Matt & Reece are Guinness world record holders for the longest journey by scooter and sidecar. In 15 months, they covered 34000 miles in 35 countries. We saw them at the bike show in London and heard of their latest venture. They are one of 2 Ural dealers in the UK, and they offer courses of varying lengths riding Ural motorcycles and sidecars around the North of England.
Linda and I signed up for the full day experience. We started off by learning about the Ural outfit. A 4 speed, 750cc boxer engine – stolen from the Germans during the war. It became a game changer for the Russian army with its sidecar wheel being driven. I’m not sure how many outfits Ural sell but they have been selling them since the 1940s. Alas, the Machine Gun is no longer an option. As an adventure tool I think it would be quite capable, on and off road.
Apparently, physics makes all sidecar units the same – without getting too technical when you accelerate, the unit pulls hard to the left. Conversely when you roll off the throttle the unit immediately pulls to the right. However you ride, you are continually fighting the handlebars one way or the other.
After spending the morning on an abandoned airfield familiarizing ourselves with various manoeuvres on different surfaces, concrete, gravel and grass, Linda and I were allowed to take to the road for a casual ride out for lunch – getting some crazy looks along the way.
In the afternoon, Reece gave us the option to try the off-road capabilities, and we had some fun going through fields and tracks on a local farm. We had a thoroughly enjoyable day. If I had a massive garage and huge wallet, I am sure the grandchildren would love me to have one - but for now the sidecar experience will have to do.
Trevor & Linda Cobb
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