SQUIRE SIDECARS

Founded in 1973, Squire quickly gained a reputation for innovative sports sidecars, ideal for the new generation of Japanese superbikes. By the 1980s Squire was producing hundreds of sidecars for the importers of budget Jawa and MZ motorcycles, creating economies of scale that made sidecars affordable for more riders.

Squire merged with Watsonian in 1988, relocating to the current factory in the North Cotswolds. By the time Watsonian celebrated its centenary in 2012, Squire’s range of sidecars was looking dated and much of the tooling required to make them was obsolete, so it was decided to pause production and focus on Watsonian’s classic designs, for which demand was growing.

Fast forward 12 years and the development team at Watsonian were looking to build a simple sidecar outfit that would be suitable and affordable for motorcyclists to get their first taste of life on three wheels.

They simplified the body shell used for the popular GP Manx sidecar and mounted it on a Platform Chassis, with rubber torsion suspension, as used on previous Squire models. 

Designed specfically for the Benelli Imperiale 400 (to reduce fitting costs) and sold as a complete package, the Squire SB1 was launched at Motorcycle Live in 2024.

The Squire SB1 proved very popular, featuring on The Motorbike Show with Henry Cole, but production of the Benelli Imperiale 400 ended in 2025 and Watsonian bought the final few left in the UK to fulfil orders. Work has now started to find a suitable alternative machine for the Squire outfit.

Find out more about the Squire SB1 Sidecar Outfit HERE