TRIKE BUILD

[pat]

Hi EVERYONE,i MUST INTRODUCE MYSELF.I am from N.Ireland and have decided to build myself a trike.I have rode bikes for some 40 years and now find that I am no longer as capable as before.Must be something to do with AGE,AND the fact that I have become partially disabled (in other words f**ked) i HAVE BEEN READING THROUGH THIS FORUM AND OTHERS FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW AND AM AMAZED AT SOME OF THE BUILDS.You guys and girls have a lot of talent.  I hope to convert my gtr1000 and would appreciate any help I can get.When I get this up and running I intend touring around England and it would be great to meet up with some of yous.Unfortunatly time is off the essance here as I dont think I will be able to do it in a few years time.WTF.
 My plan is to add a solid axle as I cant afford to put on an IRS although I would like one for the comfort.I have been advised to remove the swing arm from the bike,do you think this is a good or bad idea.If any of you can guide me through this build I would appreciate it very much.A few friends are going to help me with the build.They are all pretty handy when it comes to bikes and fabrication and between us we should have most tools and equipment that we will need.tHE FIRST AXLE i GOT WAS FROM A DAIHATSU VAN BUT THE RATIO IS ABOUT 4.5 OR 6.TOMORROW i AM OFF TO LOOK AT A BMW ONE. I have toyed with the idea of using the back end out of a sierra and stripping it and building a cage for the diff from tube and attaching the sierra suspension to this,what do yous think?.
 I dont want to start cutting and bending until I have all the parts and a clear idea of what this trike is going to be,although everyone else is telling me to make a start as quickly as possible if I intend having it ready for the spring time when hopefully the weather will improve.All advise will be greatfully accepted.
 Regards   Pat

[spanners]

hiya  pat  and welcome to the manky monkey world  pull up a chair settle down and enjoy   99.9% of us monkeys will help with what we can
 watch out for  andy  aka manky monkey  he will nick youre ,jaffa, cake,s  he just cant resist

the sierra diff set up has been used with success but i dont personally have expieriance off using it  allthough i,ve worked on enough sierra,s
                                          good luck
                                                     mike

[Basket case]

Hiya Pat. Good luck with your project. If you can get hold of a sierra cheap enough, then go for it 
And yep, definitely ditch the swingarm and any swingarm derivetive..

[ROD]

Hi Pat,welcome to the Manky world.

[BikerGran]

My plan is to add a solid axle as I cant afford to put on an IRS although I would like one for the comfort.I have been advised to remove the swing arm from the bike,do you think this is a good or bad idea.

And yep, definitely ditch the swingarm and any swingarm derivetive..

I'd be interested to know why you are so adamant about ditching the swingarm etc, specially as Pat said he'd like the comfort of IRS.

My GT550 trike uses the bikes swingarm and shocks effectively giving me a softail - cos I wanted the comfort!  For a quick and inexpensive build it seems to have been a really good idea, and I've done thousands of miles on it as Manky can tell you!

Had problems this year with the drive shaft but that was actually down to not getting it greased when I asked someone to do so....

[tbone]

Hello Pat n welcome. Personaly i prefer the shape of a hardtail frame, like the ones Mr M produces, having said that, i cant see any reason why the same thing cant be achieved with the sierra set up, and that is one project on my list. As far as the swing arm is concerned, lots of conversions use them, my personal dislike of them is that usualy the rear end sticks up to far and you loose the triangular frame look, feel free to prove me wrong on that.
How are the regs in N.I concerning builds/conversions?
Whatever you decide, enjoy the build proccess, its where the fun begins.

[ByzMax]

Welcome

I fairly certain NI runs the same regs as the mainland.

As far as swingarm conversion goes.... In the main it's about whats the point? if you have a swingarm going up and down with 5 odd ft axle attached to it it provides the same amount of comfort and handling as a hard tail with a sprung seat!


For comfort and handling then have and IRS of live axle. The only extra cost is the  bushes and the time to make the wishbones or tie rods.

I'm sure you wil get the assistance you need from this ere site but if you only intend doing  this once (even if you catch the bug and end up doing it for the rest of your life) Do the best you can and take your time. It won't take much longer but you will be totally happy with the result.

I will say that you are right in your observation that you should get pretty much all the parts you need before you start your build. It makes it so much less stressfull and cheaper/quicker.

Hope that helps

[pat]

Hello Pat n welcome. Personaly i prefer the shape of a hardtail frame, like the ones Mr M produces, having said that, i cant see any reason why the same thing cant be achieved with the sierra set up, and that is one project on my list. As far as the swing arm is concerned, lots of conversions use them, my personal dislike of them is that usualy the rear end sticks up to far and you loose the triangular frame look, feel free to prove me wrong on that.
How are the regs in N.I concerning builds/conversions?
Whatever you decide, enjoy the build proccess, its where the fun begins.

Firstly thank you all for replying. Tbone, I have just read through your entire thread about your reliant build and you deserve a lot of credit,you are doing a wonderful job and even I have picked up a few tips which I know will help me in my build.I think most regs are the same over here and apparently it depends on who you get, if they know anything about trikes and bikes or they think they know anything about trikes and bikes .I too like the shape of the hardtail.

 I asked about the swing arm because I read somewhere that by leaving it in could cause some handling problems and that there could be more wear caused to the bushings than in the bike.I wrote to a guy called 'spen' last night who had a trike built for his wife(julie).They used a gtr like myself but mentioned on their webb site that handling may not have been perfect. As of yet he has not replied.

 I visited a man today who works on sierras and saw a few back ends. He and I both came to the conclusion that to convert one for a trike would mean an awful lot of work. I may wait and follow tbones build of one and copy it .Tomorrow I may be able to get a solid axle from an old bmw. I intended putting a spring under the seat to help save the back. I do not intend having this trike for speed but for a bit of touring at my leasure.
  One thing I am undecided about is the seat configuration, I dont know what type of back seat to put on.I think I will have to use something as 'SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED' will want a spin now and again. My problem is any back seats I have seen on trikes are positioned higher than the drivers seat,I dont like the look of this as I think it takes away from the chopper look I want,also a friends son tells me when he is on the trike he seems to be sitting up far too high.Can any of you point me in the right direction.
 I have to make this build as cheaply as I can because I have not been able to work this past three years and at times (contrary to what Brown would try and have us all believe) money can be very tight.I will not work again so borrowing is out of the question.My family are all verrrrry good to me but I dont want to take advantage of them,so if I can keep expense to a minimum all the better.(suppose they will get all when I go anyway )
Pat

[spanners]

hi pat as regards to the work/cash syndrome i,m in just about the same boat as you not been able/allowed to work for about 3yrs but do a little if i can + the ex cleared me out

as regards the seat and pillion i,m the same at the mo i,m using a single seat on my build and plan to use another removable single seat or pillion pad mounted about the same level

[morrag]

Pat, Have you checked out some of the excellent, and varied, builds in the Trike section of this site, if not,do so! it may give you some inspiration, and perhaps direction, regards, Morrag,

[morrag]

If IRS is your chosen route, then the attached pic. shows a fairly straitforward set up, using a Sierra axle, Morrag

[VALLEYSBOY]

welcome  Pat

[gsxrsam]

howdy do to u 2 

[tbone]

As Morrag points out, the Sierra set up isn`t that complex, the basic cage houses the diff and the mounting points for top and bottom wishbones.
The wishbones need only be steel tube, with a bush of some sort on the swivel bit and a hub attachment/ball joint on the other.
I think you can incorperate a small shelf on the top of the cage with the rear rails angled nicely off it, most of the ones i`ve seen that use this setup have boxy looking frames, a bit like Mr M`s special delivery, later to reamerge as Skamans Blue Job, although that was for different reasons  .
Your twin seat issue need not be a problem, think two seperate seats rather than one double, my KZ among others uses 2 mounted the same height.

[BikerGran]

I asked about the swing arm because I read somewhere that by leaving it in could cause some handling problems and that there could be more wear caused to the bushings than in the bike.I wrote to a guy called 'spen' last night who had a trike built for his wife(julie).They used a gtr like myself but mentioned on their webb site that handling may not have been perfect.

Think you have to make a choice, 'perfect' handling is a bit unlikely but the more money you spend, the more you can design the thing to do what you want.  My swingarm setup doesn't give 'perfect' handling but it's been much admired and deffo the cheapest way to go as there's least to be changed.

BTW I put a cheap King and Queen dual seat on my trike - easy to git cause the bike was basically unchanged except for the rear.