Manky Monkey Motors

After seeing the TRIKING trike (2 front wheels,one driven rear wheel,morgan lookalike) at the MSVA place,I looked on u tube where there ar a few vids of this type of thing,it got me thinking.........
  s'pose Im going a lot deeper into the bike thing of which I know naff all,by using a bike engine. Im thinking something like a Locost type (2 seats side by side( front half of chassis with a bike engine in rear behind seats ,chain driven,with suspension swing arm at the rear,single rear wheel.Obviously theres a lot more to it than that..........
 Which bike engines are available reasonably cheap and have grunt (and easy on the pocket for spares?)
 Would a stock width bike tyre have enough grip(footprint?) for the weight it has to push,or should it have a wider tyre,and therefore a custom hub using the existing bikes sprocket and disc(s)?
Would it have to have some sort of stronger or double chain to take the strain from pushing the weight?
 Im assuming cheaper to buy a whole bike to get all the odds and sods?
If using the existing bike tyre,could I use the orig swing arm?
 Dont know whether this will all come to fruition,but you never know!

you would get a better footprint by using a car tire as you would have more contact than a bike tire that is rounded on the sides  :)

Why use chain,It's a lot more work. if you use a shafty you could use the complete rear end off donor bike.

mmmmm  MMMMMMM   mmmmmmmmmm  lets keep thinkin,,,, ;)

why not use a fwd car? much cheaper on parts.
rear wheel is just a caster then

BigD ,thats what I was thinking.
Yeah,did think of that myself Chewie,but saw a couple on the net and they looked very bulky at the front. Im looking for a sleek low look.The reason I mentioned Locost type front of chassis was that I may be able to source a part finished Locost project . There seem to be a few around for sale,where people have given up. Or p'raps not,as they probably aint been built square anyway! The A-arms and suspension are easy to build theres plenty of info,and stuff out there.
 Hunter,I did think of the whole rearend idea ,but I think it will need a beefed up trailing arm with wider apart pivot points to take the cornering strain. Was thinking I could copy all the mounts and positions of the bike frame/engine mounts onto the new chassis,so that it didnt look a 'bitsa'.The shaft drive is a good one,(still in go kart mode =chain and sprockets ;D) I can see that the shaft drive would save a lot of time,but would I be able to get a wider hub/tyre on there with the clearances of the shaft down the side of the tyre? Looks like this may call for a visit to a bike breakers for a shufty at the different types ! OOPS! here we go again!
Im thinking 2x1 box bottom rail all round the perimeter of the body,cut off square behind seats. This would make an easy mounting for the trailing arm and also the bottom front a-arms. On top of this rail would be round tube which would sort of be the top rail of the body perimeter,spaced about 12/18 inches up.A roll hoop as part of the seat back frame.Seats from shaped f/glass. All a bit sketchy ,but you never know...........
 One last thing for now..I would need a water cooled bike? What cc do you reckon?Are there some with easier to adapt gear change mechanisms?
 Hmmm...... all very interesting!Keep the comments coming please!!

4wd subarru locking the rear diff and using one side to drive the rear, 3 wheel drive!

Can't offer much help, but here's a few snaps of some of three wheelers that can be found at NHCA (National Hillclimb Association) events, and these machines have to get the power down and handle!

http://www.nhca.co.uk/Pictures/Trikes/Trikes.htm

Engine wise - if you want strong and powerful, worth thinking along the lines of Suzuki GSXRs or or maybe Kawasaki Zs, and maybe check out what the hill climb and drag folk use.

Grinall make/made (?) a three wheeler powered by a BMW K series engine
http://www.grinnallcars.com/scorpion-III-sports-car-specification.html

... and if the lottery win comes up......  ;)  ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeNLMN_RqSI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dFuKLIlFVY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYTeSTWvCN0&feature=related

Thanks for those Tony!
Also just found out that the Locost builders site has a build section on this type of 3 wheelers as well .Looks like I got a lot of reading and viewing to do!

Now found lots of info from various sites. All very interesting and also very confusing..the choices of powerplant etc are endless! ;D

 Think I'm going to change tack slightly ,still 3 wheeled ,but very basic old styling.. Still researching it,will let y'all know the outcome of my research.

Hi.I dont own a trike but,I would suggest something good and powerful....Hayabusa, gsxr thou, R1,Blackbird or kawasaki zzr.Only problem is,is that they are chain driven,but theres plenty of websites to show you how to get round that.Or you could probably go another way and use a shaft drive engine with a little less power. Kawasaki gtr1000, any big bmw flat twin or the bmw k series engine which is a triple.   

All powerful engines,and thats the problem..so confusing! All too much high techiness for me! And also very expensive !So heres my plan............... Im now going to build (if Im allowed! ...*looks around to see if SWMBO is watching me type*  ;D A  VELOREX ..cant do links 'n' stuff,so google it! Its a chekoslovack/russian fabric bodied car(trike) from around the 50's. Not fancy and quite ugly to the point of being cute!(well thats how my missus describes me) ,but could be fun chugging along!Always fancied open top again after my Locost! Its dead easy,3 wheeled so only MSVA,and only requires a cheapish 250cc or so engine,plus I've only got to make it look loosely like the real thing,so plenty of scope for c**k ups!. My prob at the moment is researching sliding pillar front suspension!I need this to keep the track narrow,and cheap! I found that the early Robin Hood 2b cars had it ,and a lot of owners are swapping to wishbone type,so may be lucky finding summat.

Erm, have you considered a Reliant engine?

Ok, ive just looked at the velorex......hhhmmmm. On google images,type in  citroen 2cv three wheeler. Yet another alternative.

I looked at a lot of 2cv based stuff and like some. Then I looked at prices for 2cv base vehicles and the project cost went way out of my league!
 Im hooked on that Velorex now!Its quirky and will be real cheap to do . Making serious enquiries about the front susp. Going to get most of the bits together before starting the build,so could take a while to collect everything..at least a couple of weeks  ;D ;D
 Reliant engine would mean a totally different concept .

like these  ???
http://3goose.com/velorex/3-wheeled-car

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

http://www.blackjackzero.com/
I saw the prototype of this years ago and loved it, later I met the owner at a VW show and he let me have a sit in it. The kit is very expensive though.

Having had a fair amount of experience with them I'd say use the Grinnall set up.

Just buy a BMW K series bike and you have almost everything you would need.


My brother owns one (A Grinnall Scorpion) and I'll even take some pictures of it for you.


Oh and yes they are bloody fast. Just a bog standard K1100 engine in his  ;D

Lunatic...So expensive (for my pocket anyway) !
 Terry...Yes thats the one! Ugly as sin eh? ,but I think it will be great fun! (probably cost more to have the covering made than to build the thing ;D)None of the chassis parts look very long,so easy to use part lengths /off cuts etc.Thinking may do the main rails in continuous tube to form a basis for the rest of the frame May make rest of it of square box section.Will probably do it as a convertible to get round MSVA rules for screens etc.then have a soft top .I wont really get a feel for the shape until I lay out the bits on some sort of jig.Looking at it ,the finished shape looks like a jig anyway! ;D. I'll tack it with arc ,then get my welder guy to mig the lot up!
 Thinking may use 2cv wheels up front to give it the foreign sort of feel.Very basic interior (got all the switches and indicator switch 'in stock')May use those old type 2cv canvas seats as they are easy to make.Think I may have some lights as well.
See.....Ive built it in my head already!

yes they all are easy to build in our heads its when it get in the work shop is the problem  ;D ;D
good luck. if the boss lets you build it keep us posted.  ::)

Well,you gotta start somewhere! ;D I'm waiting for a guy to get back to me re the sliding pillar front suspension,he reckons he has a pair for sale.Next thing I'll need is a 250 cc bike or similar for the engine and gubbins,think I'll get a complete bike ,so easier to rob the matching parts.
 
 Byzmax...Too expensive for me,but they are nice!Thanx for the pics offer.

MSVA Q re this project...Manual says h.brake must be on wheel(s) of one axle. Does this mean that I can h/brake just the rear(driven wheel)?
The rear wheel is going to be the bike wheel,is it feasible to mount an extra caliper(cable operated) on the rear disc?

Well,Ive done a lot of thinking and have decided to build a more Morganesque type of thing with 2 seats.It will look a bit like a 30's Bugatti nose ,with dummy rad cowl,and a boat tail type rearend,housing the bike engine and rear wheel. Ive started collecting parts. Have got the sliding pillar front suspension from a Robin Hood Kit car .Think I may build a simple ladder type chassis from something like 3 x 2 box or a bit smaller section,this should eliminate all the hassle of building a space frame type chassis ,then build outriggers to hold another rail (possibly ash or summat) to get the curved shape of the body once its all up and running. Hope that all makes sense to anyone interested!Looking for several bits..
 2 x 2cv front wheels and tyres
 pair of 4 or 5 inch h/lamps
 and most of all a bike to rob all the bits off..something like a 500cc whatever?