Well the Minnesota beast is on the road. I have a 54 big 4 with a watsonian palma on the left side. After about 75 miles of learning(never drove a sidecar) I am getting more comfortable. I have not been above 50mph as it seems to be about the top end. 35 to 45 seems to be a comfort top speed for the bike. Am I correct on this. It does gave factory sidecar gearing. I have no issues with the speeds just wondering if I am correct on my thoughts. 
"The Motor Cycle" published…
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Interesting, will gave to…
Interesting, will gave to take their word. Just sounds like it is getting up to it's limit at 45 ish. Just fo not want to run it faster than it would be happy at.
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Sounds about right to me,…
Sounds about right to me, lovely outfit.
I had a Palma on an Earles-fork BMW, not a bad chair at all.
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I had a Big 4 with D/A…
I had a Big 4 with D/A sidecar as my first bike 55 years ago - that thing would do 45mph everywhere - uphill as well (including the hills in Wales!), think I saw 50mph once but probably due to speedo “bounce”
Bruce
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My first Norton..
.. was a 1948 16H with a Watsonian Avon. It would do 55-ish but became quite terrifying if I pushed it, probably also due to my incompetence at piloting a combination.
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Hi David, great looking…
Hi David, great looking outfit!
Not sure if they ever crossed the pond, but for your entertainment, you could search for images of "Wallace and Gromit motorcycle"- might give you a few ideas if you want to change the paint scheme!
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"The Motor Cycle" published a test report in 1950 on a Big Four with sidecar. They wrote "the machine would maintain its 50-53 mph all day long, apparently without effort". They quote a maximum of 55.