My reverse trike build - srx660

[srx660]

noahkatz, right now this is NOT a leaning trike and perhaps will never be. The picture that shows the trike leaning is because the clips holding the axle broke. I have thought on building a regular trike first then duplicate it with a leaning front suspension on a second trike. I have been watching a lot of youtube videos on leaning trike and the only one i like so far is the tremoto trike simply because of the extreme lean angle. perhaps i am wrong but i think the highest lean angle gives you room to maybe get out of a bad situation better than a low lean angle. Cost is a big factor here too.

This wooden build is just the design stage to see what fits me and what i am comfortable with. The design i started with(off the internet) seems to be built to fit a 5 foot man and i am 6 foot, a bit chubby And too old to not have a comfortable ride.So i am redesigning it to fit me and the parts i am using. The original bike is a leaner with Battery's and a electric motor. My bike is using a honda shadow 750 drivetrain which makes me make many changes from the original design to make it work. My bike will only look somewhat like the original bike, but still completely different.

The wheels are on there just so i can move the bike in and out of my garage. The axle is a piece of rebar wide enough to to fit wheels that roll. I plan on having a 55 to 60 inch front width, similar to the spartan project but a bit less width. those wheels are 43 inches apart and makes it east to put back in the garage as it has been raining here every day at different times. Yes, no rollbar, as this is a enclosed drivetrain motorcycle reverse trike, Not a car type Reverse trike. The difference between this Motorcycle trike and most other Motorcycle trike's is that i want to be IN the motorcycle trike, Not ON Top it. Many years ago i wanted a alligator Motorcycle by Dan Gurney. Never got one but now that i am retired i can build my own version in combination with the look of the trike i copied to build mine. There is not enough protection on this type of cycle to worry about a rollbar. There are no seatbelt's on a motorcycle.

srx660

[DaveJ98092]

Most real well designed Leaning designs are copyrighted or Pattented.

The Tilting Motor Works is a real good design but they cost over $9500 and they will not "Out the Door" sell one. you must have your bike brought to one of their approved shops and have their tech's install it.

[srx660]

Yeah Dave, that's the only reason why i probably won't buy their tilt front end. There's also the one for the Harleys, and they are starting to build front ends for other makes of bikes, but they are still very high priced. More than likely i will not build a leaner bike unless i get bored with building 2 or 3 regular bikes and i might start experimenting with building my own tilting front end. Right now all i want is a street reverse trike i can ride. OH, i do have a old Lincoln stick welder i haven't used in a while. Maybe I'll drag it out and see if it still works. I used it a couple of years ago when i was building the off-road gocarts.
srx660

[noahkatz]

Aug 5, 2018 17:09:20 GMT -5 srx660 said:

I plan on having a 55 to 60 inch front width, similar to the spartan project but a bit less width.

Oh, ok, that's much better.


Re tilters, I'm pretty sure you can build any patented design you want, you just can't sell it.

[srx660]

I am finished with the wooden body build part of my trike. I have mounted the body to a 1 inch plywood panel i had laying around and i'm going to start taking mold stations of the body to make a 4 part mold. Ordered a 4x8 sheet of 12 gauge steel for a welding platform, but cancelled when i saw the shipping cost. Steel price was $70 and shipping was $84. Now going to the local steel shop to buy the thickest sheet they have(14 gauge - 0.0747)as it's only $70 with tax. I'm picking it up with a cheap used harbor freight trailer i bought and have been upgrading the last couple of months.

I need to run a 220 line from my power pole to my garage before i can start welding anything. I built my garage away from my house so i could park vehicles around it.
The good thing is years ago i bought a 250 ft spool of 6 gauge copper wire, so it shouldn't take long to install. Already have a 150 amp breaker box in the garage. Just need to run PVC ground pipe from the house to the garage.

I'm just glad that i can start cutting and welding the frame up. Only thing i see i need to do is widen the width inside the frame rails another inch to be able to fit the honda motor in the frame. I mocked up the bottom frame rail and even at 21 inches wide the motor just barely clears the frame. i also have no room for the pipes inside the frame (unless i get drastic and have a custom exhaust made to fit). Guess i will have to live with a fatter body than i wanted. It's now 22 inches wide. I am going to try tapering the topside of the body so my legs don't rub on the body sides as badly as they do right now.

srx660

[joe]

For steel sheet, tubing, etc, try STR Metals there on Ridge Rd. about 1/4 mile east of US-19,Port Richey. They have new stock & a couple of trailers in the back with great prices on scrap metals.I purchased 1.5" scrap SS tubing for fabricating my exhaust manifold for under $20,good luck!

[srx660]

Joe, that where i bought my steel and i go there every week looking for cut-offs they keep and sell pretty cheap. I love the back room trailer where they keep the alum and Stainless steel pieces. If i had the money i would buy a lot of the thick pieces of aluminum to make brackets and fittings out of.

srx660

[srx660]

OK, so now a few people are interested in building something similar to what i am building. BUT, they are asking questions about if i can supply them with a frame, can i build them a similar trike, can i put a fairing on it, etc.

While i do appreciate the interest, all i am doing is building the exact trike i have had in my mind for many years. I am 70 years old, retired and do not want to start a business building trikes. I am not interested in building frames, or build a similar bike with customer specified changes.

I will be lucky to finish this trike before I am too old to even think about building my trike. There are area's like suspension, fuel injection, wiring, and body finishing that i will sub out to professional shops to do for me. There are design methods that would take me years of learning how & what to do to get it done. I do not have that time to waste.

Yet even now i have other thoughts on changes i might do for a second trike, like a goldwing drivetrain in the same body. Maybe even a front wheel drive trike with the engine behind the FWD but before the passenger compartment. They run thru my head but i doubt i will ever build them.

I will build this one trike and ride the heck out of it until i can no longer be able to drive. That is my only goal i have. Perhaps some day i will have the time to help others build a trike like mine,but the arlo guthries pickle song lyrics keep popping up in my head.

I don't want a pickle, Just want to ride my motor.............cykle.

That's where i'm at.

If you want to know how i built my trike, stay tuned here and i will explain in detail. I am in awe of the builders that have already gone thru the steep learning curve i am going thru to build their trike mostly by themselves. I salute you all.

srx660

[DaveJ98092]

James, this is the same thing I was getting when tried to get the ECO-EXO trike rejuvenated. At 61 years old and with so much body injuries I was not up to building the 10 frame kits per year. I wanted to do maybe 2 to 5 per year. But the startup costs of a manufacturing busenuss was about $20,000 and at $5000 per frame kit the payback was too long.

Zero Mostel "If i were a rich man"

[srx660]

This is the type of front suspension i would like to make for my trike.









Most of the suspension would be hidden inside the body.

srx660

[1983JZR3W]

Wow!! That's too pretty to cover up.