Manky Monkey Motors

Decided to rebuild my metro trike this year,she's never gonna be a show winner but I was focusing on safety and reliabilty since I lost my best mate last year and it's made me feel less immortal than i once did :(
so  far I have done:
Front end-50mm thick slabs made by lerock-triumph 900 speed triple forks,wheel,calipers-
1 1/4 inch western bars with integral risers-new bates copy lamp and visor-diy braided hoses-
resleeved forwards using billet grips-speedo cable extender-
repainted front mudguard and tank-k.e.l. refinishing staveley-
electronic ignition adapted with sports coil,new leads and clear dizzy cap-
new su hif44 and fuel pump,new filters and pipe,gauzed rampipe-
top end engine rebuild,new gaskets valves etc.-
stainless number plate surround and lightning bolt light-
new 1.5 degree negative camber bottom arms and heavy duty adjustable tie bars-
4 core minispares rad with homejob ally deflector-
general clean up and repint in good old smoothrite-
swapped all fixings for stainless where practical-
rewire

if any body else with a mini/metro trike considering any of the above shout up and I'll help if i can,
I'm considering fitting a short shifter if anyone has any experience of these all advice will be gratefully accepted
I have also got two spare hif38's if they are any good to anyone they will need fettling but they will be free,
ride safe

Rebuild, what's a rebuild? don't that mean you have to take it off the road for more than a weekend?

Photo's please.

Sounds expensive tho'.

As for the Immortal bit, a friend gave me this advice:-

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive wnd well preserved body.
But rather to skid in sideways,
beer in one hand,
joint in the other,
body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and Screaming

 "WOO HOO what a ride!"

I think I agree with him.

:D

 :D :D :D :D I'm with you mate

Twisted. I got an email from Chevy Rick saying almost that.

WHO CARES HOW OLD YOU ARE, LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST... 

'Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a

well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,

totally worn out, shouting,  ' Holy s!!t... What a Ride!! ' '

PMSL at that gif Tazzy the mans ball sack especially

 ;D

We are only here once and for a short time so cut a wide swath

I found this on the net somewhere and used it as my avatar for awhile....

 ;D

Thank you for the kind words chaps and chappesses, kind of echoes the way my friend thought,sad part is he was only 32 and died in flames when his fireblade threw him into the front of a car cos his frame split just in front of the swingarm,hence the paranoia about safety,
back on topic has anyone tried a short shift on a trike yet?
Any body want the su's? I can either post them or hopefully my trike will be done for the 15th and I'll bring them to the uktriker open day if anyone is going

sorry for yer losses m8 :( i was lucky and survived my crash, gong off yer post the front should be more than enough "Front end-50mm thick slabs made by lerock-triumph 900 speed triple forks, wheel, calipers-1 1/4 inch western bars" the rest looks pretty much on the tarting up side of things :) my trikes not built even but i listen to what most got to say and thats"you cant over engineer enough" bet loads will start posting the bloody opposite now :)

It's very sad but at least he was doing what he loved.


For the uninitiated like me, what's a short shift?  I've only ever heard of short-shifting as an expression for going through several gears before letting the clutch back in - which I often do as I have problems pulling the clutch lever.

A shortshift or quickshift is a gear lever that has the pivot point in a different place to oem,
This effectively shortens the throw between gears,as mine is an adapted remote rod gearchange that was
always like a spoon in a porridge bowl even when they were new cars,I wondered if a tighter shift would be an
improvement or a detrement as I have heard that short shifts allow you to change gear quicker than the box can handle.

In my youth, i was into mini's in a big way,. we used to modify the the gear lever to get short shift,(by moving the pivot point up the gear lever) never had any problems, i think you can feel when its right, although i did break a gearbox by not using the clutch :-[ ;D

Is that why the sweetest gear change I ever drove had a gearstick only about 4in long?  (it was a Triumph Herald coupe, back in the days when they were a current model!)

A looney mate of mine (who is also a bit of a big headed git) bet someone £20 that his mini would do 50 mph in first gear, the bloke took the bet and they set off in the standard 998cc mini. My mate got the car up to 60mph in 4th on torquay seafront and then smacked it into first gear. It did do 50, but for a very short time, and ruined the engine and box, slid the car and smashed the front in as well. The fella paid the £20. The car was written off but he was happy coz he won the bet, what a tw@.