recommend looking for content about Guy Martin (the fella with soot all over his face, grinning like a loon). He's a very interesting person, built a custom bike for the Pikes Peak challenge, it's turbo wasn't working properly and he still annihilated his classes time. He's done documentaries on the victorian industrial revolution, buying an old canal boat, slowly restoring it while visiting key places in the UK that changed industry for the world.

Tiff Needell (a former car racer now tv presenter) tried being a passenger in a MX side car. The driver went relatively slowly, hardly leaving the ground on the jumps, After 2 laps he had to pull in because Tiff's arms had become so pumped from hanging on, he couldn't release his grip, that was after 2 slow laps, the professionals do 20 minutes plus 2 laps. Racing sidecar passengers are amongst the fittest sports people.

Welcome to the world of sidecar racing Connor, I used to track race them in the late 70s/early 80s. It was very expensive for me and I could only afford to do a few meetings a season, also I was driving a truck in Europe at the time and couldn't always make it back for meetings I had entries for. My last passenger graduated to the TT in the 1990s and tragically was killed, along with his driver, in practice for the 2011 TT.

Good choice Connor👍 This years Isle of Man TT is all being streamed live online if you're interested.

My uncle won the British clubman series many years ago as a passenger I had a very brief go on the side I ride bikes but these machines are insane.

The TT including sidecars starts at the end of this month and will have a live Internet channel dedicated to all the races. TT+ is the channel name. It is subscription for the live races, but i think at about 20 dollars it's not a bad deal. On the subject of the leathers there are 2 videos on YT called "Cases from the Races Doctor John Hinds" there is in one of them a description of how to cut someone out of the leathers which explains the construction of the suits. Dr Hinds was an emergency doctor operating in Northern Ireland until his sad death in an accident. A very knowledgeable and funny man with a massive love of road racing. I can't recommend his videos to highly.

Finally I'll react to that ! Great that you watched this . If only this was televised .so much potential for TV ,😱

The suits are fantastic. they prevent from grazing, degloving (dont google it if youre squirmish) and have armour where necessary. That being said, we do joke that at the speeds these guys go around public roads, the suits are really just there to keep all the bits of you in one place if you crash.

One of my earliest boyfriends had a bike/sidecar road combo. My parents insisted that I ride in the s/c, thinking it was a nice slow, sedate ride.....we drove around the corner and picked up his Saint Bernard dog, and I then rode pillion. The dog loved it, lol!

In strong left turn, left wheel lift from the ground. So separate brake in left wheel will not help at all. In your theory every racing car can have left and right brake separate but none have.

If you want to see some more weird goings on in England, check out the 'Rufford Ford' videos - cars and other vehicles going through flooded road where no bridge has been provided..!

The part of the tyre on a car or motorcycle in contact with the ground at any given time is about the same size as a CD - remember that 95%+ of the tyre isn't contacting the ground as it rotates - only the tiny bit at the bottom is. On left-hand turns the centrifugal force causes the bike to tip to the right, raising the left wheel up so that the left tyre would have very little contact with the ground. Adding an extra braking mechanism to the left wheel would have almost no effect on left-hand turns.

in finnish the passenger is called "purkkiorja" which translates to "can slave" :D

I was told by a sidecar driver that the driver throttles and steers, but its the passenger who controls how fast it goes. Weight over the wheel especially in right turns gives grip, and it'll flip without the passenger (or monkey) hanging off. Over 115mph AVERAGE speeds at the IOM TT.

Putting a brake on the 3rd wheel would mean that the driver could only guess how much breaking the monkey is going to apply. The suites are the same as a motorcycle suite. There are many layers of different materials including Kevlar that offer good protection against road rash, but they're not indestructible.

Hi I live on the Isle of Man and the TT starts in just over a weeks time. My personal favourite are the sidecars.

Maybe have a look at Touring Car (it's called Supercars in Australia and called DTM in Germany) where they use race versions of road cars. It's on proper race tracks but it's got a lot of contact and crashes.

Absolute 100% lunacy. I went to TT a few years ago and thought, "these people are mad" - - need locked up in a padded cell. I urge you to try to save up some money and go to watch them race on Isle of Man, seeing it up close is completely worth the travel there. The smell, sounds, sights and if you get close enough you can feel the heat coming from the machines................ one for the bucket list.

Passenger weight shift (called weight transfer) is critical. He must work with the driver as a team. Weight moves fore and aft as well as sideways (left to right). Timing of weight transfer is also very important. It only comes with years of practice. There is no radio link between them, sometimes small hand signals are used but, mostly, it just has to be instinctive...

Brilliant, thanks Connor from the UK 🇬🇧

I have the most respect for a sidecar passenger of all classes, I used to be the passenger on a motorcross and sidecar outfit, could you do a review of this as I'd like to hear your comments on still being the passenger 😂👍

The speed limiting factor on left hand turns is simply down to how much weight can be placed over the sidecar wheel. Braking it would have no effect at all because the tyre barely touches (or doesn't touch!) the road.

The passanger is most often refered to as the Suicide Jocky, and yes the outfits are made left and right handed.

I have a friend who was a world sidecar champion , he showed me a photo of a race lineup that he was in and then pointed out how many had been killed , very dangerous sport

I was a sidecar passenger in the 1980s on circuits- not the IOM. Intense doesn't even come close to describing it. If you had a brake on the sidecar wheel it would lock instantly because it has very little weight on it other than the passenger leaning out. We just wore leathers with no body armour. You really don't want to fall out.

He forgot one thing to say about side cars. There is only one side of the vehicle that push the side car forward. Only one wheel is driven by the motor. You can see the effect if you push a toycar on one side forward, the toy will not go in a straight line forward. You have to take into account with that, while driving a side car.

I raced as a monkey (passenger) for a year. If you're not in the right place for a right hander the outfit slides badly and can spin out. If you're not in the right place for a left handed you have a very good chance of flipping the outfit. When that happens the driver is often trapped underneath as it slides. You have each other's life in your hands.

At 8:55 you can see that your idea of only brakeing the left wheel to make tighter turn wouldn´t work, since it´s got almost no traction and even can be up in the air in left hand corners, due to centrifugal forces.

tune in this year live on tv for 14.99 well worth it

I raced solo, then sidecar on road , Moto cross and trials in the 70’s. Yes, Connor, if the passenger isn’t in the right place you will just carry on into the next obstacle. The best fun in the world, but sidecar passengers don’t get the respect for their fitness against G forces.

An extra break I don't think is going to help with left turns. You can see that the issue is not steering but weight distribution. A sharper turn with the inertia of the vehicle is going to make that sidecar want to rise up causing the outfit to lose traction and slide, or make the whole thing tip.

Such an underappreciated sport,, and the 'passenger' is there to shift the C of G horizontally as needs must..

You can slide at very high speeds with little to no injury, it's when you roll that lots of bones are broken.......hence why most riders spread out like a starfish once they hit the ground.

Only road bikes, However did have one passenger that did not understand how bikes work. Went down to our local town ( only about 10 miles ) and I agreed to pay him a taxi back. Weight balance is important on all vehicles, but sidecars are something else.

Generally the leathers protect you well from abrasion. If you hit things, or tumble, you break yourself. As for braking the side at wheel - when you're cornering hard there's no weight on it at all, or it's actually in the air, it would lock instantly.

Having owned 3 sidecar outfits (road ones, never raced one), they take some getting used to. On a road motorbike and side car outfit, you drive with the throttle. Basically, (with the sidecar on the left hand side of the bike as in the UK), as you approach a right hand bend, you close or reduce the throttle and this has the effect of the sidecar coming around the bike. Whereas on a left hand bend you slow down on the approach and then accelerate slightly around the bend thus moving the bike around the sidecar. This is all a bit simplistic and is only a rough guide. In reality you have to consider the dangers. For example on a left hand bend, too much speed will lift the sidecar wheel and can easily cause you to have an accident. One way to help this is to put a passenger or some weight/ballast in the side car, such as the girlfriend, wife, mother-in-law or a couple of bags of sand - whichever looks the most attractive and functional. A right hand bend taken too fast will result in a dry skid understeer if the throttle is not backed off (the outfit will try to go straight on), also if brakes are applied and throttle backed off too severely during a turn, the weight will transfer to the front left hand corner of the sidecar, the bike's rear wheel can lift off the ground and if the front of the sidecar digs into the road, the whole outfit can flip arse over head and end up upside down! I have had a sidecar and rear bike wheel come off the ground many times, but a friend of mine completely flipped his outfit arse upp'ards on a roundabout and he and his girlfriend were lucky to escape serious injury. I have also been passenger on a lightweight trials outfit where my management of my weight whilst riding around a twisty course on a time trial, resulted in me winning a first and second prize with different riders at a motorbike rally years ago. Many solo motorcycle riders will really struggle to ride a motorbike and sidecar outfit and it's really fun to watch them try. I have seen rider and passenger go straight into hedges whilst trying to control the thing and on one occasion, with the outfit heading dead straight for a large tree (the rider being seemingly unable to steer), crashing into the tree head on and hard, and rider and passenger flying off either side of the tree much to the amusement of spectators!!! In sidecar racing you can really see the effect if the passenger happens to fall off. The rider is lucky to regain control in this instance and avoid crashing. If a sidecar brake was fitted in racing as you asked, applying a brake would cause the whole outfit to flip. Remember centrifugal, G forces with the various effects of gravity, and the laws of physics would ensure a disaster. the only way to make it all work is driver and passenger working as a unit in harmony.

Centrifugal force. Because they can't lean like a motorbike, the whole thing wants to flip without the stabilising wheel.

Sidecar brakes a no goer as the wheel on a left hand corner is often off the road hence passenger hanging out in an attempt to keep the outfit from flipping over

Sidecar: the rider decides if you win or lose. The slider decides if you live or die.

How much protection offers a motorcycle suit? There's no good answer to that. I think if depends on how much you spend. They say leather is better for racing, textile suits give more change of road rash. I've had several suits and the cheap ones generally have thinner smaller foam protection on knees, hips, elbows, back. Because I drive all seasons I got a bmw rally suit. Goretex liner with protectors in it over my elbows to my hands. Over my knees to my boots. And a backprotector like 2 inch/5cm thick. A 1200 euro suit. Not trying to brag about it. Not very wealthy btw and I had to skip a vacation or 2 to buy it. But it's worth it imo.

i always loved watching the side cars. a very close friend to my brother passed away in a crash while racing them. unsure if he was the "driver" or "passenger"?

did try those small ones years ago but wasnt very happy with it as apparently two engines had exploded earlier in the day so had to go too gentle

My husband & I have been racing sidecars for over 30 years. We started out riding a pre 1962 historic outfit before also acquiring a F2 outfit. We went to the Isle of Man to pit crew for fellow Australian teams. I want to race at the Isle of Man but the cost & logistics just make it impossible plus my husband doubts his skill to be competive & safe. Without the passenger the outfit will flip over at relatively slow speeds, especially the older style outfits. Being a husband & wife team, there is no way you can have a "domestic disagreement" prior to a race. We have lost 2 good friends who also enjoyed this sport.

I had a road outfit in the late sixties had a bag of cement in the side car to help, but my mate was great a jumping from the bike on to the side car to keep the wheel down . The bike was a 6.50 bsa with clip ones

As on a left turn the wheel will lift off the road, so the passenger leans over the wheel to balance the machine. Braking one wheel could destabilise the machine.

The only thing wrong about the video is the mini sidecars, most people learn simply by getting a licence and turning up to a raceweekend. The first time I ever jumped on a sidecar was for a qualifying session for race 1 and that is the same for most passengers

Grwat video Connor. Keep up the good work

Over the 104 year history of the TT 234 people have died. That incudes both sidecar racing and motorbike races.

The passenger is part of the steering……if the passenger doesn’t move, it will go straight on , it’s pure teamwork, and I did help out for 3 years with a TT sidecar crew , it’s my favourite class at the TT , passengers tend to be lightweight and very fit, most of them know where they are on the 37 mile course by the engine note and the bumps in the road, so they can be out of the air as much as possible, and I’m born and bred here , and only missed two TT races in 53 years…..you have to see it to understand it……👍🇮🇲

'these suits' leather is still the best second skin.. you can wear it off with gravel rash and replace it more easily than skin, so next time you see someone riding even a scooter in a T Shirt think about it and what the tarmac will do to your skin..

OK so you seem to have miss understood the uneven left right turning they can turn left just as hard as right but the engine is under the driver meaning most of the weight of the bike is in line with the 2 right wheels so in a left turn the bike wants to roll to the right and lift the sidecar wheel off the ground and you can see that happen in many clips. the passengers leans as far to the left as possible to offset the weight balance and try to keep the wheel on the ground and not rolling over. having a brake for turning on the side card wheel would do nothing it would brake enough for that wheel to be lifted off the ground but that happens anyway so leave it as a standard brake for slowing faster in the braking zones and trust the passenger to do his or her part to make it around the corners

A can say without a doubt that you can talk to almost anyone in the UK and they will know someone who has had friends or family that have been hurt or killed on the Isle of Man ...

Well just like the video told you the whole thing wants to tip over

Connor did you see the Sideprojects video on the Isle of Man TT that Simon released this week. Very informative.

They held a race for historic sidecars in my hometown every year until 2019. The last time they held it a guy fell off and the driver just kept going until they shut the race down^^

road going motorcycle and sidecars have a separate brake on the sidecar wheel that you can use for cornering

Yeah let's give the passenger a break of his own, Dude?? LOL!!!!!!!

This is crazy but if you want to see something even crazier, search for Sidecar Cross (motocross with sidecars). It'll blow your mind!😀

I can't wait

The passenger also puts weight on the back wheel for accelerating, they're usually lightweight and often small framed and very often women . Sidecars are awesome. Grass track, Speedway, Motocross, all worth checking out. Cheers Subbed.

Also, please watch the video "HOW TO corner a Sidecar like a BOSS! Only a minute long, but it'll shock you :D

On a road combination, a sidecar brake is neither new nor unusual, but the potential bite on a racing chariot would be like dropping an anchor off one side, the driver would always need control, it would be impossible to co-ordinate to the nanosecond between people. A point missed, there have been some fantastic Female passengers, it's not largely strength, but courage and timing.

You might enjoy this YT vid 'The Isle of Man TT: The Deadliest Race in the World' by sideprojects. It's the history of the race, rather than just racing footage

When is the next pmf production video coming out?

No, the driver does the driving. the rider does the riding. Don't mix them up! Micke P

Watch the Northwest 200 Irish Road Raceing

think most suits now have air bags everywhere

This guy 'Driver61' made a great rally video about Colin McRae that you should check out, 'The Tragic Story of Rally's Most Fearless Driver'.

when you turn left the sidecar wants to lift up off of the road

And now young master McJibbin try ....CRAZY ON BOARD SIDECAR SOUTHERN 100....for a taste of err, err, erm Fun.

i was always wondering why there is no sidecars in racing sims - imagine a co-op option for that

If the passenger didn't move it simply wouldn't go around the corner

Can only have one driver. Would you want your Grandmother as a passenger on the highway to have brake control of one of your wheels ?

Thank you.

They would still make the right hand turn if the passenger wasn't there. The side wheel acts as just like a training wheel at that point. If the passenger leaned out to the left, the outfit probably would push badly through the corner but not tip over. When you have weight transfer in a vehicle it always acts through the center of gravity and where that weight is positioned will act like a lever arm against it. You can see that in the extreme when the the wheels come off the ground during high G turns. So much weight has transfered to the outside of the corner the inside wheels isn't doing anything. Another way that happens is the passenger has oriented themselves to the C.O.G. in such a manner that their weight is acting like a lever arm to lift the vehicle. If this kind of thing interests you at all, I highly recommend checking out the RU-vid channel Everyday Engineering, and some older books like Tune to Win and Engineer To Win. My dad has been building engines and cars since 1957 and it's a subject you can literally spend a lifetime learning.

Good Day to everyone. I have one question... does the passenger on the side car when on a race wear a belt or some kind of protection ? Thank you

The suits are the same that the superbike riders wear

Connor I may have mentioned in the past, but look up Atherstone football, ìts where the game began ....spoiler its mental

have you reacted to the fim world speedway gp yet

🇬🇧UK. That was brilliant...

Leather onesies

The suits are brilliant, they keep the blood from leaking out, which is great if your mums watching on TV.

An old guy I worked with years ago raced side cars, the company sponsored him and he was aloud to work on the bike in the evening and some weekend's, I had a quick go in the side round the carpark,, never never again..f that they are scary as f....

The passenger is called rhe Monkey

Dude, the concept of motor sport, is to go fast. You cannot go fast, if your constantly using the brakes.

Isle of MaN (one N)

Proportionaly offshore powerboat F1 racing was waaay more dangerous.

If you just braked the sidecar at these speeds the rig would spin and both rider and monkey would die.

An extra brake would slow it's timing down.

More people have died mountain climbing, are they going to ban that

Hi check out road warriors Irish road racing its worse than the TT

women take part in the sidecar

Far out MANN

I like the cut of your Jibbin? Was that a terrible joke? SORRY.

Sorry mate...you don't have a clue!

what about your tame motor sport,i e usa , its the same gay shit as over here NO REAL DANGER other than the TT long may it live

The suits are Australian Kangaroo Skin.. all moto gp riders use them at 270mph.. Damb you ask stupid questions.. doesn't America know about motorsport around the world?