Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: DorsetBlue on May 09, 2018, 05:14:09 AM
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Heresy, stone the heretic etc etc. :grin:
Okay, this is the issue. My other half wants a trike - bad! This was before she saw the HD trikes in Florida, when were on holiday there a couple of years ago. Why a trike and not a bike.....well she doesn't have a bike licence (used to ride dirt bikes in her youth) and she doesn't think her legs are up to riding a bike now...and she is a short arse. In the UK, if you had your car licence before 2013, you can ride a trike under a car licence. Also the bike licencing is now a nightmare for new riders in the UK.
Now I have my Cali III sitting in the garage most of the time, as my Victory Jackpot is my main bike. So it would seem a perfect donor for a bolt on trike kit/conversion. Except all of the kits that I can find cost over £3000 and you can buy a second hand trike for that (which is an option admittedly). I think the Voyager outrigger type are probably not legal (as a trike) in the UK and admittedly are not really a trike.
Being an engineer (admittedly avionics originally but our MoD like to train you in metalwork as part of your apprenticeship), I am reasonably adept at machining and welding, so I was looking at the option for building a conversion myself. But plans are difficult to find and I am not sure of the best point to take the power from the engine i.e. at the gearbox, at the UJ, at the wheel cushdrive etc.
Does anyone have any experience of doing a trike conversion (preferably reversible i.e. not too much welding or change to the original frame) and might be able to give me any pointers?
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This website may give you some further inspiration!! :thumb: :1: :cool: Right in Gilbert, AZ :wink:
https://www.americanbikeandtrike.com/
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Much easier to put a sidecar on and take off later if you wish than a trike.
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Before you get too crazy with the welder, you should probably take her around to a few dealers and have some test rides. Driving a trike is in no way related to riding a bike. The physics are the opposite, and mile for mile a trike is a lot more WORK to drive. It takes a lot of upper body strength and brute muscle to get around the curves.
Also, try to ride several different designs. I don't mean "red". There are straight axle, live axle, differential, posi, limited slip, IRS . . . . a lot of options. you will like some less than others. The conventional v reverse trike is also an intersting twist.
She may like one type over another, or she may realize that trikes are not for her. It's better to find that out before you start the project.
Once she knows what she likes it will be easier to figure out how to get there fom here. Many juristictions won't allow a homebuilt to be licensed for the street. Many people decide that the potential for a fatal design flaw or structural failure isn't a risk they want to take with their loved ones and prefer a professional conversion.
But regardless of your direction, a bought trike will be less expensive than building your own. And unfortunately, trike cost and trike quality are joined at the hip. A $3k conversion package will suck -- simple live axle suitable for a chain drive. At $9k you can begin to get into the kit for an IRS kit for a Goldwing or BMW, but nobody makes one for a Guzzi. At $20k you can begin to get into nice, turnkey rigs. Up above that figure is the farkled-out glitzmobiles.
I built a trike. It took three years of dedicated work to get it from the bowl of my pipe to the license office for certification. I brought along EVERY paper to show the provenance of EVERY part. I had letters of certification for critical welds. It was a tedious process.
3 years to getting it rolling qualified me for another year of ironing out the bugs and backing out of mistakes. Then I put it on the road and broke it regularly for the next two years. Now, 6 years after starting it, I've put 2550 trouble-free miles on it. That part can be satisfying, but I still refuse to give anyone a ride on it. No back seat, even. I just don't want my homebuilt to kill a passenger.
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Howabout a Piaggio MP3? Rides and leans like a 2 wheeler.
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I like this Guzzi-powered three-wheeler...the TriKing! :thumb: :1: :cool:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/ntj7on/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_9_47_28_AM.png) (https://ibb.co/ntj7on)
(https://thumb.ibb.co/cS9wg7/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_9_47_40_AM.png) (https://ibb.co/cS9wg7)
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Howabout a Piaggio MP3? Rides and leans like a 2 wheeler.
Or a Can Am Spider
(https://can-am.brp.com/content/dam/canam-spyder/build-price/gen/SPY_F3_SPORT/d1/3a/b6/a1/d13ab6a13ed7404045c15021ed678a8b.png)
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Yes!!! ...or the RT version!! :thumb: :cool: :1:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/dQPnMJ/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_11_05_43_AM.png) (https://ibb.co/dQPnMJ)
(https://thumb.ibb.co/eRau1J/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_11_05_57_AM.png) (https://ibb.co/eRau1J)
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Keep your bike intact and ride it like it was meant to be ridden... :thumb:
Here's one for her, ready-made and cheap:
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1203/5870/products/DSC_8878_1024x1024.jpg?v=1524676634)
https://www.electrictrike.com/collections/electric-fat-trikes/products/electric-fat-trike (https://www.electrictrike.com/collections/electric-fat-trikes/products/electric-fat-trike)
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Then, of course, we have THIS 3-wheeler, the Polaris Slingshot...and I have ridden in one, but never drove one...and they are...HUGE!!! :shocked: :rolleyes: :huh:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/fxx5rJ/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_2_40_46_PM.png) (https://ibb.co/fxx5rJ)
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...and then, with all the Pros and Cons of sidecars, something like this would still be cool!! :thumb: :cool: :1:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/eq2xoy/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_3_23_12_PM.png) (https://ibb.co/eq2xoy)
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Then, of course, we have THIS 3-wheeler, the Polaris Slingshot...and I have ridden in one, but never drove one...and they are...HUGE!!! :shocked: :rolleyes: :huh:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/fxx5rJ/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_2_40_46_PM.png) (https://ibb.co/fxx5rJ)
As my main bike is a Victory, my dealer had one of those in. The SO hated the look of it. She hates all inverted (two wheels at the front) trikes.
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Much easier to put a sidecar on and take off later if you wish than a trike.
Sidecars come under motorcycle licences in the UK,as do Trikes if your car/bike licence was gained after 2013. Grandfather clauses applies for licences before that date, hence why my SO can ride a trike on her car licence but sidecars have always been motorcycles under UK licencing.
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Before you get too crazy with the welder, you should probably take her around to a few dealers and have some test rides. Driving a trike is in no way related to riding a bike. The physics are the opposite, and mile for mile a trike is a lot more WORK to drive. It takes a lot of upper body strength and brute muscle to get around the curves.
Also, try to ride several different designs. I don't mean "red". There are straight axle, live axle, differential, posi, limited slip, IRS . . . . a lot of options. you will like some less than others. The conventional v reverse trike is also an intersting twist.
She may like one type over another, or she may realize that trikes are not for her. It's better to find that out before you start the project.
Once she knows what she likes it will be easier to figure out how to get there fom here. Many juristictions won't allow a homebuilt to be licensed for the street. Many people decide that the potential for a fatal design flaw or structural failure isn't a risk they want to take with their loved ones and prefer a professional conversion.
But regardless of your direction, a bought trike will be less expensive than building your own. And unfortunately, trike cost and trike quality are joined at the hip. A $3k conversion package will suck -- simple live axle suitable for a chain drive. At $9k you can begin to get into the kit for an IRS kit for a Goldwing or BMW, but nobody makes one for a Guzzi. At $20k you can begin to get into nice, turnkey rigs. Up above that figure is the farkled-out glitzmobiles.
I built a trike. It took three years of dedicated work to get it from the bowl of my pipe to the license office for certification. I brought along EVERY paper to show the provenance of EVERY part. I had letters of certification for critical welds. It was a tedious process.
3 years to getting it rolling qualified me for another year of ironing out the bugs and backing out of mistakes. Then I put it on the road and broke it regularly for the next two years. Now, 6 years after starting it, I've put 2550 trouble-free miles on it. That part can be satisfying, but I still refuse to give anyone a ride on it. No back seat, even. I just don't want my homebuilt to kill a passenger.
Good advice! :thumb:
I wonder if my local HD dealer has one of the smaller trikes available for test rides....
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As my main bike is a Victory, my dealer had one of those in. The SO hated the look of it. She hates all inverted (two wheels at the front) trikes.
I assume your SO won't like this one either! :laugh: :grin: :wink:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/ftWNMJ/Screen_Shot_2018_05_10_at_6_47_08_AM.png) (https://ibb.co/ftWNMJ)
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Then, of course, we have THIS 3-wheeler, the Polaris Slingshot...and I have ridden in one, but never drove one...and they are...HUGE!!! :shocked: :rolleyes: :huh:
(https://thumb.ibb.co/fxx5rJ/Screen_Shot_2018_05_09_at_2_40_46_PM.png) (https://ibb.co/fxx5rJ)
I rode in one also. Big and ugly. Just don't get the fascination with those things. I think if I was even considering a Slingshot, I would start shopping for a small, convertible sports car.
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I rode in one also. Big and ugly. Just don't get the fascination with those things. I think if I was even considering a Slingshot, I would start shopping for a small, convertible sports car.
Yes...that's the theme among most of my motorcycle friends when this subject comes up...Whey all say...Why bother?
Just go look for a clean, pre-owned Mazda Miata!! :laugh: :grin: :wink:
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I wonder if my local HD dealer has one of the smaller trikes available for test rides....
There ya go. If so, she can determine whether she could bond with one or not. Three wheeled vehicles are *not* for everyone.
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I rode in one also. Big and ugly. Just don't get the fascination with those things. I think if I was even considering a Slingshot, I would start shopping for a small, convertible sports car.
Those things are one of the reasons Polaris have posted terrible results recently (problems on the snowmobiles as well I believe?). So they shut down their successful (was in the last few years) motorcycle brand and now build old fashioned HD clones.....just as HD start releasing more modern looking bikes, just like Victorys were. We aren't bitter on the Victory forums lol.
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I MUST have either this or a TriKing.....
(https://thumb.ibb.co/mFXsty/IMG_20180512_085342695.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mFXsty)
(https://thumb.ibb.co/iKq1mJ/IMG_20180512_085300030.jpg) (https://ibb.co/iKq1mJ)