First attempt at RT

[joeld0803]

I purchased a 2001 suzuki bandit with a 4 cyl 1157cc.
I have been thinking about building a RT for a long time and finally decided to go out and get a bike to attempt it.

I guess now that the bike is in my possesion finally the next step is to decide where to go with it as far as the set up. I want to keep it under 1200 lbs if possible to make good use of the power but I am planning on building something similar to the trike pictured in the background. What would be the best front suspension set up to use. I like the VW torsion system but not sure if it is the best suited for street performance. I would rather have upper and lower A arms with a push rod and coilover suspension system but uncertain about how to go about it. I can pretty much fabricate the A arms but what are used for the bushings and the tie rods and spindles, rotors and brakes?

You can order the entire VW set up with disc brakes complete for about 800.00 but still not certain if it is the right way to go. I found a MG midget front clip for 350.00 used and probably needs to be reworked so it would probably cost about the same but after reading a few articles am sceptical about the MG suspension and really want to keep it as light as possible.

Can anyone share some pics of the fabrication work involved with the different style front ends used. Looking at photo's and video's only goes so far.


There is alot of helpful information on the subject in here and some really nice builds.
Any advise is appreciated.

Thanks,
joel

[scooterrebel]

One suggestion that was posted was a Mazda Miata front suspension, another one was a Mustang II suspension.

A Mustang suspension would have ease of parts availability, especially in the USA.

[Deleted]

you can order a alu. front tubes in other than stock with out of vw mags for under $ 200. Also change number of leaf springs in tubes

[glassman]

I agree. I used a mustang II front end on the RT1 (see build thread) and have been really happy. You can buy anything for these. Lots of aftermarket parts available for these.

[Liteway]

At 1200lbs I think the Mustang II stuff makes good sense. Its heavy but using the smaller 9" discs should give plenty of stopping power and save some weight, and making your own arms could save more. The vw hardware is lighter, but has funky geometry and looks weird..

[scooterrebel]

If you can find a old Pinto sitting someplace and cut the suspension out of it for a core to rebuild, it is the same as the Mustang II I understand. I also saw a ad on Ebay for plans to build the cross member if you prefer, it was about $15.00 for the plans.

[Liteway]

Something else to consider. 1200lbs would double the weight of the bike your motor is from. The motor is plenty strong but the gearing will be all wrong. Bikes have a very tall first gear in relation to heavier vehicles. Taking off will be like having one bandit towing another. Lots of clutch slipping required. You can shorten the overall gearing with sprocket changes but that messes up highway cruising with high rpm and higher fuel consumption. My trike is only 30% heavier than the donor bike and I had this problem. Keep it light as possible. A t-rex with a motor of similar size to yours weighs 900 to 975. I'd target that.

[scooterrebel]

I do not know the top end of the Suzuki in stock form, but something tells me that it would still be pretty quick even with 30mph taken off the top speed.

[Liteway]

I agree scooterrebel, top speed and acceleration will be fine, I was only talking about moving off a dead stop.

[scooterrebel]

I understood that. I was thinking the problem stated was that by lowering the final gear ratio you would suffer a top end loss, I just figured it would still be fast enough for me anyway.

I was also wondering about getting the front suspension off of as small a car as possible to not have as much weight problem, I don't know, like off of a Geo Metro. I've never hear of it being used, I just figured a smaller car would have a lighter suspension. Parts might be hard to find, the Miata might be just as small.

[Raklor]

I am also aiming at starting my first RT this year. I plan on using a VW kingpin front end with disc breaks for my design to simplify the fabrication process. I don't have a ton of Fab experience so the simple bolt on factor while still allowing a degree of adjustment (front beam can be widened, lowered, tweaked) is a huge plus.

My final design will be most similar to this.
reversetrike.com/scorpion.html

[Deleted]

You can find a good fiberglass nose at SpeedwayMotors.com. The track T nose & grill would look good and is cheap.

[jim99]

Hi All,

When considering the changing of the final gear ratio be aware that will increase your engine rpm at cruise.

While this may seem to be an excellent change, more low end power, faster off the line, the ability to really smoke that rear tire, all kinds of good strong guy stuff.

But when you get out on the freeway and find that your engine rpm is four grand higher, the noise level has increased greatly and the fuel mileage has dropped into the low 20's to high teens you may start to rethink final gear ratio after riding a couple of hundred miles at a time.

If you keep your build weight in the 900 - 1,000 pound range you will be fine with the stock final drive gear ratio. This is based on my experiences with 750cc and 1300cc Suzuki powered trikes.

Jim

[joel]

Wow it's been a while since I have checked my post and I appreciate all the suggestions.

I read somewhere that the Trex weighs approx 1100 lbs although there really isn't much to the frame in my opinion.

I have been building the frame on mine out of .120 and .083 square tubing so far and although it looks good I know it is heavier than I want it to be built aluminum wasn't an option due to cost as well as not having the equipment to weld it.

I want to post some pictures of what I have done so far but there is no way to post a picture that I have found.

I guess I need to get my photo's on photo bucket.

I know the stock HP of the motor is around 104 and I am thinking a jet kit and KN air filters would probably wake it up even more and maybe even get a power commander for it.

I was thinking about a Baker transmission as a final drive transmission to have between the stock bike transmission and the final sprocket to get a better overdrive gear out of it.

I am thinking the wieght on my project may end up in the 1300.00 lb range before it is done but I hope I am wrong.

I am planing on using a Mustang II front end with My own custom A arms and coilovers along with a Mustang II manual rack and pinion but I need to figure out what peddles I am going to use as well.

The problem with getting stuff from a junk yard is that it has been sitting and deteriorating for some time out there and it would all need to be reworked but if I can locate something decent I am considering it.