See what's happening in the world of Sidecars

The first sidecars on motorcycles made their appearance in the very early 1900’s. Early models were often like wicker armchairs and are rare collectors' items nowadays. Before long they started to resemble the sidecars we see today. Many of them were enclosed and were made by companies that also made wooden or steel car bodies. Many sidecars were enclosed and acted as the equivalent of today’s family sedan. In the recession years of the 1930's through the 1950’s many different companies made sidecars. Some were aviation firms which brought new designs and materials into the market. Sidecars played a significant role in WWII in all theatres of war. Up until the end of their heyday in the 1950’s sidecars were used in a far more utilitarian role than those you see today which are mostly used for fun and sport.

A Brief History of the Cozy Sidecar

The Cozy has its roots with the famous German sidecar manufacturer Steib. The Steib company was founded in 1914 by Josef Steib Sr. The Steib company started as an automobile paint and upholstery shop. In 1925, Steib was contracted by Ardie-Werk to build a sidecar for their new Ardie TM-500 motorcycle touring model. It was at this point that Steib expanded his shop facilities to accommodate sidecar fabrication.

By the 1930’s Steib together with Stoye of Leipzig, the major sidecar supplier for Ardie-Werk at the time, enjoyed 80% of the market share in Germany. By the 1950’s, Steib was the world leader in sidecar production and sales with over 90% market share. In 1955, Steib fabricated approximately 50 sidecars per day. A year later production fell to only 5 sidecars per day and dwindled almost to a close when Ardie-Werk shut down in 1958. By this time however BMW was still offering motorcycles with Steib sidecars and even had one model commissioned to their specs, a modified TR500 marketed as the BMW Spezial.

In the 1960’s Mr. Bhatwadekar of Mumbai (Bombay) India made an arrangement in collaboration with Steib to manufacture a Steib sidecar in India. He worked with Mr. Wahab, an Indian craftsman to develop the sidecar. At some point differences developed between the two men and they split into two companies; Cozy sidecars and Globe sidecars. There was a good market in India for the sidecar and both companies did a good business. Globe not only sold sidecars within India but did quite well in the export market. Mr. Bhatwadekar passed away and Globe was taken over by his son Mr. Shekhar. The market for sidecars in India started to falter and Globe was surviving on the export market and Cozy was only a small supplier.

In 1994 an enterprising businessman named Avinash Gupta from Pune India, a former engineer with Bajaj Auto, started a marketing company namely Silverline Marketing. He approached Globe with the intention of helping them further their export market. At the time Globe was the dominant sidecar supplier in India. They declined and Mr. Gupta then joined hands with the smaller Cozy sidecars. By this time Mr. Bhatwadekar and Mr. Farid (son of Mr. Wahab) had taken over the leadership of Cozy. Silverline Marketing's first order was from Germany for 20 sidecars. The German customer wanted the sidecars made to mount on the right hand side of the motorcycle as opposed to the left had side as had been the norm in India. Mr. Gupta developed the sidecar for Cozy, devised the packing and insisted on only top quality products. Through his skill in marketing, honest approach to business and a great product from Cozy he turned them from a strictly domestic company into a global company. Globe, which had been surviving on international business, lost most of it to Cozy and a few years ago closed its doors and liquidated their assets.

Today we enjoy a strong relationship with Mr. Gupta and his son Shital who has joined him in business as well as the Cozy Company. We have done business with them for many years and love the product. Cozy makes a good strong high quality sidecar. Mr., Gupta has been a very reliable person to do business with, He continues to help develop the Cozy sidecar and its accessories in addition to acting its agent.