Mash Black Side 445 2023 — Specifications

Three wheels on the road, a rider sitting like they're in an armchair, a passenger watching the scenery scroll past on the side: the sidecar has never tried to blend in with the crowd. That's precisely what makes it charming. In the nineteen-twenties and thirties, the combination reigned on European roads, the family vehicle par excellence before the 4 CV and the 2 CV democratized the automobile. Today, it survives on the fringes of the market, somewhere between nostalgic enthusiasts and curious souls seeking an experience nothing else can replicate.

Mash, the importer that has flooded the French-speaking market with affordable single-cylinder machines, recognized the opportunity in this near-vacant niche. Following the Family-Side in 2017 and the Force in 2021, the brand now offers a third variant called the Black Side. The technical base remains that of the Force, but the aesthetic treatment shifts registers entirely. Everything is painted black, accented with a few white pinstripes that unmistakably evoke the postwar BMW outfits. The 41 mm leading-link fork, the rounded sidecar body, the dual seat, and the knobby 18-inch tires throughout all contribute to a silhouette that looks firmly in the direction of the Russian Urals. It's deliberate, it's coherent, and it works.

The real novelty over the Force lies in a 25-kilogram weight reduction. Mash didn't resort to exotic materials to achieve it — just good old-fashioned mechanical common sense. Luggage rack, spare wheel, ammunition boxes, headlight guard, superfluous brackets on the fenders: all that military paraphernalia was shown the door. The Black Side thus tips the scales at 317 kg fully fueled, which remains considerable but more reasonable for a combination of this size. And that diet has a direct consequence on the price, which drops below the symbolic 10,000-euro mark, at exactly 9,999 euros. In a segment where the Ural CT starts at around 17,000 euros, the pricing argument is compelling.

That's where things fall slightly short. The 445 cc single-cylinder, with its 28.5 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 34.3 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm, holds its own on a solo motorcycle. On a 317 kg sidecar, the 5-speed gearbox and chain will be working hard. Top speed reaches 105 km/h, which corresponds exactly to the cruising pace this type of machine naturally imposes. It's frustrating to know that Mash has a 650 cc engine in its catalog, fitted to the Six Hundred or the Dirt Track, which would have delivered vigor far better proportioned to the overall mass. This mechanical choice seems driven more by pricing logic than by dynamic coherence.

That said, would it be fair to criticize a classic sidecar for not performing like a sportbike? The Black Side isn't aimed at track riders or long-distance tourers. It speaks to those who want to share the road differently, bring along a child or a friend who can't ride pillion, or simply trigger smiles at intersections. The reverse gear, the large integrated sidecar trunk, and a price under 10,000 euros form a proposition no direct competitor in France can match. Love at first sight, for its part, is neither negotiated nor easily explained.