This 10 minute film is part instructional video and part adventure documentary, it’s hosted by Helge Pedersen who is one of the most experienced adventure motorcycle riders in the world, and he just happens to own a BMW 1200 GS sidecar rig.
Riding a motorcycle with a sidecar is a whole different kettle of fish to riding a regular two-wheeled motorcycle, cornering is completely different, there’s no counter steering as there is with a traditional motorcycle, and there’s a lot more upper body work required, but on the plus side it doesn’t matter if you forget to put the kickstand down.
Helge has been adventure motorcycle touring non-stop since 1982, almost 40 years, and he’s seen more of the planet’s surface from a motorcycle seat than almost anyone else alive. This makes him uniquely qualified to give a wide ranging introduction to adventure sidecar riding, Helge has ridden expensively on both two wheels and three.
In this short film he explains the major differences between two and three wheeled motorcycling, he also gives a great overview of his own custom-built sidecar combination, featuring the man who built it. If you’ve ever been curious about going places on three wheels this film is a must-watch, it’s an informative and fast-paced introduction to the art of sidecar riding, and there aren’t many people on earth more qualified to show you the ropes.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The unusual custom Kawasaki KZ650 you see here is the work of Brent King, founder of Mifune Werx Custom Motorcycles based out of Ohio. We turned it over to Brent to tell us about the build in his own words, it’s a fascinating story resulting in a bike unlike anything we’ve seen before. I am…
This article was written by Paul Brace, a life-long bike enthusiast with a background in professional engineering and restoration, including the design and construction of the Eagle E-Type Speedster. I was looking for a lovely 916 for years but ‘the one’ never turned up. I would have been very happy with an exceptional standard 916…
The Bimota SB2 was a significant evolutionary step forward for motorcycles when it was released in 1977. Massimo Tamburini had designed not just a superbike, but the future of superbikes. His new creation featured an ultra-lightweight chromium molybdenum trellis perimeter frame, a bulletproof Suzuki GS750 DOHC engine that doubled as a stressed member, and handling…
This Triumph Speed Triple custom is quite unlike any other custom Triumph we’ve seen in recent memory. As you may have guessed it’s the latest build from the highly-regarded team at Metalbike Garage, who’ve made a name for themselves for their ability to shape aluminum bodywork into almost impossibly curved shapes. Metalbike Garage is based…
This custom BMW R1100GS is the work of one of Poland’s pre-eminent custom motorcycle garages – Red Hot Chili Customs. The donor bike was bought from its former owner in Switzerland before being transported to Poland for a rebuild into a custom scrambler with genuine off-road ability thanks to its GS origins. Red Hot Chili…
This is an original Rickman Metisse-Suzuki 500 Titan, one of the earlier Japanese-engined road racing Rickmans. The combination of reliable, high-output Japanese motorcycle engines with beautifully engineered British frames and suspension led to some of the best handling bikes of the era. The Rickman Brothers Derek and Don Rickman were already world class motocross racers…
