Manky Monkey Motors

G'day, I have been lurking around here for a while in search of knowledge. For the last 40+ years I have been on 2 wheels and suddenly I have the urge to build a trike. So, over the next few months(years?) I will probably ask some really dumb questions. I apologise in advance.
First dumb question: Why is the Reliant rear axle so popular on trikes in the UK?
Please bear in mind that I have only ever seen photos of this strange little beast.
Hmmm..... first post and I have probably offended someone allready......... 

SINNER

FIGHT IT, MAN!

No good will come of it!

 ;D

Believe me, you are not the first to say that.

SINNER

Aye, resist the 3 wheeled demons, for that way lies madness, broken relationships & poverty. I know, I've been there many times!
G'day err, "Cobber"!  ;D
So what's the triking scene like down your way then? I'd say you've got a better climate for it, but it's sweltering here this week. 85 degrees predicted for the weekend, which in Britain is pretty rare. Typical Englishman -discussing the weather!
Reliant axles. They just happen to be quite narrow, which suits bike engined trikes, lightweight, easy to work on, still fairly plentiful, (the Reliant factory finally closed it's doors 6 years ago), & the ratio usually works quite well with high revving bike motors.
Of course, in our own case, it's cos we're using Reliant engines! If you decide to use one -plenty on ebayuk, between 40 & 100 English pounds, you'll probably need to flip it upside down cos the Reliant prop shaft rotates in the opposite direction to most bikes.
So what you riding at the moment then matey?

Hi MM,The wheather here at the moment is crappy. 42f and a roaring southerly. We don't normally get this until mid July, but we can use the rain.
As we never seem to get much rain I suppose that the climate is better for bikes. I ride most days when I knock off work all year round. (This is what keeps me sane)
I ride a VT1100 that I bought in '96. Wife said I should buy the bike I wanted, as it would probably be the last one. (Nobody mentioned trikes!) 10 years later I still love it. (and the wife too)

Oh, and just out of interest, the only time I ever hear anybody use the word "cobber" in Australia is if we are trying to get money off tourists or its in a movie thats made overseas. Also, I don't know of anybody that drinks Fosters.
We are just like real people, honest.
We do use the word "mate" a lot.  Works well when you cant remember someones name!

Oh yes trikes! Last week I spoke to a person from DMV about building a trike. Seems I am the first person to ask. Who said I live in Hicksville? Quote: "Build it then we will talk about it" Apparently any modified vehicle is looked at case by case.
This probably explains why I have only seen a handful on the road.

Off to look at a donor bike. V65 Magna 1100.

Go the Wallabies and pass the beer nuts!

SINNER

So it's not all hats with corks on & puttin' another shrimp on the barbie then? I'm disappointed! Crocodile Dundee has a lot to answer for! My image of Oz is probably a cross between Neighbours, Mad Max & Skippy the bush kangaroo -a scary thought. I know several people who've actually been inspired to build their first trike after watching Billy Connolly cruising around your fair country on a triked Harley. He certainly made it look pretty idyllic.
I'm guessing DMV is the Department of Motor Vehicles? Are they really that easy going? We've recently gained a new set of building regulations over here called the MSVA. The book's a foot square &  2 inches thick & covers every possible aspect of trike building from the position of the lights to the maximum height of the filler cap above the tank. At first glance it looks impossible to follow & the tests are pretty strict, but it's actually mostly common sense stuff & plenty of trikes have passed it.
So, as our first foreign correspondent, got any piccies of Antipodean bikes or cars we can use? Do you have as many shows & rallies as we do? I'm always nagging people to contribute, but it'd be interesting to see how the average Ozzy biker compares to us Brits.
Nice to meet you Sinner. Hope you'll make yourself comfy & stick around.  ;D

Hi there Sinner.
I think neighbours went down the pan after Kylie left, and Harold jumped off the cliff.

You can pass the the beer and keep the wallabies nuts  ;D

hi sinner, welcome aboad. if you get the urge do it, that goes for most things.........its got me into trouble a few times but, youre only here once 8)

I have never met these people before in my life.  :P
Err, who's Harold?

Don't know, never watch it.

I don't own a telly so never watch anything!  :o

Harold jumped off a cliff about ten to twelve years ago, and that was the last time I really watched it.

It's not real you know. :P

Thats what I tell my mrs about Big Brother.

I'm not even sure they're on the same planet as the rest of us. :o
Is there an Ozzy version of BB, Sinner?

Harold didnt jump, he was swept off by a wave only to reappear in the salvation army. Obviously! ::) :P

You've obviously got way too much free time on your hands!

not much free time, just badly used!

Everyone who disappears from an Oz soap re-appears - if not in the same one then in another!  Same with the films - I reckon there's only about a dozen actors in Oz!

 ;)

D'ya think Harold was in the Mad Max films then?

Didn't think they had any actors ;D

What about Skippy the bush kangaroo? He was a brilliant actor.

Ok then! ;D just the one

Never seen him in anything else since though. Typecast for life I guess. Probably semi retired & doing guest cameos in the soaps now.
Hey, where'd everybody go? We had 10 guests online a few minutes ago, 4 of 'em were reading the Billing hotrod run thread. Now they've all disappeared!

He got the job as Yoda in the new starwars film - hence the higher jumps

Yoda

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but money has to be made.

There are the bike shows that are just put on by the manufacturers, and the show and shine type by the small clubs. Nothing at all like Sturgis.
Trikes are yet to catch on. I have probably seen less than 30 in the last 30 years! Some of the tourist traps have them. Ayres Rock is one.
DMV tells me that there are 2 registered in this hick town. Both started life as HDs.

OK, who is Harold?

Yes, sadly we do have BB. Been on for years, never watched it.

Back to the original reason I dropped in: Knowledge!
Is there a "Trike Builders Bible" out there?  Looking for something really basic. Something that covers all types of trikes and the pros and cons of rear suspension. Also, the art of bending pipes into a frame.

I have a stick welder and I know how to use it, but I will get a MIG. The question is gas or gasless?
Thats enough question for now.

Job No 2 is calling...........

SINNER

Evening sinner -or is it morning?
Even I know who Harold is & I don't even own a TV!
Not sure if there's a definitive book on trike building, but plenty of UK sites that have extensive tech sections. I'd recommend
http://64.172.168.34/neatstuff/index.htm  or
http://www.chopperbuilder.co.uk/
as a starting point. Chris, ("Desperate"), has been in & out of the business longer than even he can probably remember & if he hasn't done it at some point it probably can't be done. Check his own site at
http://www.chrisireland.co.uk/
All in our Links page.
The forum of 100% Biker magazine
http://www.100-biker.co.uk/
also has a large triking contingent so a good pool of knowledge to draw from.
Can't believe you've got so few 3 wheelers over there. I'd have thought it'd be ideal country for them. Sorry, I've forgotten -where abouts are you down there? In a city or out in a tin shack in the bush somewhere? Do you get the British magazines in Oz? Is Ozbike still going?
Personally I use a 130 Mig with 0.8 wire & Argonshield gas welding mainly 4mm thick plate & tube.
So what's the job? I'm a Postie.

You mean you didn't do all your own stunts in Star Wars then Yodie?

Hi, Sinner. The reason people over here use a Reliant axle, is that, because they came out of a three-wheeler, they must be the ONLY one to use. Pretty dumb really, especially when they find they can't buy decent wheels or change axle ratio's. All mine had Ford axles, apart from the big ones, which had narrowed Jag IRS units.

However, with the very early Reliant axle, it wasn't too difficult to convert them to chain drive.

I have indeed built a few, Manky. Only about 6-7 hundred, mind. Here's my last one. Have a look on my site. There's a Q/A bit on the forum. Chopperbuilder is very good.

Dunno if that picture came out. I'll try again.

I use Reliant axles cos I use Reliant motors! But I am pretty dumb.  :P Wheel availability used to be a bit of a problem, mainly Moggy Minor or some old BMWs, but all the recent boy racer Vauxhalls are 4" PCD so loads of choice of flashy alloys out there.
Even now, with all the advances in design & technology, Megolamaniac is still an awsome looking machine Chris.

Bet you've never even considered using an Escort axle, you old fuddy-duddy! Transforms the Reliant engine's revs!

Yeah, you're right.  ;D Too lazy to go & find one! I like the Reliant ones though cos they're nice & small & lightweight & usually come with the engine! We use 15" rims with 50 profile tyres, which give a comfortable cruising speed of 70 - 75 with a little bit more for overtaking &, to be honest, that's all I need.

Overtaking what???? Reliants???

 ;D Yeah, Reliants! Last time I was on the road mine was respectably nippy up to 65 - 70ish then would level off & would gradually wind it's way up to a top whack of around 90. 3 gears around town with 4th being a motorway overdrive sort of thing. Putting the 15" rims on made a big difference to the revs. It'd sit happily all day at 70 - 75 on the motorway. Like I said, apart from my much missed Speed Triple, which really did bring out my inner hooligan, I'm not really a speed freak. I'm quite happy trundling about at almost legal speeds.
Jeez, I'm getting old!   ;D

Hi guys, Thanks for the info. If I can find the time I will check it out.
I now know who Harold is(was). I asked my 86 year old mother. Big Mistake! If anyone wants to know anything about Neighbours history from the first day, just ask.
I live in Canberra, our national capital. And, no, Sydney is just the biggest city, not the capital. It is a nice place really, less than 20 minutes from the bush in any direction. Lots of open country roads.
For 25 years I was a mechanic. Gave it away in the mid 80s when all the little black boxes started to appear under the bonnet. Tried to keep up by going back to trade school, but the teachers knew less than I did.  Worked in construction for a few years then drifted into property maintenance. Now I look after 3 hotels and do maintenance for a real estate business on the side. This trike will be built in my spare time. Might have to give up sleeping.

Hi Desperate, the first time I saw a photo of Megalomaniac I thought "I smell Photoshop".  Very happy to have been wrong.
Do you ride it often? Is it road registered?

On call! Back later.

SINNER

Megalomaniac's real -it's Desperate who's a figment of a warped imagination!  ;D

Sinner, it's real, but I sold it. It was road registered. I only took it up to 160mph.
I too gave up mechanics when they phased out points and brought in black boxes.
Mankey, can I stick in a blatent site plug here (after all, you're on my Links).
Sinner, check out www.chrisireland.co.uk and click trikes. You'll find Megalomaniac on there, and there should be a link somewhere to the video's, that show it being ridden. I think the Vids are on the Indian section, but who knows how Yoda's mind works?
Free advert over.
And now a serious question. Do they use different blends of chocolate in hot countries? When it gets hot here, nay, just warmish, our choccy melts. But when you buy a Mars Bar in Thailand, the choccy's fine, even though it's 120 degrees. Food for thought, or thought for food?

Finally, an important question!  ;D