Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner TRIKES??

someone brought this up sometime back but i don't recall reply.

i've been all over the net lookin to see if i could find an article on 'how to' do a trike. several people that want to skin you up to 20k for a kit or 5k for junk kits that you continue to use your bikes rear wheel , axle & suspension but sadly not an article from days of yor when they were pretty common.

lots of sites that feature clubs & older photo's with some info but no where near enough to make you confident to the point of gettin out a torch. seems lot of guys used small car axles with modified suspensions but the real questions regards transferring that power from the bike to the new rear end & braking etc. don't seem to be available.

this info can't be some major secret or did it get handed down to the kids of the fathers of the 50's & 60 's & they ain't talking?

no interest in doin a VW based trike. got a jap i'm embarassed to ride as is & would like to do a Trump.

anybody??

NOOOOOOOOO !

good one mike !! i went to that like a fly to crap!

Jeff
Ouch, I can see this becoming a bit of a touchy subject ...

Now, if you (or anyone) wants a trike due to 'physical' problems, you'll get "thanks for choosing a Triumph" BUT

.. if you want to trike a BA or Speedy just because you can, you'll probably get strung up by the Jacobs ..

If you simply MUST have a trike, then obviously anything is possible and I've seen a company (some time ago) whose slogan was (very original this) "We trike any bike". Kinda catchy eh?

I believe a Gold Wing kit is something like £20,000 plus the donor bike!!

I've seen a Rocket III (it even had Ray Birch on it!!) but an America or Speedy? Good luck?

adey -

i have an aqquaintence that started building goldwing conversions about 2 years ago. i never personally cared that much for trikes . this guy is just big into goldwings. my S.O. is crazy about HD ultras because of the illusion that those foam arms & touring pack are going to make her as safe as being in a car. i've tried to explain it is merely an optical illusion but it's in her head. anyhow - this guy took her out for a ride on one of his & now she's in love with trikes.

to me ... the g forces created from leaning into turns is half the thrill of riding but even in the cage if it's posted 35 at the curve she prefers i take it at 20 so to turn the old jap that i wear head gear to ride ( a paper bag for my reputation) into a low buck old school lookin trike is just a pipedream at this point.

when i started lookin at what they got for these new conversions my jaw dropped!! i'd laughed at my buddy when he said $8500 installed but now it seems he is cheap in comparison. i gotta admit his bikes look better then what i've seen.

when i went to the net i was pretty impressed with what some guys had done way back when. i was thinkin vintage Trumps. just big enough for 2 & enough gear for a weekend. i had seen the one done with the R3 & all i could think was what a good way to kill yourself & wreck a perfectly good bike.

No offense fella, but if you care for a complete outsider's point of view...buy a new Mini if you want British engineering in that small a package. At least you'll be out of the rain. Maybe the appeal will wear off your other half in a week or so...just say you're trying to find the best deal out there.

All kinds of trikes here:

http://btw-trikers.org/home/home.html

Check the "photos" button.

thanks much papadean !!! absolutely excellent!!

The Hawg Barn in Hemlock, New York (my dyno dood actually!) also happens to be a custom trike shop. me, I don't want one, but if you do, I hear these guys are "Da Men" when it comes to trikes. They once told me they can trike anything, even one with peddles. They're about 25 miles from me and they are a pretty cool little shop in the middle of nowhere, like everywhere up here.

Here's a nice one. It's powered by a Porsche engine. Overkill?

ROPER and I have been approached by a guy asking about us building him a trike using an America. His buddies all have trikes and he wants something different. If he has the money we're willing to give it a try. We love a challenge. Might be interesting. Not my style, but not my ride either.

thanks all - appreciated,

the porsche was a little more than i had in mind but if he'll take $100 down & $50 a month i'll take er !

Not really what you are looking for, but interesting...

http://www.3wheelers.com/azlisting.html

I came across it whilst looking for info on the Ariel 3.

What about a side car? That way you could unhook it when you get away from lawn mower handiling? Atleast you could still 2 wheel it. trumptrash

trumptrash -

me & a competitor buddy had a few laughs over that when jesse james did the makeover on the lawnmower & OCC did the theme bike for dixie chopper ( nice machines) .

perhaps i could just fabricate a wing mounted deck to a speedy or R3 that ran off some type of PTO to mow & ride at the same time with a seat mount for her so she could do the border trimming at the same time ?

once we'd gotten home & she was tired of 'riding' i could simply loosen the mounting bolts & take off on my own for a couple hours !

...... all in all perhaps a better idea!