Manky Monkey Motors

Hi to every one, I live 10 miles from Newbury, been lurking for a while but had nothing to say just soaking up the site ;D.
Which is great by the way.
I have just scored the bargin of the decade on eBay. A complete Rialto for £4.99!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
Hopefuly pick it up on Tuesday.
Question is my previous trike was a XS850 which was sold to help cover the cost of our holiday  :'( So i have never used a reliant engine before. Which bits apart from the obvious, engine, box, prop, axle should i keep?
Do you need the fuel pump etc? What about the rad and all the ancillaries.
I would be a bit pissed if i junked some thing which is hard to source, when i had it in the first place.
Thanks
Gareth

Have a look at my Reliant site-  www.geocities.com/doug4ore
for the different options you have. It is getting on a bit, but most of the info is still up to date.
You can use everything that comes with the pig, or if you want to uprate to an electric fan, you will gain 3-4 hp by binning the placcy fan.

Cheers.Doug

Hello los lobo, £4.99 what a bargain, back axles are going for a Hundred quid or more on flee bay. Apart from the obvious you'll need to keep the fuel pump and all the other bits that make the engine go as for the rad' you can use that too or a Rad off a Mini, as Reliantman said use an electric fan any small one off a bike should do, looks better as well.

Picked the rialto up, matt black with orange flames, very tasteful. It had no V5 but it still has a number plate on it, so should be able to apply for one. What is involved in transfering from the original to a trike on the V5, or do i have to bother as number of wheels have not changed just the chassis ident which will be mine?
I know i'm getting ahead of my self a bit but not sure of the procedure. The other thing is, will it need a SVA test? Or can it continue on the Rialto's existing paper work?
thanks
Gareth

Going by what has been said on the 100%Biker forum, and in the tech articles in the mag, if you are going to use the old chassis with original Reliant front end, the identity stays the same.

If you use the old frame but add bike forks, it then becomes a motorcycle trike.

If you have a new frame and forks, it is classed as a whole new vehicle.

 I cannot say this is 100% kosher because it is still a bit hazy in different parts of the country, but I know they are getting heavy with folks using the piggy VIN plate on a new frame, which I have done in the past.

hi los lobo, welcome to the site. i ran my reliant without fuelpump it was ok with full tank put no good when half empty, so would suggest to fit pump. basically any rad will do as long as water level same as original, i used a fiesta with electric fan, but had it mounted behind rear axle with water running through bottom chassis tubes.

That's a good idea Pete -wonder who you got that from? !  ;)

I have a Goldwing fuel pump hanging around here. They are very small, but
powerfull.

Never had a problem with the standard Reliant pump personally. Michaels of Selby, (see "Links for commercial purposes"), sell new replacements for about 30 quid I think.

Rain has stopped play for the time being ::)
That and my air saw broke :-[, getting a bit over enthusiastic cutting up the body.
Is the rialto rad to small? if placed at the back of the trike, because it relies on air flow to keep things cool.
I know this might sound stupid but if the coolant runs in the bottom frame rails does it fill up to the head stock or do you blank the front down tubes off, how hot do they get, do they need to be pressure tested?

Hiya.
Airsaw? I cut mine up with a common or garden hacksaw!
A Reliant rad would work just as well but is taller than the Fiesta one I used so would make the back end of your trike taller. The Ford one just looked right & made full use of the room at the back of the frame. We've stopped building the water-in-frame design now & all the recent ones have been very basic hardtails with the rad' hung in front of the engine. No real reason, other than it's a much simpler design.
The coolant runs from the thermostat housing of the engine, down through the right hand frame leg, through the rad' & back up the left leg. The frame tubes were cut directly above the entry & exit points & solid slugs welded in. On my red trike though, (see the Motors, 3 wheeels section, "Special Delivery"), I allowed the water to travel right up to the headstock then fitted bleed valves in the top to bleed the air out of the system. Obviously air locks will stop your coolant from flowing properly & the bleed screws need to be at the highest point in the system. On the green one I made up a T piece that fitted in the top water hose above the engine rocker cover & had an adapted brake bleed nipple in it. Things do get warm but not so hot you can't hold the frame tubes. I powdercoated mine, but if you use ordinary paint you'd have to check it could take constant heating up & cooling down without cracking or discolouring.
My frame was tested by smearing all the welds with soapy water, blocking the exit hole & putting an airline on the entry, then watching for bubbles in the water.
To be honest, though it grabs a lot of attention & won several Best Engineering trophies, the water-in-frame system is a lot of hassle to get right -hence the much simplified set-up on Flap's orange trike, Simon's black one, Critch's frame & my own new one. Depends how skilled & how patient you are!  ;D

Cheers for that. I think i will mount the rad on the front, as you say not so much hassle.
Picked up Yam 125 moto crosser today(minus wheels) bloke was chucking it away. It has a nice set of front forks ;D Ah the joys of living in the country, lazy git couldn't be bothered to go to the tip >:(
Just need to get the tube sorted now( and find room for the other bikes in the garage whilst i'm messing about) and i will be on my way.

Be sure to take plenty of photos for us & take notes so I can hassle you for a write-up when it's done!
If you're using long 'crosser forks you might have to put a brace across them to stop them flexing. Trike front ends come under a lot more stress than bike ones so I always look for forks from bikes of 500cc + to make sure they're beefy enough for the job.
Looking forward to watching your progress. :)