Mick Payne looks at the pre-war king of sidecars, Steib.
Once upon a time when sidecars ruled the world, men wore flat caps and us kids got free milk at school, the coach-built saloon was king.
Coach-built child/adult (or even several children and Mum) were often hitched to asthmatic four-stroke singles. These were often the family man’s only mode of transport for work and pleasure – if taking a grumbling mum and over-excited kids the hundred or so miles to the coast on the annual holiday was really pleasure.
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There were other sidecar owners who were more enthusiastic about a chair than simply using one as a necessity. These folk may have owned a Vincent or BMW and would have wanted a similarly upmarket chair. There were a handful of British sidecars to meet the bill, but for many riders it was the German Steib that would be chosen. Built between 1928 and 1957, it became the standard fitment for BMW and it is thought to have had 92% of the domestic sidecar market. Currently high-quality replicas are also available from Germany, which is just as well as the steel bodies are prone to rust.
Sarah Price, who owns this particular example, is not sure whether hers is an original chair or a reproduction dating from 2014. It was paired to a 1982 Kawasaki by David Angel of F2 and Sara is very impressed with her first outfit, saying; “The car came first and I was looking for a Steib or Watsonian as I like the bullet shape”. This one came up for sale locally as the current owner needed to finance some windows and was then followed by the bike as that vendor needed the space to store his own sidecar. Serendipity, eh!
“I did a course with ‘The Sidecar Guys’ and had an experience day. It was a tremendous fun and I really loved it” Sara adds. The bike and chair are basically unmodified and are, of course, tax and MOT-free, while this combo has the power for which any 1950s sidecar enthusiast would have sold his soul. “Originally the idea was to have an outfit for pootling around the countryside and perhaps to pop to the supermarket for groceries,” Sara tells me, “Though the nature of the beast is that it’s not really a pop anywhere machine.
“It rides great as an outfit and has plenty of poke to safely perform overtaking manoeuvres! Given its age it can be a bit fussy through the gears and sometimes needs a little extra encouragement on the throttle”. Neither bike nor sidecar have been modified and the chair is unbraked, although whether this will always be the case remains to be seen – outfits do seem to promote tinkering. As Sarah says, “I have no intention of selling it, I want to show it off a bit first and maybe more sidecars will become a thing. But I will need another shed…”
It’s great to see a Steib being saved and used as it should be. I can only think of a visit I payed to an AJS and Matchless specialist who showed me about half a dozen Steib bodies they had leaning against an outbuilding wall. Every one had the floor rotted out; in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are little heaps of rusty dust now. Let’s face it, steel isn’t really the ideal material for sidecar tubs although there are still various copies of the full Steib range being imported from India.
These are proving quite popular, too, and if they appeal to you they are available from Trike and Sidecar Exchange. Ring David on 07808 572709 or email [email protected]. Alternatively, you can contact Poland-based Oldtimer Garage for replica spares and bodies by visiting oldtimergarage.eu.
Original article appeared in Old Bike Mart. To subscribe, click here: https://www.classicmagazines.co.uk/old-bike-mart
