1923 Raleigh 24″ Gents Roadster with Watsonian Box Sidecar
(Now sold)
This 1923 Raleigh is fitted a Watsonian Commercial Sidecar …and is ready for business!
It’s a 24 inch frame with Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub gear and hand-control on the top tube.
Though postwar Raleighs are plentiful (and very popular too), Raleigh Roadsters from the twenties are now much harder to find.
The wheels are 28 inch.
The bike is in good order and ready to use.
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and for dating Raleighs by their frame numbers:
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It has a period Brooks saddle.
The sidecar chassis has been properly fitted to the bicycle.
As well as the two fitting clamps, it is also bolted to the bicycle’s rear wheel spindle.
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History of this Sidecar
Though it’s very rare to know much of the early history of the remaining vintage bicycles on the road today, I do know about this sidecar. I bought it from Andrew Bothwell. The picture below was taken in Bognor Regis in 1954.
Andrew, aged two, and his brother aged four, are in the home-built aluminium-bodied sidecar, with Mr. Bothwell on his Raleigh Gent’s Roadster.
The sidecar body has long since perished, but the sidecar frame and fittings were still in good condition.
As you can see from the Watsonian advert below, you could buy the sidecar chassis new in this form. So I bought a metal box for it, had the rear wheel spindle nut re-manufactured, and fitted it to my 1923 Raleigh Roadster to recreate the set-up used by Mr. Bothwell.
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WATSONIAN SIDECARS
To read more about Watsonian and their Bicycle & Juvenile sidecars
and to see photos of these two sidecars together
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The sidecar box has a key, though it can sometimes be a bit fiddly to open when it’s locked. There are even vintage newspapers lining the bottom of the box!
It would be ideal to use for a small business. You could easily fit a sign to the box for advertising and take it to local shows, fetes or exhibitions, as well as parking it outside your premises. The sidecar can be removed or attached in just a few minutes (by removing the wingnuts on the chassis – the photo below has a close up view), so it’s easy to store or transport. The other option is to remove the box and fold the chassis to the side of the bicycle. The box is a lightweight metal one and easy to carry with or without the sidecar attached.
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FRAME NUMBER 877370
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I should mention that riding a sidecar outfit takes some practice. Sidecar riding is a lost art.
1. You have to lean into bends, ie sidecars do not steer around corners, the bicycle drags it round.
2. The added drag of a sidecar means the bicycle pulls to the left when riding in a straight line;
traditionally one rests only the right hand on the handlebars to even the pull.
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THIS IS NOW BEING ADVERTISED FOR SALE
to see what’s currently being sold
PLEASE CLICK HERE – http://buyvintage.co.uk/
www.Oldbike.eu 
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