BRADFORD, Pa.—When Brian Mahaney started riding his Harley, he experienced a sense of freedom and adventure—but realized that many others wouldn’t have that.
“I got thinking about those in wheelchairs, disabled vets, and others who wouldn’t get to feel the road this way,” said Mahaney, who took that thought, and put some wheels on it.
Mahaney and his wife, Michelle, started “Forged Spirit Garage” this past summer with the intent to develop a wheelchair accessible sidecar, which offers what he calls “two-wheel therapy.”
“Getting out on the bike is amazing. You feel the wind, and the road, and you don’t think of anything. It’s a great way to clear your mind, and you aren’t thinking about the bills, the stress or the worry or anything but being on the road,” explained Mahaney.
Wheelchair accessible sidecars and trikes aren’t a new thing, but Mahaney explained the Forged Spirit sidecar is different than existing wheelchair options. Most sidecars that allow a wheelchair rider to board are boxy and enclosed, and it doesn’t feel the same as riding a motorcycle.
“Some people with wheelchairs will ride trikes, but if they take that trike on a dice run, they have to leave their wheelchair behind. So if they want to get off the trike and go into a barbecue joint, they can’t do that,” said Mahaney. “Their wheelchair is where they live their life—it’s their transportation when they aren’t on the bike—and if they can’t have it with them, it really is limiting. With this, they can do what any other able bodied rider can do—they can ride the bike somewhere, and then get off and go in and eat, or whatever, and then get back on the bike and go home.”
