3. Classic motorcycle special exhibition – sidecars from 1926

For the third year running, the classic motorcycle special exhibition will kick off at fahr(T)raum Mattsee from 1 October – this year under the title „Right or Left …. around the world”. A total of 15 historic motorcycle and sidecar rigs from 1925-1960 are on display including, inter alia, a Royal Enfield 1000 with sports sidecar from 1926, a BMW R50 with a Steib TR 500 sidecar (1960) and a Horex Regina 400 with an Austro Omega sidecar (1954). The loans were organised by Karl Holzner and his team and are presented between the Ferdinand Porsche Worlds of Experience automobiles. The exhibition runs until 28th February 2019 (EXTENDED until 28. March).

Around 1900, the development of motorcycles was accompanied by the construction of side-cars. At first wicker chairs, which were mounted in front of (forecar) or behind the motorcycle, were made and – from 1902 – then followed by the first lateral sidecar by the English company Mills & Fulford. The first real sidecar was created after the First World War. Hundreds of sidecar companies already existed in the 1920s and well-known motorcycle manufacturers such as BMW built their own sidecars. In Austria there were eight larger companies, inter alia, Adolf Felber, Emmerich Nagy and Pruckner. The Felber sidecars soon became popular because they were lightweight, reliable and reasonably priced. The world market leader in sidecar construction before WWII was the Nuremberg company Steib Metallbau. The Steib TR500 model, which is also present in the exhibition, was also called „authority sidecar” and used above all in the Nazi German Army (Wehrmacht). After the end of WWII, sidecar combinations became the common man´s vehicle, but then demand dwindled in the face of ever-cheaper automobiles.

With fahr(T)raum´s special exhibition the history of sidecars comes alive again, including fascinating historical details about road traffic at the time. For instance, pursuing the question about when and why sidecars in Austria were mounted from state to state on different sides… right or left?

Get to the bottom of the question and drop in at fahr(T)raum!

Opening hours:
Daily 10 am – 5 pm
24.12. & 31.12. until 1 pm
25.12. & 26.12. & 1.1. closed