Trevor Heron

[trevor heron]

Hi folks, as you will know, I am a forum virgin and have no idea what i'm doing.
But, here goe's.

I, along with my son, are planning a reverse trike build as I am not permitted, [through illness] to ride bikes any more, hence the trike. I have a late ZX750 with a hung engine as the donor bike. I plan to fabricate the front framework myself using parts from the breakers yard, ie, the hub carrier and components. My first question is this. What car would be the best for the hub carriers and callipers. Also, what would be the best size wheels. Thanks.
ps I am an old git! so be gentle. :unsure:

[matthewmosse]

We talking a single rear wheel drive trike with steering on 2 front wheels or going front wheels both driven? What look are you after? I'm building something vaugely Morgan inspired and am using 19" sidecar wheels for the old world looks. Easyest thing build wise might be engine mounted behind the driver, driving rear wheels which can stay standard so all the gearings near enough right, less to mess with. I'd be considering a beetle front axle, lots of wheel choice and I think it's a front beam kinda thing so all set near right. Having said all that I'm gonna be fabricating the whole damn thing, putting the engine in front of the axle and otherwise complicating my life in the interests of getting the look and cost right. Oh yeah, if you've not done so already look at the 'what ave I let myself in for' thread and get an msva test manual as you'll be needing to sva what you've built when it's done.

[shaggy696969]

Not easy, sbeachill who posts on here has done it with a max, it was near impossible to get the thing right, The front suspension is the probem as going for independant suspension the roll factor was a problem, also if you hit a bump with one wheel its hard not to get the steering to twitch as a bike is a lot lighter and thus exasperate the problem and send you well off course. Torsion bars are very difficult to get right. Pm Steve as mentioned and ask his advice. Plus remember there is more than a chance you will end up sva'ing the veihicle and that is a minefield of legislation it is a long job to get it right and scrapheap challenge may be impossible.

Good luck pm him for advice look http://www.100-biker.co.uk/forums/member.php?u=2308

Steves his name nice guy who had his fingers burnt doing what you want to do.

[dubmeister]

Have a look on ebay theres a reverse trike on there thats been listed loads of times and would be a good base to start from
Its at £500 starting bid (sorry i can't remember the item number so you need to search under reverse trike)

[trevor heron]

Hi guys, just reading your reply's and have to say that you sure inspire confidence in me!!! I thought that it would be easier than doing a chain drive at the rear?? and if I did the rear, doe's it still have to go through the SVA? :confused:

[matthewmosse]

I recon trying to avoid sva would be worse trouble than just building to pass, A lot of it's common sense and so forth. Sva is avoidable if you are registred disabled I belive, I'm not so haven't checked. Steering dampers and an anti roll bar might help the steering issues, I'll be giving thaught to putting provision for adding them to my backward trike as it progresses (not going fast due to a landrover project guming up my shed at the moment)
Be prepared for a long haul and a few problems if this is your first build, but remember there's lots of folks to turn to for advice. The msva test was for me worse as a prospect before I got the manual, mind I've yet to put something thru the test.............;)

[devon-tony]

dont take this the wrong way, but if your worried about the MSVA test, you shoudnt even start to build a vehicle thats going on the road

sorry if that sounds harsh, its not meant to be

if you look at the actual manual. you suddenly realise that its a piece of piss, put the lights in the right place, build it safely and to a very simple set of rules, and you have nothing to worry about

circumventing procedures, especially ones that involve vehicles isnt worth it, even more so in this "lets sue" society that we live in, you have an accident and the insurers will be looking for any reason not to pay out

[shaggy696969]

Heres his trike, and Im not affraid to say it scared the crap out of me, as it did most who rode it that day, he did sort it in the end but Bump steer was scarey as fuck. Email him he has more details and facts than I can come up with

[Blackjack]

If you're doing it because you think it's going to be easier than putting an axle on the rear of a chain drive bike, you're wrong.

Yamaha middle box, job done.

Getting the suspension and steering geometry right on a "two at the front" trike, isn't that hard in my opinion. Then again I've had a bit more practice at it...

The important thing here is that you said "I am not permitted, [through illness] to ride bikes any more". Want to be a bit more precise about that? I find that it's best to find out what the design parameters are before you start considering designs...

[trevor heron]

When I first took ill, I had to do a retest for the car and they only just give me the ok to drive a car. they reduced my licence to cat B only, hence the trike.
Now I think you may have picked up the wrong idea about the way want to transform the bike to trike. I am keeping it all as it is except, I will be removing the forks, lowering the rear swing arm to around 4" high then making the front frame with upper and lower A bars, coil over shocks and steering gear. Nothing complicated?? HA! He says.:eek::eek: Love the look of your Vmax by the way:thumbu:
My own I plan to make the front wider and lower as apparently this gives it a lot more stability on cornering. What do you think? I would be grateful if we could kick it for a while so that I can pick your brains, after all I'm an old git and getting gittier every day. Cheers.:thumbu: ps Do the starter solinoid usually go on the ZX7R

[trikerdrew]

have you tried to just bridge it ?

If your on about kwak z 4 aircooled when you say zx why not convert it to gt as be easier than messing around chain/shaft conversion.

Seems a nose at a proper scrapyard would sort a front for you.

drew

[SBeachill]

SVA wasn't necessary in my case as Trike front was a bolt on so nothing changed on the originally chassis, it still ran the same drive system, had the original swingarm and yokes, same engine so basically 80-90% of the original bike was still there, you still have to transport it to your local DVLA office though for inspection to show that it is bolt on and can be turned back to a bike also they check the vin numbers to make sure everything is as it should be.

If you undertake a one off build then you will need an SVA doing, as any modifications to the original chassis are not allowed hence the need for SVA.

I got my fingers burned as Shaggy said not by the rule books or registering but by the person I commisioned to build it! I ended up doing 80% of the work myself to finish it, once sorted it was fun to ride and turned heads, if I were to do it again I would definately lower the CofG to make it more stable.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd84/SBeachill/Vmaxtrikephotoshoot012.jpg

Cheers

Steve

[Grav]

Oh look, the poor girls top doesn't fit her properly and she looks ever so cold. I wonder if she wants any help to "warm up" a bit....:D

[TheTramp]

SVA wasn't necessary in my case as Trike front was a bolt on so nothing changed on the originally chassis, it still ran the same drive system, had the original swingarm and yokes, same engine so basically 80-90% of the original bike was still there, you still have to transport it to your local DVLA office though for inspection to show that it is bolt on and can be turned back to a bike also they check the vin numbers to make sure everything is as it should be.

If you undertake a one off build then you will need an SVA doing, as any modifications to the original chassis are not allowed hence the need for SVA.

I got my fingers burned as Shaggy said not by the rule books or registering but by the person I commisioned to build it! I ended up doing 80% of the work myself to finish it, once sorted it was fun to ride and turned heads, if I were to do it again I would definately lower the CofG to make it more stable.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd84/SBeachill/Vmaxtrikephotoshoot012.jpg

Cheers

Steve

She's a fingerburner...wow