The motorcycle rider is high up, in control, a serious person, while the sidecar passenger perches low to the ground, her bassinet all that protects her from the whims of the driver or the surrounding vehicles. This arrangement has been used for comic effect in many

movies

, among them The Aristocats and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

But the oft-mocked sidecar also presented opportunities for creativity. One old design from Harley-Davidson put the sidecar in the driver’s seat.

Birth of the hog

The first true motorcycle, according to

Bicycle History

, was the Daimler Reitwagen. Built in 1885, it was essentially just a wooden bicycle with a combustion engine glommed onto it.

The concept grew in sophistication, and soon others were building motorcycle prototypes. In 1903, three brothers and a friend started a motorcycle company in Milwaukee. The brothers were named Davidson, and the friend was a Harley.

Harley-Davidson quickly established itself as an authority in motorcycle building. In the first few years of its existence, says

Harley-Davidson Insurance

, the firm added speedy two-cylinder engines, sponsored racing teams, and cranked out bikes. This hard work paid off: a century later, “Harley-Davidson” is among the most famous names in motorcycling.

Taking a ride in the Harley sidecar

Harley-Davidson’s specialty was and is building motorcycles, and the company’s typical designs are meant to support one person, riding triumphantly astride as on a horse.

But for as long as motorcycles have existed, suggestions for carting around passengers (besides the two-to-a-seat option, which is fun but of questionable safety) have existed too. The sidecar, which was first attempted on a bicycle in 1893 in France, says Harley-Davidson Insurance, was one such suggestion.

A sidecar is a seat that is bolted onto (yes) the side of a motorcycle so that another person can ride along while the motorist drives. In 1915, Harley-Davidson released its own motorcycle-sidecar combination, and in short order the U.S. Army had ordered a fleet for the purposes of “ferrying officers about,” and to use as potential machine gun mounts, says

Rider Magazine

This period turned out to be the heyday of military sidecar usage, thanks to the dropping prices of mass-produced regular cars that quickly followed. But the eccentric sidecar clung on, in no large part due to enthusiasts, and the concept even got a few interesting revisions.

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A different kind of Harley sidecar

One sidecar customer decided to flip the script. Maybe this person was scared of navigating through traffic on a normal motorcycle, or maybe they just enjoyed being a little different, but either way: Harley-Davidson built a very unusual motorcycle-sidecar for them.

In this 1916 motorcycle, the person driving sits in the sidecar, not on the main frame. They reach across to grab the oddly-angled handlebars, and enjoy sitting on a comfortable chair that is boosted by three total wheels. The whole setup looks like a covered wagon with its top down, and a motorcycle’s front where the horse would be. If you don’t mind leaning a little to the left all day long to control your vehicle, then this could be a very fun way to travel.

It’s unclear if this particular upside-down sidecar option had any siblings, or if this was the only one of its kind. Boring old regular Harley-Davidson sidecars, however, were discontinued in 2011, says

Money Inc

. Perhaps the famed motorcycle company could find a new niche if they revisited an old design from 1916.

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