If you put a sidecar on your bike you need to tell your insurers but there is normally no extra cost. 

 

You don’t need to change the log book and there is no extra tax. 

 

You aren’t allowed to park in bike parking spaces. 

 

If you take it for an MOT with a sidecar on it costs a bit more to test. You will of course need to have the lights on the sidecar working, white to the front, red to the back, indicators and brake light. 

 

The MOT tester will fail you if he thinks the connections are not safe. He will test the rig for rocking and clonks and will fail if he or she detects any looseness in the rig, the suspension, the tyres or the wheel bearings. 

 

You don’t need special sidecar tyres. 

 

If the bike has indicators fitted on the left hand side you will need to take them right off, don’t just cover or tape them up. (Weird I know but was failed for this once at an MOT.) 

 

The passenger doesn’t need to wear a helmet or a seatbelt. (If someone rides on the pillion they still need a helmet and grab rails or straps). 

 

They DO need a securely fitted seat and some sort of bodywork in front of them. They can’t just sit on a plank or on a blanket in a box sidecar. ‘Securely fitted’ is surprisingly relaxed, fitted cushions that slide out are apparently ok, if worried you can use Velcro. 

 

You can tow a trailer following the same rules as a car: the trailer, loaded, must not weigh more than half as much as the towing vehicle. You must have the weight marked on the trailer and on the towing vehicle, so you’d better weigh it your bike and mark it. I’ve never been checked. But if you ever crashed towing a trailer, an accident investigator might know about that. 

 

The sensible place to attach a tow hook is NOT directly behind the bike but to the sidecar frame between the bike and chair. This way the trailer will react in the same way as the sidecar, and when going downhill in a left hander, the force of the trailer will do less to push the outfit over. The trailer will also stick out less into oncoming traffic. 

 

Right hand sidecars, as available in Europe, are only permitted if the bike was registered in the UK before 1/9/81. You cannot get around that whatever people say.