chain drive

[C J]

Hi guys,  Im new to this trike building lark, but after reading the frame building series im going to have a go. Ive got an FJ1100 motor going spare so I would to use it along with a set of FZ750 forks and other odds and sods. I would like to build it with a swingarm and suspension (bad back).I have also found a reliant axle converted to chain drive. Has anyone ever done a softtail chain drive?also any ideas on lubricating the diff? any help would be great guys. Cheers  C J.

[Manky Monkey]

Hiya CJ. Welcome Sir.
Never built a softtail. Have you actually tried a rigid frame? Nowhere near as harsh as you might think. A pair of decent sized tyres, run at 15 PSI, gives you a suprising amount of bounce. A hardtail is so much easier to build. However, ByzMax is currently building an 1100 Yam trike with Mazda suspension, so worth checking out his recent postings for photos of his handiwork.
As for lubricating a chain drive axle, not really sure -again, personally I've never done it, but seen a few over the years. Most seem to either run completely dry or pack the diff assembly in high melting point grease. I've also seen one running in oil as normal with a letterbox draught excluder brush around the entry & exit slots of the chain to contain the oil splash. Maybe you could rig up a Scot-Oiler unit running onto the chain as it enters the diff housing?
Any ideas anyone?

[reliantman]

100%Biker Mag had a peice in the trike Tech section, which had a cb750 trike with a chain running in a fabricated oil bath, but it was a hardtail and the bath was sealed with all sorts of gunk. Dunno about oiling a softail though, apart from what manky has suggested.

[yoda]

Hi guys,  Im new to this trike building lark, but after reading the frame building series im going to have a go. Ive got an FJ1100 motor going spare so I would to use it along with a set of FZ750 forks and other odds and sods. I would like to build it with a swingarm and suspension (bad back).I have also found a reliant axle converted to chain drive. Has anyone ever done a softtail chain drive?also any ideas on lubricating the diff? any help would be great guys. Cheers  C J.

how about making a hardtail and just have the seat on a swing arm tyupe mechanisn with a suspension strut set to your weight - best of both worlds

this one was built by Metal Malarkey http://www.malarkeyengineering.co.uk/

[Manky Monkey]

Thought about a chain to shaft conversion, using a bevel box from something like an XS750,, XS850 or XS1100 Yam?

[C J]

Thanks for the ideas guys, thats given me something to think about.  CJ.