Cape Sidecar Adventures has run restored sidecars in Cape Town since 2004. A driver takes the handlebars and you ride in the bucket or pillion, on routes from a short coastal loop to a full day in the Peninsula or the Winelands.
The bikes are the point. Most of the fleet are CJ750s, decommissioned sidecars used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s, themselves built on the German BMW R71. They have been rebuilt and modified for South African roads, and since 2023 a group of Russian Urals has joined them.
You do not drive. An accredited driver takes the handlebars and you ride in the sidecar bucket or behind them, kitted out in a retro leather jacket, helmet, goggles and a bandana. Each bike carries the driver plus one or two passengers, and some carry three.
Routes start with a two-hour run along the Atlantic Seaboard through Sea Point, Clifton, Camps Bay and Hout Bay to the Chapman’s Peak lookout, returning over Constantia Nek and through the southern suburbs. From there they build to a three-hour mini-Peninsula circuit, a four-hour half day, and full days to Cape Point and Boulders, into the Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek winelands, or east along the coast to Betty’s Bay. Itineraries can be tailored.
Highlights
- Restored CJ750 and Ural sidecars, driven for you by an accredited driver
- Leather jacket, helmet, goggles and bandana supplied, in child sizes too
- Routes from a two-hour Atlantic Seaboard loop to full days in the Peninsula or Winelands
- No age limit, and collapsible wheelchairs can be strapped to the sidecar
- Pick-up from the depot, the V&A Waterfront or any City Bowl address
Tips
Pick-up or drop-off outside the City Bowl and V&A Waterfront area shortens the riding time of the tour.