Manky Monkey Motors

Hi All
  Can someone help me with a choice of bike for my latest 3 wheel project Im contemplating? Its going to be rear wheel driven ,engine mounted in rear ,two wheels up front,2 seater morganesque.
  Im thinking maybe 500cc approx?
 Something that hasnt got loads of electrickery gizmos on the engine. 
  Shaft drive easier to mount as more compact?
 Not after blistering speed,just something that will pootle about.  
 Please Discuss..........
   Thanks
         Rod.

Just out of interest, if you're having 2 wheels at the front why do you want the engine in the rear?  A Morgan has the engine in the front - and very pretty they are too!

Honda CX500.

or Moto Guzzi v50!

if ya use a cx or guzzi, the engine configuration would give you a similar set up as morgan with engine at front!!!

I described it as Morganesque to give a basic description. Not all Morgans had the engine right at the front,some had it under cover in the front.Dont want all the hassle of the engine mounting/propshaft etc.Easier to transfer a complete bike engine/rearend ,so that it gives me instant drive and rear wheel set up.

See what you mean!

So does the 'cx' denote shaft drive?

Yep the CX is a shafty. How about a BMW Boxer. Some of the smaller bikes from the 80's are not expensive. Air cooled so may have issues there if engine fully enclosed.

why a bike?
citroen 2cv or diane,
(try google "lomax" , you will find a 3 wheeler version)

we did a basic one by usin a cv chassis with the rear susp arm turned round to make 1 wheel at the rear,
and i can give you the number of a guy who tunes them VERY  successfully,

Looked in to that route,have you seen the prices of reasonable  2cv stuff???? No thanks! ;D
 
 Dslam....I'm thinking a watercooled engine will be better,due to enclosing,then I can just run a duct/scoops from wherever to the fan . P'raps I'll drop the cc size,may have a wider choice then.Got to be complete bike to get all the odds and sods.
 Does a shaft bike have twin rear springs/shocks,or only on the one side?
 I think the bike choice is going to be a major stumbling block to sort out,firstly to find a bike,then get someone in the know to look at it for me. Secondly ,I havent a clue about cost yet..going to have look on e bay to get price guides and ideas.cant do much until I have the bike to get ideas on widths for the chassis rails and basic positions of everything.I'm then going to mock it up using 3 x 2 timber for the rails to get an idea of shapes.

If your considering bike powered, single rear wheel, have you considered rear engined like the Cooper type race cars? You could easily run chain drive which opens up your choices no end. Some shafties have twin shock some have one. Its all dependant on the make/model you choose. Most of the eighties stuff progressed towards single shock.

GT550 or 750 are twin sock shafties.

For info:

Rear engined, rear wheel drive: Grinnall made the Scorpion
http://www.grinnallcars.com/scorpion-III-sports-car-specification.html
and used the 4 cylinder liquid-cooled BMW K series engine (shaft drive).Tyres were car type, so lots of tread in contact with the road.
BMW also made the K75, a 3 cylinder equivalent of 750cc (more responsive than the K100)

The Morgan-esque design (engine at front and rear wheel drive) has been done by companies such as Triking and JZR, with engines from Harley V-twins, through Moto Guzzis to the (now rather old) CX500 Honda.

Air cooled at the rear would mean having a reasonable air flow to keep temperatures sensible, but at least there wouldn't be a radiator and hoses to deal with.
Conversely, liquid cooled at the rear means you don't need good air flow for the engine, just the radiator(s).

Engine at the rear could help with traction as the weight will be near the drive wheel, but if you're just going to amble around that doesn't really matter. Personal view is a 500cc could be under-powered, esp if you have a passenger (and most 500 engines are now rather old)

Lots to think on, and of course the pennies will influence your choice too.  :)

... so they can keep toes nice and warm..........  ::)

depends where your buying from,
 ;)
my mate races/repairs em,you would be front wheel drive though

if ye want to keep the engine in the rear then theres no reason why ya have to limit yerself to shaft drive!

if ye used the complete bike engine,frame,swingarm, wheel set up as a sub frame , then build whatever else yer gunnu do around that!

yes shaft drive is cleaner & easier to maintain but it does limit yer choices somewhat.also ye may want to look a some thing with bigger cc's but the main consideration will be torque output, v-twins are good for that plus they are narrower!

have a look what i,ve got in the for sale section.could be the answer.

Bus Boy..I was thinking that it didnt really matter if chain or shaft ,for just those reasons,but someone told me shaft would be easier,dunno why! Thinking about measuring all the mount points etc and transferring them to the new chassis rails,although it might be easier to mount the whole engine cradle etc from the bike inbetween the new rails.

the other big plus point for useing chain drive is that you can alter the final drive gearing if required!

this may be of interset......

http://reversetrike.com/home.html (http://reversetrike.com/home.html)

Hi Rodeo, I've just seen this thread and am 'trying' to build a reverse trike myself. I am using an XJ600 which is a chain drive. Shafties are getting a bit pricey now and I was given the XJ600 coz it needs loads of work on the engine and box. I'll 'sort' another engine when the conversion is eventually finished.
Just wondering why you want to use a shafty, curious that's all ;D
Have a look at these

http://malamuterun.co.uk/ (http://malamuterun.co.uk/)

http://www.stealth11.com/ (http://www.stealth11.com/)

http://www.valk3.com/ (http://www.valk3.com/)

These might give you some ideas

I'd use a BMW K series bike engine as per the Grinnall.

You could even get some info and pictures from me as my brother owns one and I look after it for him!

The yamaha xj900f is twin shock and shaft drive 98hp and the xj750 also shaft and the 650 turbo

Going to have to hold back on this for the foreseeable future,as having to spend my spare wonga on the trike engine reconditioning ::)

Whilst aware of your priorities at present Rod, how about this take on the 'Aero' theme by a guy called John Bradshaw, for the future perhaps. The books an excellent read, too.....Morrag

Did he live near Buxton do you kw Morrag? That name rings a bell to someone I have met who had lts f old bikes. Will have a dig around :)

Ignore my question Morrag, just looked and it is someone else.