New look for old trike.

[Liteway]

[Liteway]

Forgive me for belaboring the point, perhaps because my gut reaction in looking at the trike is the same as yours. Wheels look curiously dinky so I'm a bit defensive about it.
It helps to remember this trike is built on a smaller scale than  others on this site, Most of which are 800lbs plus. They are equipped with wheels and tires made for 3000lb plus vehicles.
Mine weighs about 550 with a half tank of fuel.

The present tires were designed for the likes of 1960s 1400lb Minicoopers which won several World Rally championships (against much larger and more powerfull competitors) on similar size tires. The front corners of a Mini carry about 420 lbs each (.6 X 1400/2) My trike, about 146 lbs. (.53 X 550/2). I think they are up to the task. Bigger tires and wheels would decrease performance for reasons already stated in the previous post.

[stretchmobileski]

Feb 15, 2014 12:26:38 GMT -5 Liteway said:

Forgive me for belaboring the point, perhaps because my gut reaction in looking at the trike is the same as yours. Wheels look curiously dinky so I'm a bit defensive about it.
It helps to remember this trike is built on a smaller scale than  others on this site, Most of which are 800lbs plus. They are equipped with wheels and tires made for 3000lb plus vehicles.
Mine weighs about 550 with a half tank of fuel.

The present tires were designed for the likes of 1960s 1400lb Minicoopers which won several World Rally championships (against much larger and more powerfull competitors) on similar size tires. The front corners of a Mini carry about 420 lbs each (.6 X 1400/2) My trike, about 146 lbs. (.53 X 550/2). I think they are up to the task. Bigger tires and wheels would decrease performance for reasons already stated in the previous post.

It's your trike and looks fine the way it is. I would probably change the front wheels also, but I think it's a two fold issue. They are smaller and there's nothing wrong with that. Second is the type of wheel, Centerline? It's plain and looks too much like a cart or wagon wheel. Maybe if you found a pair of Minilites or Panasports? Add a little character to the wheel, still light and small? I keep trying to figure out why my eye's are drawn to the front wheels. I liked the Tyrell 6 wheel formula car when it came out and it had smaller front wheels for the same reasons you quote.

On second thought and after looking at your front wheels closer, those are ATV wheels right? Like a Mitchells. Those are about as light as you can get. Leave it alone, you're fine. You would have to change hubs and other stuff like you said. We just have to adjust our thinking to accept your trike the way it is. Your fabrication is amazing on your trike. You have a knack for bracketry and aluminum shaping.

[Liteway]

Minilites would look great but I doubt I could get them in the right bolt pattern for my hubs. Present wheels are aftermarket ATV, bought after quite a bit of research on what was available in this bolt pattern which is unusual even for an atv. I preferred The original 5.5X 10 which were dull finished with slightly more favorable offset, and 1/2" wider. Too bad they were so beat up and bent. They are no longer available.

[mtntech]

Not saying they're not up to the task, and I understand the scale and weight. IMO they don't match the rear wheel and tire in terms of profile and look. Your vehicle would look way nicer if you were able to upgrade but I realize the challenge in terms of available options. At least yours is done!

[Liteway]

Point accepted. Think we can move on now.

[Liteway]

Got the back plate installed. Matching shell radius to plate was tough.  Awaiting delivery of combo tail, directional, tag and brake light from China.   Just checked Amazon. package in OKC, should be here tomorrow.  I think I'll also be able to mount the tag here,   a  change in the original plan to put on it the fender, will save time trying to rig up a tag light back there.
Am now leaning towards leaving 1 lb wing assembly off. By doing that , eliminating rear signals along with the use of less sheet metal will save about 3 lbs from high in the chassis as compared to where I started. The whole head faring will only add 2 lbs. With lights and wiring should be about 3




Fairing is essentially a monocoque substructure and when attached to the back of the firewall and roll hoop, becomes a very rigid piece despite being made of thin sheet aluminum.  Besides providing a mount for tail and signal lights, tag, adds about a cubic ft of valuable on board storage for a jacket, hat, sunscreen,sunglasses etc.









Decided to use filler panels to cover unsightly firewall edge. Once again hard to get a good fit. Could not position and hold the mounting tabs for welding. Finally hit upon using a rare earth magnet. That is the quarter size deal on the lower tab awaiting welding. Looking at this photo I'm not happy with the fit of the panel already installed above the one being fitted. Gonna have to revisit that.

[Deleted]

Your idea of using recessed panels dropped back from the surface of the frame is really nice.

[stretchmobileski]

This is called a Magtab. I plan on getting 6-10 to position the panel tabs for welding. I want to position a number of tabs and weld all at once. they are about $13 apiece on Ebay or Amazon. They are made for tubing and hold to tabs in different positions.

[Liteway]

Feb 23, 2014 19:45:03 GMT -5 @rapt9 said:

Your idea of using recessed panels dropped back from the surface of the frame is really nice.

Thanks Rapt9. Its a bit tedious but after its painted up I think it will look good enough to justify the effort.

[Liteway]

Feb 23, 2014 22:14:13 GMT -5 stretchmobileski said:

View Attachment

This is called a Magtab. I plan on getting 6-10 to position the panel tabs for welding. I want to position a number of tabs and weld all at once. they are about $13 apiece on Ebay or Amazon. They are made for tubing and hold to tabs in different positions.

Yeah, that will do better than the masking tape and gloved hand I have been using.
That's 2 things I have to order. Earlier today davej98002 sold me on heavy duty clutch springs.

[stretchmobileski]

Feb 23, 2014 22:43:47 GMT -5 Liteway said:

Feb 23, 2014 22:14:13 GMT -5 stretchmobileski said:

View Attachment

This is called a Magtab. I plan on getting 6-10 to position the panel tabs for welding. I want to position a number of tabs and weld all at once. they are about $13 apiece on Ebay or Amazon. They are made for tubing and hold to tabs in different positions.

Yeah, that will do better than the masking tape and gloved hand I have been using.
That's 2 things I have to order. Earlier today davej98002 sold me on heavy duty clutch springs.

That's two of us going to get heavy duty springs, sold me too.

[stretchmobileski]

Ok, so can we get heavier flywheels for sportbikes? Heavier clutch basket? They seem to make them for dirt bikes. Wouldn't that help our trikes?

[Liteway]

That's good thinking but a cursory 30 min search on the net did not turn up anything. Most likely sport bike riders would be more interested in lighter rotational mass for faster revving and the aftermarket would cater to them. Just a theory though. Guess you could use stick on wheel weights if you could find clearance. Probably make a mess if they came loose. I'll let somebody else test that idea and they can get back to me. ha ha.

[DaveJ98092]

The problem with cheap LED kits is that they use sub standard LED chips and have to put resistors inline to keep from burning them out. That dims them down. Better made units have good chips that will take from 6V DC to 24V DC. The more the voltage the brighter. And Cheap does not mean inexpensive, I am talking quality in cheapness.

On my Burgman 650 daily ride, I ordered 2 1157 replacement LED bulbs from SuperbrightLED.com that are as bright as the P21/5 on tail light but about twice as bright on stop. I also wired in two single pole double throw (SPDT) 5 pin relays to my front turnsignals and put in 2 18 chip 1156 LED's so my front turnsignals are on full time while riding and get interupted during signaling.

Man, you CO techs just swap cards and all is good. Does not work out in the real world.

[Liteway]

Thanks for info on leds. Anything to make ourselves more visible is a safety bonus.

Yeah, I used to get that old "card plugger" stuff from the outside plant guys all the time. Then when they got a job inside , it was two years before they could go a day without nursing.

Fashioned my own tail light from old trailer light I had laying around.
a]

[DaveJ98092]

My Central Office Tech days was "Pre DTMF" doing routines on stepper switches and a #6 4 wire switch. I was also a 10A2 Key system "Card Puller" but I would do a full diag on the system before pulling cards.

Heres a Y-tube vid of some steppers in action. The noise was very loud at peak times. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcFpaI1Y_SE


Hey, that light will work till you can source a better one.

[DaveJ98092]

Let us know if the RPM's change after you replace the clutch springs. I'm betting you drop a 100 RPM or more at WOT acceleration when in a top gear cruse.

[Liteway]

[stretchmobileski]

Looks great!