FLXIBLE Sidecar History
FIRST lets talk a little about the FLXI sidecar and its CREATOR, HUGO H. YOUNG, who was an operator of a HARLEY-DAVIDSON sales agency in 1910 in this small midwestern town of Mansfield, Ohio. After starting as a graphic artist and engraver, Young built a PROTOTYPE sidecar for his own use.
This was his BRAIN CHILD with a basic idea which allowed the sidecar wheel to rise over obstructions, or drop below the road level without affecting the motorcycle's balance. The axle pivot of the sidecar wheel was slightly tilted which caused the sidecar wheel always to follow the direction of the motorcycle, whether rounding turns or on a straight course. The year was 1912, and the American motorcycle scene was hopping. New makes of motorcycles were coming out weekly and disappearing just as rapidly. Young was always looking for ways to improve motorcycle travel and hit upon the idea of attaching a sidecar to a cycle. However, Young's did something else that NO OTHER sidecars could, it leaned into curves, making sidecar travel much easier. A traveling salesman friend convinced Young to PATENT his idea and manufacture it. In December 1913 he applied for a patent on his flxiable connection for attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle, and the flexible sidecar company was incorporated in 1914.
The original company was a partnership owned by Hugo H.Young and Carl F. Dudte. In 1916 Young was granted a patent for a sidecar wheel design that allowed it to stay turns in either direction, this was a time of rapid expansion for FLXIBLE COMPANY, Young needed to find a financial backer. Charles Kettering had founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) which was sold to General Motors (GM) in 1916 giving Kettering enough cash to support the fledgling FLXIBLE Enterprise. Now FLXIBLES are being produced in Loudonville, Ohio where Kettering is a native. HOWEVER the following year, with the out break of WW 1. It was not until 1919 that the first "E" in FLEXIBLE was dropped so the name could be copyrighted and trademarked.
Young's sidecar went over in a way. It was such a improvement over the other sidecars that it soon became a favorite. This was especially true for riders in the DANGEROUS sport of MOTORCYCLE SIDECAR RACING. After the war, daring young men began experimenting with FLXIES on county fairgrounds horse-tracks and so the LEGEND OF FLXIBLE SIDECAR RACING began. Soon all important sidecar racing record of the then -governing M & ATA was broken by FLXIBLE Rigs, and when the AMA succeeded that group, FLXIES set records that stand to this day. Were held by race drivers whose cycles were equipped with FLXIBLE SIDECARS and STILL HOLD TODAY.
Durning WW 1, FLXIBLE produced its UNIQUE sidecars for the allied armies. They were attached to an EXCELSIOR motorcycle, carried a mounted machine gun and were used very effectively overseas. After WW 1, the demand for motorcycles dropped as cheap cars became widely available. Among them the FORD model T. In 1920 HARLEY-DAVIDSON built just over 18,000 units while INDIAN about 19,600 but two years later these numbers fell by one-third for HARLEY-DAVIDSON and two-thirds for INDIAN. Also, due to many deadly accidents, sidecar racing was banned in the U.S. after 1925 (until resumption more recently) WILD FLUCTUATIONS on the motorcycle market lead Hugo Young and Charles Kettering to go into Professional car and Motorbus business by 1924. Young's Patent was also the fore-runner of the principle which is now known as KNEE-ACTION in automobiles. The FAMOUS sidecars are gone now, except a few in the hands of collectors and the end of a era...
