Trike project status NEW AND IMPROVED WITH PICTURES OF THE ACTUAL ITEM

[rodekyll]

The trike lives.  The big ?'s like does it work with no transmission, did we ballpark the final drive ratio workably, do the suspension, brakes, steering, wheel alignment stuff work, does the fluid drive like the radiator, and does the charging system work have all been answered.  So far I'm 15/love overall and batting touchdowns at every wicket.

I'm still suffering the details -- wheel alignment is the tricky one, but I'm at the point that it tracks neutrally on the straights and doesn't need to be manhandled on the corners.  The drive-shaft-powered alternator belt was screeching, but that turned out to be a simple tension adjustment.  The brakes need to be bled better.  But otherwise -- until I get it up to highway speeds anyway -- it feels solid and substantial.

With the resting battery voltage at 12.2, the 115amp alternator puts out 12.8v @ 6mph (first twich of the meter) and 14.4 @~17mph. 

I got in on the road Sunday.  Monday I got the tags renewed, and today I got the insurance up-to-date.  The plate reads 3VL TWN.

And it still has no bodywork, tank(s) or fairing installed.  The headlight works and I installed a tractor taillight above the license plate.  It's getting fuel from a blitz can cargo strapped to the rear frame (intake and return hoses stuck into the filler hole).  The mufflers are sitting on the bottom deck of the differential carrier.  The dashboard is a piece of cardboard with switches sticking through holes and gauges GOOPed in place.  I'm wiring them up as needed for testing.  Final dash will not be cardboard -- flaps too much in the wind.  There are a lot of bundled, rolled up wires here and there waiting for the box to be installed.

The fuse box sits where the gas tank would be, and there is no faux tank covering it right now.  All the wiring is exposed.  People are telling me that it's very startling to see a bike with no fuel tank scooting down the road.

I got it up to 40mph (in a 35 zone) on my way to the parts house.  Felt good, although a little buzzy in the solid mounted floorboards.  I stopped in for a couple of circlips and left 90 minutes later after the crowd unblocked the trike and let me leave.  People were circling the block to get a look at it.  One guy said he saw it from the highway and u-turned to take a picture.

Same thing happened at the body shop.  I wanted a quick word with Ron, the owner, about the paint schedule, and was there till far after closing because people kept pulling in to get a better look.  When I got home two cars had followed me to find out more about it.

Overall I'm pleased with both the initial results of my effort and the reaction from observers.  The most often said phrase is "I never saw anything like it!"  Alrighty then.  That's what I was going for.

[balvenie]

Stay tuned for the next enthralling episode

I am

[lucydad]

Rode,

Got to see a picture. 

Alaska in background.

A true naked trike?

[nick949]

So far I'm 15/love overall and batting touchdowns at every wicket.

Now there's a dandy mixed metaphor! Couldn't you squeeze soccer in there too?

Nick

[Aaron D.]

Cool! Speaking of cool, I recall you increased cooling capacity for the converter? If I remember your overall mechanical reduction is less and the weight is up, so the converter will be picking up a bigger heat load.

How's trail on the forks?

And where's the pictures?

[oldbike54]

Now there's a dandy mixed metaphor! Couldn't you squeeze soccer in there too?

Nick

 RK wasn't intentionally mixing metaphors , it was late , he is in Alaska , and well ... 

 David , those folks are correct, never anything like it , maybe you consider clear bodywork 

  Dusty

[rodekyll]

Cool! Speaking of cool, I recall you increased cooling capacity for the converter? If I remember your overall mechanical reduction is less and the weight is up, so the converter will be picking up a bigger heat load.

How's trail on the forks?

And where's the pictures?

Yes, the cooler is thicker and has about 4x the surface area and a 1 liter capacity.

The forks are still stock and have not been lowered. 18" front wheel.

I'll try to get some pics.  It looks a bit undone right now.

Now there's a dandy mixed metaphor! Couldn't you squeeze soccer in there too?

Nick

It wasn't a soccer reference?

[rodekyll]

Here's a few pics  . . .  You asked for an Alaska background.  Anyone familiar with the album by "Bookin'T is an MG" and the music video from the song "Tonti is Tight" will recognize the background as Sitka High School's back parking lot.





Note the skookum dashboard concept and the innovative use of cargo strapping on the fuel tank.  That's not just good design, that's hold-my-beer good design. 

[lorazepam]

I like it!!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

 

[oldbike54]

 David , I'm thinking a little lighted whirlygig mounted in place of the original alternator , or maybe a propeller for extra thrust 

  Dusty

[HardAspie]

Red Green!
I love it!

[tiger_one]

Lordy! Needs a nice front fender, and maybe a PTO for the front of the shaft, like goes on the Ford 8N.  I like the seat, and bars tho.

[Chuck in Indiana]

That's not just good design, that's hold-my-beer good design. 

 

[rboe]

This will show my ignorance; but on your drive shaft, why didn't you tilt the rear axel so the second universal joint could be in line and not at the same angle as the first universal joint as it comes out on the engine side? I probably missed it, who's rear axel did you use?

I would have used spoked rims.... :D and a Russell Day Long seat..... :D

Got an ETA on build completion?

[RinkRat II]

 Nice job so far RK,  Dusty beat me to it but I second the idea of a spiral painted spinner on that crank snout! Whoooo Doggies! Hope you got a patent on that dash


   Paul 

[fotoguzzi]

that looks BAD ASS!

[balvenie]

It Lives

[rodekyll]

This will show my ignorance; but on your drive shaft, why didn't you tilt the rear axel so the second universal joint could be in line and not at the same angle as the first universal joint as it comes out on the engine side? I probably missed it, who's rear axel did you use?

I would have used spoked rims.... :D and a Russell Day Long seat..... :D

Got an ETA on build completion?

The differential is a Ford 7.5" IRS.  The axles I had made.
The differential is tilted as far as it will go in the frame it lives in.  I'm using CV joints on the drive shaft so relative angles are not as important as absolute angles and plunge relief.  Since the drive shaft doesn't move up and down like an axle, plunge is not an issue here.

ETA is possibly for the 4th of july "shine-n-show".  I'm on a break from the body shop right now where I'm cleaning and etching the aluminum body parts.  They get a coat of epoxy primer in the morning, and then some mud here and there to hide some of my learning experiences.  Topcoat could go on over the weekend if I can hold the painter's attention that long.  I'll need a day to clean up the chassis and remove the mufflers, gas can, etc and then a week to install the box and plumb in the wiring and stuff.  So it's doable by the 4th . . .

Also got the borrow of wheel alignment stuff from the local foreign car shop.  One of the mechanics there was in one of the crowds looking at the rolling chassis yesterday and told me the shop was looking forward to lending me whatever I need.

I was thinking about hanging some mouse balls on the crank snout, kinda like the cow balls on the back of a pickup truck, only from Microsoft.

[Yukonica]

   Sooooo Am I going to get to see it in person this summer?
You've built jigs as you go? Harley trike are obscenely expensive.

[rodekyll]

No, no jigs.  This is a one-off.  If I do it again (hah!) I'd be making so many changes the jigs wouldn't help.

I don't know if I'll get it off the rock this season or not.  I'm not going to rush it -- I want it as right as it can be.

Looks like I'm next in line for primer on account of the epoxy booth is full of my stuff and he can't get any cars into production until it's out. 

I know how obscene trike prices are.  This one is right up there with them, cost-wise.  I could have easily bought a used GW trike for what I've spent on this.  But what fun would that be, and I'd have to settle for a Goldwing.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I hate to ask, as I've enjoyed this entire saga thus far... but what monstrous color(s) combo are you going to do for this one RK? 

[oldbike54]

No, no jigs.  This is a one-off.  If I do it again (hah!) I'd be making so many changes the jigs wouldn't help.

I don't know if I'll get it off the rock this season or not.  I'm not going to rush it -- I want it as right as it can be.

Looks like I'm next in line for primer on account of the epoxy booth is full of my stuff and he can't get any cars into production until it's out. 

I know how obscene trike prices are.  This one is right up there with them, cost-wise.  I could have easily bought a used GW trike for what I've spent on this.  But what fun would that be, and I'd have to settle for a Goldwing.

 So you are saying that basically you hung a torque converter in the air and built a trike around it 

  Dusty

[rodekyll]

Pretty much.

[rodekyll]

I hate to ask, as I've enjoyed this entire saga thus far... but what monstrous color(s) combo are you going to do for this one RK? 

You must be remembering the purple one.   

This one will be close to the green of a 1948 Ford F1 pickup -- darker than british racing green, no metallic, and something short of full gloss.  Trim will be black, also not a high gloss.  There might be some white pinstriping, although I fear that would look too Teutonic.

[canuck750]

Impressive engineering, looking great!

[Zoom Zoom]

Looking good! Are you satisfied with the final drive ratio? I recall you had been concerned about that.


John Henry

[rodekyll]

The final drive ratio feels close -- low enough to start a roll uphill, and tall enough to not be wound out at 40mph.  I have not yet connected the tach so I have no real numbers.

I can't get it up to speed for comparisons until I get the rear wheels aligned, and the weather isn't cooperating.  I'll report in with the figures when I get some.

[AMGeneral]

Is this a locking diff? Will you have issues if one wheel looses traction? I like it so far. The body work blends nicely with the fenders.

[rodekyll]

Thanks for the nice words about the body style.  I have to confess that it's a ripoff of an existing design -- Wonder Woman's airplane.

No, it is not a locking diff.  This is the Ford 7.5" differential as found in Mustangs and Merkurs.  It has only the traditional ring, pinion, and spider gears of a textbook punkin.  When I was looking into the pros/cons of different kinds of diffs I discovered a locking or posi diff will override the ability of the front wheel to describe a turn with it's desire to continue straight. 

A lot of trikes have a 'single-traction' differential.  That is, only one wheel (and always that wheel) drives -- more like a hack than a car.  IIRC, my servicar was like that -- it liked a tight circle in one direction but not the other.