bmw k100rs trike

[eddie axeman]

iam going to build a bmw trike ihave a trial bike front end i have made a head stock. and i have the choice of two axles a complete axle of a bedford rascal van will this be okay with bigger wheels the original ones were 10" the new ones are 14".ialso have a ford capri axle model unknown this has no brakes on it it is a bare axle.which one do i use and how do you shorten it and keep it in line .the welding side of the job is easy.i just need to know how to do the axle also how do i build an adjustable jig to build frames can i build one to build trikes and bikes on or do i need two seprate jigs thankyou

[jonathan wassall]

Use a rascal axle you will only get about 70mph out of it and thats flat out, so at 50 mph its still screaming, u can change diff and put suzuki jeep diff in it, i now ave english axle on my k100 with 3.5 diff which was fitted to ford capris escorts etc with 16" rims fine and dandy now

[addjunkie]

i suspect ford axle will be best....to find ratio.....mark drive hub and turn it counting the turns until it turns the output 1 full turn..

work out how much you want out of axle....take it apart and cut outer case, remove said amount and weld it up....straight. for the half shaft cut it, shorten it and machine a sleeve up to fit over slide it on out of the way, weld it up Straight and machine down weld until smooth, slide sleeve over weld, and weld round that. big chunks of metal so will all need pre heating to weld it.

this is how i kept a siehttp://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i8/addjunkie/Nov26777.jpgrra one straight

[eddie axeman]

thankyou for your help i will try what you sugest i now need to find the brakes for the axle and istill need info on trike and bike jigs

[addjunkie]

http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/catalog/default.php

these folks used to do a disc brake conversion kit for escort axles...........using sierra parts wasnt cheap but is anything these days, or convert it your self. sure there will be info somewhere on the web on how to do it, for an idea look at manky monkey's site as he did a write up on doing a relinat axle.

as for jigs, for bike building there are plans on www.chopperbuilder.co.uk, also loads of discussion about it too. for trikes, some don't bother, others use a sheet of ply, look on www.britchopper.co.uk, i used rsj welded in to a T.

[eddie axeman]

thankyou all for your help i now have a shorter axle and a prop that runs in line :D