Your thoughts

[Speedmaster]

Would be interesting to see a successful one, there must be some, mustn't there?

[Manky Monkey]

 
Maybe I've walked past a couple already & not recognised 'em?
Can't see how the guy makes it worth his while. Not sure what tubing he's using. Thinner than ours but may be a far better grade steel in which case it's the best part of 200 quid's worth, plus the material & machining time for the headstock, plus whatever axle clamping system he's using. Even using a mandril bender & a jig it's still a couple of days of work. Then there's the cost of welding gas, wire, electricity etc. Unless he works in a welding shop & is using the firm's materials, it's hardly worth the hassle.

[Speedmaster]

Put like that, it makes me wonder if there's a catch. There usually is when thing are priced low.  Nothings cheap in the end, is it.

[Manky Monkey]

Find yourself a cheap Reliant & build one yourself mate! Cheaper & more fun & you'll ride in confidence cos you'll know eactly how it was built.

[Speedmaster]

I know your right but.......... we'll see.

[ByzMax]

I checked out the photo's on that guys site and the bloke that had the ump and the frame looked very squiffy to me!

Like you say you get what you pay for. Minimum of £1000 for a basic trike frame is what I would expect to pay.

 

[Manky Monkey]

Yeah, Nige & I said if we ever did another one that's what we'd have to charge to make it worth our while. Sounds a lot but there's a hell of a lot of work in it, plus it's the major component of your trike. Everything else can be sourced fairly cheaply if you shop about. You could probably pay a grand for the frame & still be on the road for 15 hundred quid with a very tidy machine.

[Speedmaster]

You could probably pay a grand for the frame & still be on the road for 15 hundred quid with a very tidy machine.

mmmmm, that'd be doable, even on my present budget. 

[Manky Monkey]

The level of finish will determine how much you spend really.
Budget trike:
Donor Reliant -anything from the 10 quid I paid for my first one, to the 30 quid Ska Man paid recently for the one his engine came from, to 100 quid tops. Look for MOT failures. Check local free ads, Exchange & Mart, people's gardens. Look in places where they're not yet considered collectable. Reliant axles are starting to go for 100 quid plus on Ebay cos people have realised they're popular with trikers. We've actually got spare crankcases, heads, carbs etc, even a gearbox I think. If necessary, you could rebuild a good motor from a pile of assorted parts, (a nice little project for those long Winter evenings!).
2nd hand tank -I personally like Sportster tanks. Bog standard Harley ones are always on Ebay for 30 - 50 quid.
Front end -Depends who you know really. I paid 90 quid for the complete front end from a Suzuki Savage for my own trike.
Axle -Would hopefully come with your donor car, but they're about if you look.
Wheels -as flash or as cheap as you want to go really.
Seat -we go for the large solo pads sold by the likes of Highway Hawk. Several variations on sale from various universal custom part suppliers. Flap's & mine cost 40 quid each new, from Netley Marsh autojumble. In the shops they're about 60 - 70 now.
Frame tubing -we use heavyweight ERW. The cheapest stuff you can get, but it's fine for a well triangulated frame. Plenty strong enough. Enough to build a frame will set you back 100 - 200 quid, depending where you go for it -& how many mistakes you make! 
The rest is all odds & ends you can pick up anywhere.
Rob seems to be doing pretty well with his build doesn't he. If he can do it, why not you? 

[saddlebags]

im definately gonna take on a buid of my own, my mate went to look at a new house and spotted two reliants
in the next door nieghbours ,one of which had weeds growing around it (yippee)i feel like the kid in the film christine.

[Manky Monkey]

Buy 'em both & flog one to Speedy!
I cut my donor car up with a hacksaw & bagged it up in black bin bags. My rented garage is behind a row of shops so I dropped a bag in each of their big industrial dustbins until it'd all gone. 

[reliantman]

Jammy git. The council wouldnt take mine away, so I too attacked it with a disc cutter. Most of it went to the tip, but the front end is still in the woods behind my house.

[Manky Monkey]

Hmm, I cut my bodies up & dispose of them in bin bags, you hide yours in the woods. We sound like a couple of mad axe murderers! The Reliant owners club would probably agree. 

[reliantman]

It gives the wildlife something to live in.

[Speedmaster]

Hmm, I cut my bodies up & dispose of them in bin bags, you hide yours in the woods. We sound like a couple of mad axe murderers! The Reliant owners club would probably agree. 

Didn't realise I was in the company of psycho's