For fun! I can take a hint… While I was lost in the lost world of 4 wheelers these last few days, the page views have dropped. I agree- the new cars bore me. Seems they’re all trying to make them sound and feel like electric cars. I was perusing the annual report of one of the big audio companies the other day and noted that they’d developed a sound system for electric cars that impersonates the sound of a conventional car.Apparently they can make it mimic whatever the manufacturer wants, up to and including a bellowing V-8, screaming Porsche flat 6, or the symphony of a V-12. But they’ve had no takers, and GM is introducing a sound system for a new model that uses out of phase mimicing of engine noise to trick us into “experiencing” silence. Yuk….

We all know that the most fun is had on two wheels, but the mostest fun is on three… Where else in motorsports can you practice “hanging off” and “flying” as well as the usual twisty road amusements? And when there’s friends (or enemies) or stuff to be hauled, no need to imprison yourself in the 4 wheeler for the duration. For the first year I lived out here in the country I shuttled one lawnmower back and forth between here and my old place in the city every week or two to keep the places presentable. Just whip out the seat on the above sidecar, lift in the mower and the big cooler, and off we go for an enjoyable ride! And the mower didn’t even take up half the sidecar… On the way back to my country house I’d stop at Costco and fill up the rest of the sidecar!

Now consider for a moment that with a sidecar, you might not need a 4 wheeler at all. Or at least if you’re middle aged like me and have a few late model 4 wheelers around, you might never need buy a 4 wheeler again. Let’s do the numbers- there are some decent new midsized bikes in the $5-7k range, and $3k will get you a new sidecar. Good luck finding even an econobox with some warranty left for less than $10k… But that money will put you on a new bike and sidehack with cheaper insurance and lower fuel costs, an’ all your bike hating neighbors and friends(?) will want a ride in the ‘hack… What’s not to like?