Manky Monkey Motors

I'll sort out a proper page for this with Yoda later, but thought I'd show you it here for now. We've got several trike projects on the go here at the moment & each will be written up with their own pages in the Motors section in the next few weeks -when I get that organised.
This is Rainbow's. Bought for 300 quid from Kris & Doro. They'd bought it as a future project before leaving it half-forgotten in their lock-up, much as I'd done with the XS1100 I sold 'em last week. Deals were done, cash exchanged & Rainbow now owns this heap of...erm, show winner in the making! At least she will do when she pays ME for it! It's basically an old GS850 Suzuki with the swing arm removed & a very basic hardtail welded on in it's place. Knackered battery & a bad earth somewhere that heats up one of the fuses when the ignition's on, but nothing that can't be fixed. Rainbow's told me what she wants -& I've told her what she's getting, (!).
At the moment we plan to ditch the apehangers, bench seat, cissy bar & top tubes of the hardtail, along with the chequer plate mudguards, then knock up a new tail running in a straight line from the back of the tank down to the axle. The frame's welded direct to the axle tubes at the moment which isn't ideal cos they're not very thick & it puts a lot of stress on a small area. It also means the axle's permanently attached to the frame which will be a bugger when we want to get it powder coated. So I'll make up clamps that'll be welded to the frame & bolted around the axle. Anyone want a cheap pair of maltese rear lights? They're going too! Or maybe I'll keep 'em for my hotrod!
Strip & rebuild the motor, add some wide flat bars, a single seat & luggage rack & powder coat it all in bright red. Should make a nice little runabout trike.
A few minor niggles though. Firstly it's wrongly registered as a bike & sidecar! That means we've got to register it again from scratch, going through the whole MSVA regulations malarkey. Rainbow's in charge of obtaining a copy of the 30 quid regulations book so we can see just what's needed to comply. She's also got to pass her driving test! The rules were very quietly changed a while ago meaning ALL trike riders now need to hold a full car licence, (although I think you can still ride on L plates with a qualified passenger). Must be loads of bikers riding around illegally on trikes now cos there was very little fuss made about the change. Rainbow's only got a bike licence but is taking car lessons -got an incentive to pass now! In theory this should be a fairly quick build -a REbuild really, but you just know it's gonna take months & months & months &.....   

The gauges will be replaced with small chrome jobbies, the pegs will go in favour of something nicer & that rusty old front guard will be binned too. New parts will come from the big book of shiny things down at Kris & Doro's new shop.

if i got this right if you had a full bike license only before 2001 you can ride a trike but after you cant, is that correct?

Yodiidlydoda

Hi ya

Ye, got no B1 on my license :(  Don't know if this true but read some where that i could ride a trike with L pates and only if it was a single seater.  Any one know if that is true?

By the time the trike is finished, I should have passed my car test (fingers crossed) :)

By the time the trike's finished you'll be drawing your pension!
-JOKING dearest, only joking!  ;)

Ha ha how true ::)

I'll buy a new hacksaw blade in the morning & make a start -hee, hee, hee!!

yep quite true trev in our club does a copper of our aquaintance said this was ok so no problems  ;)

Was thinking the same thing. When we started mine I was still at school and Manky was on a y.t.s  ;D

I'm glad I'm old & manky. When I passed my bike test, (1st time), you only had to ride around the block a few times while the examiner stood at the side of the road. If you didn't fall off or kill anybody you'd passed. A mate DID fall off but out of sight of the tester. Got back on & passed, even though he'd broken an indicator & bent the brake pedal.
When I passed my car test, (1st time), there was a big warehouse fire locally & we got stuck in a traffic jam for three quarters of an hour. By the time we got back to the test centre everyone had gone home. ;D

Even though I'm NOT WELL, I've spent the afternoon hacking big lumps off Rainbow's trike project. It's starting to look a little Mankier now -which is a good thing honest! Tomorrow's job is to hoik the engine out, hacksaw the axle off the frame & make up some new axle clamps before knocking up new seat rails that'll run in a straight line from the back of the tank to the axle & then a few cross members & whack it all back together -easy. HAAA, HA, HA!!

Did they do a factory custom version of the GS850? With a smaller, prettier tank? Anyone got one? This one's got a big dent in the side. Would like something that follows the curves of the frame but this is a budget build so it'll have to be a standard Suzi one. The pile of discarded bits grows ever bigger. The moral- never leave me alone with your bike & a hacksaw!

Would like to change the wheels but they've still got to match the front one so have to be a multi spoke design of some sort. Working out of Kris & Doro's garage at the moment. His old trike chassis is in there & has much prettier 5 spoke alloys but they don't really match.

Doing all my welding in Ska Man's garage at the moment -gonna outstay my welcome there if I don't get at least one trike sorted soon! He's taken on my old green rolling chassis & bought a set of four autojumble 15" alloy multi spoke wheels. May negotiate with him for the spare pair. Not sure if 15s will be too tall for the bike though -bigger diameter will upset the gearing, or maybe improve it! Most bike-trikes seem to run 13" rims when using Reliant axles so we might get away with 15s on 50 profile tyres. Any advice anyone?
Flap & I lifted the motor out this morning -after much cursing & bashing of knuckles!

OMG its been manky'd  ;D

will start putting some pics of the yam project up here soon too  ;D

Hee hee! So's your garage mate -knee deep in discarded trike bits now. Took the forks out this afternoon, (a bugger of a job on your own), then hacksawed the axle off the frame. Will make up new axle clamps tomorrow then start on new frame toobs.
Yeah, post some piccies mate! Looked very clean & shiny last time I was in the shop -maybe I should've kept it! I'm hoping if I smile nicely at Yodie he'll make up a new page in the Motors section for each project so we can show them progressing from manky old bikes to...well, new Manky bikes! :)

good idea, also gonna need to get your mate to do some work for me on that clamp in order to get the beasty bars fitted  ;D

Reg is the man with the lathe in his shed. Lives near you, (Southam), & has been to the shop I think. Belongs to the forum so PM him & tell him I sent you!  ;)

whats his ID??

"RegL," (Reg Locke). Leaving here to walk across town & see him right now! Collecting parts for Flap's trike.

Glad you got rid of the orrible chequerplate mudguards!

 ;D  They must've been SOMEONE'S pride & joy but definitely not my taste. Rainbow's away, sunning herself in Crete for a week, so I binned 'em quick while she's gone! She's checked into the site though via an internet cafe & texted to say "What have you done to my trike"! Oops! Spent the afternoon after work today with a wire brush & big tin of Nitromors, stripping 20 years of oily road-crud off what's left of the frame. 

would you have not been better off building a new frame from stratch !!!!!  :D

Heh heh! Yeah, I'm beginning to think that too! Nah, would've been a lot of work to reproduce the engine cradle -the arse end's the easy bit. Just got in from work, so will slump in a heap on the sofa for a while then walk across town to the Manky garage to start making up the axle clamps & stuff.

hey andy - while you're pottering about in our garage - you couldn't spring clean it as well could ya? huh? huh? gwan ;D ;D

Cheeky minx! It's like a lockable skip, that garage of yours! Knee deep in all manner of stuff. Some's bike related, some I can't even identify. Flap & I carted Rainbow's chassis -well, not HERS, her trike's, around to Ska Man's garage today to start reworking it, but the rest of the trike's still in a big heap in the garage. Hope I can remember which bits came from hers & which from your old Kwacka!

The front halves of the axle clamps.
These will be welded to the frame then the other halves bolt up to them to hold the axle in place. The extra tabs are locating lugs that'll bolt to tabs on the axle itself. They'll stop the axle sliding sideways in the clamps or twisting. 

Very pretty.

I'd like to be able to make things like that.  I don't mean for myself, or cos I need them, but just for the satisfaction of making something good, and tidy, and useful.

yep very shiny, but my missus wont let me near any more tools  ;D

wonder why that is then ;D ;D

see OOOPs thread
http://mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=380.0

A bit of a DIY disaster Yodles?
Young BG, you're very welcome to come & play with the welding kit if you fancy a go. Did you see the sword I made for Doro & Kris? Really enjoyed doing that. I like being creative. Once I've got all the various projects out of the way I'd love to try my hand at metal sculpture. Would be fun to do it without the pressure to get it finished by a certain date like the bikes & stuff.

That's exactly what I have in mind - metal sculptures made out of bits of other things - like bikes for instance!

What kind of welding kit do you have?  Today I've been offered a go with my mate's gas welding equipment (which he hasn't got of course, cos you have to have a licence or something....)

Thanks for the offer but I really don't have time at present - I hope to retire in less than 2 years, them I'm going to do a welding course at a local agricultural college.  They do a very basic one-day job for farmers who just want to be able to put things back together when they break, but also have longer course for those who want to learn to do a bit more than that.  Thought I'd start with the one-day course and see if I like it.

I did fancy the blacksmithing course, but not sure that all that hammering would be good for the arthritis!  But then I've got pottery waiting to be done as well - I haven't really got time for work, but the money comes in handy.   >:(

Hmm, build your own tractor, that sounds interesting! Flap & I attended evening classes at the local tech college a couple of years ago. I'd owned welding gear before but not been taught to use it so was never 100% confident about the results. The course cost about 60 quid I think & covered MIG & gas. We then bought a 150 MIG unit between us, which will weld up to 6mm steel plate -enough for our needs. 

This evening I tack-welded the existing hardtail frame tubes to the new clamps. Measure, check, measure again, stand back & bump into the frame, check & measure again, then weld. Then check again. The two existing frame legs were very slightly out of square with each other but a little gentle tweaking & they're fine now. Tomorrow I'll add the top hardtail rails, running from the stubs of the original seat frame, behind the tank, straight down to the axle clamps.
I thought this frame looked really tall but maybe it's just cos the others are all so low. Seat height will be around 20". I've checked the height of the front end by running a tape measure down through the yokes till it touched the floor & checking against the forks. It's the same height as the original frame. Still got to cut off the lugs for the main & side stands which the previous builder had left on.
We'll be swapping the original 13" wheels for Ska Man's spare pair of 15" ones, so I'm using my own axle & wheels to build around for now.

Tried my aluminium trike tank on Rainbow's frame & it very nearly fits. Follows the curve of the frame rather than hiding it like the original Suzuki one. Valley Gas speed shop in Newbury have a local guy who makes ally tanks for them. I've seen his work & it's very good. They reckon they could produce one by Christmas -so that's her pressie sorted then.
Mine cost 300 quid & was made by "The Tank Shop" in Dumfries. Took 9 months.

Cut & welded the seat rails this afternoon.
Rainbow tried it for size & found the standard footpeg position is too cramped now so I'll have to shift 'em further forward, (pegs are laying in the new position in the photos). We've decided against the one-off ally tank so we're on the hunt for a GL850 tank again if anyone's got one.

No idea what a GL850 is but David Silver have got some tanks they're selling off...

Tanks going cheep! (http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/clearance.html)

Thanks Bobbi. The GL is the factory custom version of Rainbow's GS Suzuki. Dave Silver have got a stand at the NEC bike show. We'll be there on Sunday so will have a look then.
Been looking at these piccies of the frame & I'm really not sure about those seat rails. They look far too high. Too steep an angle. The top end is the height of the original seat frame so it's definitely lower than standard but I think I might have to drop the front end of the seat rails lower to get it looking right.

Right. I'm not happy with this frame at all so gonna have a bit of a rethink.
I've canvassed a few opinions from my email correspondence this evening, & the general consensus is those seat rails definitely have to go! Anyone else got any views?
I've limited myself by working with an original bike frame but couldn't really alter the dimensions of the engine cradle anyway. I'm thinking chop the back off & start again. Lose the original trike conversion tubes that are welded to the swinging arm pivots cos they're setting the height of the front half of the frame. Drop the front cradle down a couple of inches. Much lower seat rails. Maybe even pull the axle in tighter to make it purely a single seater as long as I can do it without making that angle steep again. Got to keep enough clearance under the frame for the exhaust, (unless we make up a high level one down one side of the motor with a heat shield on it), but could rake the front end out a little more & convert it to a single top tube, meaning we could use an off the shelf custom tank. Also need to make the hardtail narrower by pulling the axle clamps in a few inches on either side.
Easy. I'll knock that lot up after work tomorrow then!  :D

Could keep the bottom loop of the engine cradle & the headstock. Angle the headstock back a little more to lower the frame, chop out the 3 top tubes & replace them with a single 2" one, much lower seat rails & the lower hardtail rails sweeping up to narrower axle clamps from the bottom of the engine cradle. Then a simple curved upright down either side of the back of the motor. Easy.

More like this.

manky if you just kept the bottom cradle and put the bottom axle tube lower on the frame (say slug it from the bottom of the downrails top tubed it and did the seat rail from the top tube would it make it easier as it would sit lower (probably talk about teaching yer granny to suck eggs) :-[ ::)

Exactly what I'm doing matey. Nice to know you agree though.
Spent the afternoon after work today cutting up the existing set up with the angle grinder -& then continuing with the hacksaw after I burnt out yet another grinder. Don't use undue pressure on them but we only buy cheap & cheerful ones & have gone through 3 or 4 so far. So another 10 quid Chinese one from the show tomorrow then.
Have sliced off the back end. The previous trike conversion rails were throwing things out completely -far too wide & too high. Refurbished the axle clamps I made the other day, then cut out the centre one of the 3 top tubes. Using the outside 2 as a temporary guide to make sure the new 2" top tube is high enough to allow us to refit the engine! New top tube will curve down behind the engine & the seat rails will meet it at a lower height. Will add a little more rake to the headstock to lower the frame & bring the bars back closer to the rider. Think we might have to knock up a 4 into 1 high level pipe running down one side of the motor to compensate for the reduced ground clearance.
No photos today cos I forgot to take the camera!

Had a lousy day in the garage today. Those new 10 quid angle grinders we picked up at the NEC -took one to the garage & burnt it out in 10 minutes! Cutting the headstock off Rainbow's trike frame. Really wasn't working it hard, not leaning heavily on it, just supporting it's weight really, but soon had smoke coming out of it & a horrible clattering noise. Guess you get what you pay for!
Then I broke my last hacksaw blade & whacked my knuckles in the process. Been surveying the heap of assorted trike bits & thinking I've taken on too much. It's starting to feel like a second job when it should be a fun hobby. So I trudged home in a crap mood this evening. Thanks for cheering me up people. I feel much better now. I'll be back in the garage with renewed vigour -& a fresh blade, tomorrow.
Goodnight all.  ;D

Haven't posted any piccies of Rainbow's frame for a while so here's one from last week. Seat height is still 20" -which is pretty low! -but have pulled the axle clamps in a few inches either side to narrow the seat & shortened the whole back end cos we've decided to make it a single seater. Headstock is lower, more raked & further back towards the rider than the original frame so much easier for her to reach the bars. Got the bottom hardtail tubes to add, then we need to drop the engine in & make up the rear motor mounts. I've put her forks & wheel in to check the ground clearance. Will definitely need to make up a high level exhaust system. Oh yeah -I forgot to flip the axle over too, so got to do that to check the diff housing still clears the frame. The Suzuki prop shaft turns the opposite direction to the Reliant axle so if we don't fit it upside down we'd end up with 5 reverse gears!

Axle flipped over. Still fits -phew! Only half an inch of clearance betwen the diff housing & rear frame loop to keep the seat height as low as possible. Bottom hardtail legs are bent, trimmed & tacked in place. They're pushed onto 4 inch long steel slugs welded into the original bottom frame rails. We've drilled & button welded through the old & new tubes into the slug then the joint in the tubes will be fully seam welded.
I was a bit concerned the seat was too far forward but Rainbow gave it a trial sit last night & pronounced it O.K -I forget I'm much longer in the leg than her. If I built it to fit me she wouldn't be able to ride it! Next job is to cut & weld some triangular strengthening gussets, fully weld everything, then drop the engine in & make up the mounts.

Getting there -slowly. A quick tidy up of the welds & some strengthening gussets in front of the axle clamps & at the base of the curved uprights & it's ready for engine mounts, footrests, pedal mounts, battery box mounts, tank mounts, exhaust mounts, hand brake mounts -& a million other little bits & pieces. What's the chances of forgetting one till after it's powder-coated?!

Haven't touched this one for months now. Been too busy with other projects, but we'll be taking Sara's along to the Shepton Mallet show with us as one of our collection of unfinished projects so it needs a bit of a spruce up.
Today Nige & I nipped over to Newbury, Berks & collected the wheels from the powder coaters & had the new 225/50/15 tyres fitted. The wheels are a spare pair -Nige bought a set of 4 from an autojumble for 25 quid. The tyres were from TyresDirectUK
http://www.tyresdirectuk.co.uk/
& cost 30 quid each. The nice sparkly silver coating cost 25 quid per wheel.

Still looks the same as it did 2 months ago, but I've spent the afternoon filing welds down -swore I'd never do that again. Cut the seat mount off, rewelded it further back, decided it looked better where it was & cut it off again. Ho hum.

Well, sadly Rainbow & I are no longer an item. We went our seperate ways a month or so ago. Still good mates & her trike will be finished & MSVA'd if she still wants it, but put to one side temporarily.
Ah well, guess I'm doomed to ride solo through this life.  :'(

That's a shame Manky.  :(  Sorry to hear that news!

Yeah, so was I!
She's a lovely lady but just not ready to settle down yet. She's fairly new to biking & enjoying the freedom of it all after having children at a very young age & spending all her adult life being a Mum. Now she wants to catch up on everything she's missed out on & I don't blame her for that. She's out & about on her beloved 600 Yam' Fazer at every chance she gets & I genuinely wish her well.
Next!   ;D

That's a nice approach. Same way as I look at stuff like that.  ;D

Also means I still get to borrow her car occasionally!  ;D
G'night mate.

Night Manky ;D