 The Tao of
Tigger
Dauntless sidecar rig is a one-of-a-kind – for now
In the early 1980s, Benjamin Hoff served up Taoist
philosophy by contrasting western thinking to Winnie-the-Pooh. It worked with
his Tao of Pooh book release. Hoff was lured back to the pen in the 90s to
complete the job with the Te of Piglet. …Didn’t work so well…
But in 2003 Jay and Tara Giese of
Dauntless Motors
in Covington had an idea - and what a
clever one it was…
The dual sport sidecar concept has been gathering steam as
of late. The Giese’s are some of the better-known creators of sidecar rigs in
Puget Sound. The idea was simple – take a Triumph Tiger, add a Ural sidecar
and a clever paintjob and voila – You have a Tigger!
 Lots
of people have ideas for sidecars. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
There are those who go with a standard setup, and others who attempt to make
something out of nothing. The results can be great, or …ennnhhh...
But when an idea for a three wheeler actually turns into a
winner, it’s an occasion to celebrate. For the Giese’s the Tigger concept
worked.
Think of all the times you’ve seen sidecars. The epitome
of a sidecar rig is to be able to look at both the bike and the car and say
‘these belong together.’ If you can’t say that, then the rig may have merit in
terms of efficiency, but lack in terms of artistry.
To look at Tigger is to wonder – this rig is so classic,
yet so obvious, isn’t there someone out there producing these in quantity. The
answer is no – for now.
"We do these one-offs because it’s both interesting for us
and our customers, and it’s good for our business," commented Jay Giese from his
shop in Covington, a town near Kent, Washington. As Giese has developed his
business he has always had an eye peeled for the new and the different.
 The
clever paint job was executed by Russ Foy of Custom Classic Paintworks. Besides
the Ural sidecar attachment, the Triumph Tiger is outfitted with a dual D&D
exhaust system, so this Tigger truly has a growl (see left). The entire
transformation came close to $20,000.
Driving Tigger requires a bit of Taoist technique, as does all sidecar driving.
Want to turn right? That’s not so easy in a sidecar rig, but Tigger has a
segregated right wheel brake, simplifying the maneuver.
And with two passengers on board during our test ride, it was even easier when
everyone figured out to lean right into the turn.
There were actually two test rides. One with the 90-pound
Grace Emily doing her best to be ballast and no rear passenger (not easy, and I
recall Grace’s comment as we left Dauntless – ‘are you sure you know how to
drive one of these’). Then a second ride with both a rear and car passenger. The
later was the more pleasurable experience from the operator’s standpoint – once
we got in the groove of those right turns.
And we put Tigger to the test. We took Tigger north of
SR18 to the land of Twin Peaks at Snoqualmie Falls, then further to the Mill
Pond Road and even up Mt. Si Road to the end of the pavement. What a blast! I’ll
never forget driving the ladies (test #2) through Issaquah with them waving at
the pedestrians like it was some inaugural parade. This is what having a sidecar
is all about. And of course Tigger is a head turner so there’s no lack of
attention if that’s what you need.
The ultimate test came on the Issaquah-Fall City Road.
Those of you who have ridden its entire length know it is loaded with twisties.
Great if you’ve got a sportbike, a bit more of a challenge with the three
wheeler. And Tigger passed with flying colors (once we got the groove of those
right turns).
As a person who holds a license to operate a side car, has
been through the sidecar safety training offered by the state, but still has no
intention of owning a rig due to space limitations, I’d have to say – Tigger has gotten me several steps
closer to considering the investment and finding the space.
TM/Summer 04
Jay & Tara Giese build sidecar rigs in Covington,
Washington. For more information visit
www.dauntlessmotors.com
Have you got a bike we need to know about.
Email us.
|
