OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA: 75STEIB SIDECAR
times (I learnt to distrust swan necks and three-
point attachment), the A10 and Steib became a
great combo, easily getting to 80mph.
The first real test was a visit to the Isle of Man
for the 1972 Manx Grand Prix. A group of us left
Holt on this great adventure with Tucker leading
the way. Tucker’s route to Liverpool of A&B roads
was great for solos but a challenge for an outfit
carrying most of the luggage. After some
adventures we got to the IoM and had a great
time. The return trip was going to be more difficult
as I had agreed to carry back a whole Norton ES2
that a friend had blown up and left in the Island
the year before. The ES2 was broken down into big
bits and stuffed into or tied to the sidecar. The trip
home was a real struggle, the overloaded outfit
was a pig to control, not helped by the rear sidecar
connection pulling out of the frame halfway home.
I took my motorcycle test on the outfit, and
passed despite the examiner leaping into the
sidecar and sitting down in the soaking wet seat.
A little later I decided to use the A10 as a solo
and transferred the Steib to a 1955 AJS 18MS that
I had acquired from Tucker. I used four points of
attachment making for a far stronger arrangement.
The big problem with the AJS was the awful
electrics so I fitted a 12v car battery in the sidecar,
welded a car dynamo bracket onto the swan-neck,
attached a pulley to the end of the crankshaft,
modified the primary chain case and fitted a Lucas
car dynamo and control box. The resulting lights
ABOVE The Steib provides a great ride
for the passenger with swinging arm
spring suspension on the wheel and
leaf spring suspension on the tub,
while the hinged mudguard gives
easy access to the wheel.
LEFT Many hands attend to the
sidecar body.
BELOW The Steib chassis on a Ural
in the mid 1980s.