The Isle of Man TT races will celebrate the first appearance of sidecars on the TT course some 90 years’ ago—in 1923. The sidecars will complete a parade lap on Senior Race day, Friday, June the 7th.

Many of the legendary riders, passengers, and machines will be in the parade, giving fans the chance to see some of the amazing machines in action once again.

Windle Yamaha

First off on their parade lap will be Stuart Muldoon with passenger Chris Gusman on the ex-Jock Taylor race-winning outfit of 1982.

This is the same Windle (named after sidecar builder Terry Windle) Yamaha machine that Taylor used with passenger Benga Johansson to set an incredible 108.28 mph average lap on.

An outfit used in the 1980 European Championships by Steve Webster, a 500-cc Windle Yamaha, will be driven by TT sidecar legend Dave Molyneux.

More modern sidecars will be included in the parade lap, too. The winner of the 2010 and 2011 sidecar TT’s, Klaus Klaffenbock, will use his race winning machine from those years and a rare appearance on the TT course of a long wheel-based chassis'd (the long wheel base chassed sidecars are not allowed to race in the TT) LCR Suzuki can be seen when three-time British Champion Tim Reeves along with passenger Dan Sayle take to the course.

Barton Phoenix

Another interesting sidecar from the 80s is the 750-cc Barton Phoenix. The engine was designed and built by Barry Hart and Tony Ryan (remember the Silver Dream Racer movie?) and won the 1986 race with Nigel Rollason. His old passenger, Colin Bairnson, will be in the chair for the parade lap.

One of the most successful manufacturers of sidecars, having won 19 world titles, is BMW. They will be represented by Stuart Applegate with passenger Greg Mahon on a 1971 BMW 1000, while former passenger Alan Blackhurst will do the driving of a 1970 750-cc BMW. And we can't forget Brian Alflatt and Heath Lane who will also be BMW-mounted.

Local riders Eric Bregazzi and Jimmy Creer will be out on the 1989 race-winning outfit of Dave Molyneux--a TZ750 Yamaha.

Technically Advanced Sidecars

One of the most technically advanced sidecars (for its time) will be out on the TT parade lap in June, too. The monocoque chassed outfit of Trevor Ireson caused a stir in the 80s by replacing the entire steel tube frame of a racing sidecar with Aluminum alloy sheets—the technology was based on similar trends in F1 car racing. The suspension was also race car based and caused much controversy, as many of the older sidecar enthusiasts felt these machines were deviating away from the "conventional" motorcycle with a sidecar layout.

A typical example of what many classed as a "conventional" sidecar will be a replica of the 1969 649-cc Triumph Kneeler. The outfit will be driven by the original builder and rider Graham Alcock and will be passengered by Broderick Wilson.

The 1923 Isle of Man TT was the first time the Sidecar TT race was run over three laps (113 miles) of the Mountain Course and was won by Freddie Dixon and passenger Walter Perry with a special Douglas banking-sidecar at an average race speed of 53.15 mph.

Important records:

First sidecar race at the TT was 1923

First over 100 mph lap (102.8) by a sidecar was recorded in 1977 by George O'Dell and Kenny Arthur, riding a Yamaha

Current sidecar lap record stands to Nick Crowe and Dan Sayle at 116.667 mph and was set in 2007

Most successful TT sidecar racer is Manxman Dave Molyneux who is a 13-times TT winner