Open Cage Reverse Trike

[jim99]

Hi Dave,

I know what you mean when you say "stick with what I know". I visit trade shows and check out the new CNC machining centers and I'm lost, I'll just stick with my old 1984 Bridgeport CNC, it does everything I need, maybe a little slow but works.

Jim

[jim99]

Hi All,

For a pleasant change the weather here at Madison has been very mild the last week. Most of the snow has disappeared.

Today the high was 55 degrees, I think that set an all time high for this date. Was warm enough for me to take a half day of vacation and my wife and I put about 50 miles on trike.

Most was just putzing down back roads. Without a windshield or wind screen the air was a little cold on the eyes.

Sure was great to get out and ride.

Added three thighs to "To Do List"

Softer springs, ride is a little harsh.

More head room needed, will cut out straight tubes above head and add curved ones to increase head room.

Turn signal indicators need to be added to the "dash/switches/key mounting area" and in easy to view location.

All in all it was a great way to use half day of vacation. Only bad part was the clean up after wards. Lots of water spray from puddles on road. But a small price to pay for a great afternoon in February.

Yours, Jim

[3verse]

Wow -- a story like that makes me rethink making mine only a one-seater. How often do you drive it with a passenger along for a ride?

[jim99]

Being as this was the second time I have driven the trike on the street. 50% of the time I have had a passenger along. Not much data to base an opinion on.

The one thing I never liked about motorcycles was having the passenger behind me. I prefer the side by side seating.

Jim

[Jim]

Hi All,

Been a busy summer. I now have about 2,500 miles on trike. So far nothing important has fallen off.

Major changes:
Windscreen
Front sheet metal
Reverse

Minor changes:
Turn signal indicators on dash
Added arch to bars over head for more head room
Various reflectors
Another brake light and more rear turn signals
Cup holders

[img src="[/img]i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww109/9Jim9/th_DSC01806.jpg"]

[kyles974]

Jim,

it's been awhile since I visited here, but let me say......

.......very nice build!



;D

[kyles974]

before leaving here, I had to reply again..... this build needs to be on top!

[jim99]

Hi All,

The trike now has about 3,000 trouble free miles on it. It's been a blast to drive.

Trailered it down to Deals Gap, NC. Put 285 miles on it in three days.



If you have not been to Deals Gap, you need to get there. 318 turns in 11 miles in the Smokey Mountains.





Some of the greatest roads I have ever driven.

[steven hunter]

Hi Jim, My name is Steve Hunter and I am interested in the reverse trikes. I registered into the forum where I found you. Do you like your first trike,(T-Rex style) more than the one you were selling on EBAY? I have a few questions about your first build. Did the the reverse set-up work very good with the sprocket going down on the chain? I did see the other set up, but I do not have the machinery to do that. I also saw this photo of a motor which looked liked a pump. I didn't read anything about it. Possibly a fuel pump? it said 90 psi on the case, made by something technology. Could you explain what it is. You talked about tires also. I didn't think you could put a car tire on a bike wheel because it doesn't have that lip edge to seat the tire, is that so. Do you still have this trike? You sure got a lot of feed back. Oh about insurance, did you have a problem. I like the look of the engine out of the bike,rather than the hole bike put into the rear.it probably save more time.Thanks

[steven hunter]

Jim got your message, but when I started to read the my computer some how deleted while I was reading it. Could you resend the message that I wrote to you. I wanted to see that link from friends.

[steven hunter]

I asked you a question about the rear tire, must of not been watching the build process close enough. Pretty slick idea. I did something similar with a rear disk brake set up on a buggy that I built
The type 4 has a two piece rear drum set up. I took the inner hub and slipped it into the front rotors. Had to do some machining, but it came out sweet.

[mtntech]

I have a quick question. Which seats did you use?

[jim99]

The seats were from Summit Racing. They were cheap and came in several colors and several colors of covers. Nice thing about those seats was if weather turned bad one could strip the covers off of the seats and store them in a dry place until needed.

Jim

[Liteway]

How bout comfort Jim? I'm looking to replace the pep boys recliner I have in mine due to Its' excessive (43 lb) weight, however it makes my trike as comfortable as my Mazda. Too old to go back to the butt burn days I used to suffer on my motorcycles. Is there any padding in that cover and can you stay in it all day without sore spots? How much do the Summit seats weigh? I need a back angle of about 65 degs. If you tip them that much will they bite you under the thighs?

[jim99]

There was minimal padding in the seat covers. I added some 1/2" thick eflafoam under the covers. Helped a little.

The trike was a bit small and not all that comfortable, longest I was ever in it was about an hour at a time. Had a small fuel cell and needed to stop quite often to refuel and stretch.

Longest day I did in that trike was a little over 250 miles. No real problems, just had to stop for fuel every 50 miles.

Summit has many different styles of seats, in my current trike I use a different type of seat. Padded, adjustable front to rear, seat back angle adjustable and may be tilted forwards. Vinyl with good padding. Have sat in those seats for over two hours at a time with no problems.

It all depends on what you want and what will fit.

Jim

[captainamerica]

Jim,

Any chance I could convince you to give out the drawings or CAD files for the reverse system you came up with? I am realizing very quickly how important having reverse is in day to day life. You seem to have come up with the nice solution and we are running very similar engines so I thought I would ask.

Andrew

[jim99]

Hi Andy,

No problem sharing drawings. The Suzuki 600cc and the 750cc engines have the same case dimensions. The 1000cc is different (yours is a 1000cc ?). The 1300cc Hayabusa is another different case dimensions.


I have drawings and pictures for both the 600/750 and the 1300, but not the 1000.

A little background info. I built the 750cc reverse system first. The open cage trike build did not use a stock swing arm or rear axle. I machined all the parts for it. When it came time for the rear sprocket selection, I very carefully choose a 50 tooth sprocket (the only sprocket I had laying around the shop).

With a 50 tooth sprocket the trike was at about 8,000 rpm at 70 mph. Not a fun ride on the interstate hwy. The reverse would back the trike up my driveway (8 – 10 % grade) with no problem. Life was great.

Then I decided to build my current trike and the reverse worked so great I just built another like the first to fit the Hayabusa motor. This trike uses the stock sprocket of about 40 teeth.

That difference in rear sprockets that I ignored is huge. The trike will back up on level ground up to about 2 ½ - 3 % grade and then stalls. The starter motor just does not have enough power.

In the next week or so I will be removing it from my trike. Have not decided if I will build different model or not. If I do I will probably have to incorporate a cluster gear to get a greater gear reduction to pull the load of the trike up a grade. That will also reduce the reverse speed, which would be better; it was a little fast in close quarters.

What file format of drawings works for you? I can send .dwg or .dfx

Jim

[captainamerica]

I'll send you a personal message to deal with this unless you just want to attach them for all to see. I think a dxf would work just fine.