My next project - Tadpole Trike

[gone_fishin]

i didn't see "install the pipe!" on yer list

dang, that piece looks so nice, van...are you sure you're the same
guy who was talking about staying under the radar?

 

[Dockspa1]

If it keeps going as smoth as it has, you might want to start building some for a little profit? I'm sure after the villagers see it they will be asking questions.
Doc

 

[Alaskavan]

That reminds me. I better do some research on a gasket for the exhaust. She'll be staying in the garage until I have a shroud devised for it. The general population doesn't get to see the engine.

 

[Torques]

I received the pipe today. I was working, so I had to wait a while to see if it would match up okay, etc.
View attachment 4796

Looks pretty darn perfect to me.
View attachment 4797

I still keep waiting for a problem to arise with this project. So far, the closest to a snag that has come up was having to grind the drive sprocket. Everything else seems to fit together like an M.I.T. grad planned this.

Tomorrow, my schedule goes something like - Make another pass at grinding on the drive sprocket (just to make sure I've got it thin enough). Work on mounting the engine (I'll need to create access to the drain plug through the plate the engine bolts to, etc. Might have to modify the mount extensively.). Both of these should go smooth. That leaves me with the things I haven't finalized (or even given too much thought to).
Where will I mount the battery? Gas tank? Passenger seat?
And there will, I'm sure, be a bunch of other details. And, put the Staton kit back on the Trek.

Passenger seat? Are you kidding?

 

[Large Filipino]

Forget the drain plug,Van. I don't know if you've seen it but they make this "lazy man" oil change kit for cars where you don't need to get up underneath your car. They got the oil filter accesable from under the hood and a hand pump that pumps the oil from the dipstick hole.
Get that pump and you can remove your oil from where you fill it from.
Or turn it all upside down with some catch trays.....naw.
And so far,this thread has seen 6,551 views and climbing.
This ride's gonna be so amazing.
...you gonna tally the total cost when this is all done? Just curious. I would imagine with the cost of the bike and shipping,so far a bit more than 2 grand?
Well worth it,though.

 

[mickey]

I better do some research on a gasket for the exhaust.

If that exhaust was designed for the horizontal honda, it should come with either a metal ring gasket or two moon shaped pieces that go around the pipe and get wedged when you attach the exhaust clamp. Beatrice Cycle sells all the little parts for Honda and clones.

Edit: I noticed earlier in the thread you where wondering about lighting and batteries. I don't know whether you settled on what you're getting but the Lifan lighting coil is plenty strong with 12V juice. Any motorcycle lights should work great for seeing and being seen. Did your motor come with all the rectifier and harness stuff? Not to pimp Beatrice but they do have all that plus some wiring diagrams for the Lifans.

 

[Alaskavan]

Yep Steve, a passenger seat. Probably not practical, but perhaps "practical" is not my forte'.
LPL, I prefer to drain oil from the bottom. Warm-up the engine first, it gets more of the dregs. Good idea about the passenger seat, but I already have something in mind.
Mickey, Thanks for the link. I didnt get a gasket with the pipe, but I work part-time at a NAPA store, so I'll be able to fake it. The engine did come with the harness and all. I have one wiring diagram, but the more the merrier.

Okay, here's what I started the day with. Having the bikes kind of beside each other gives you a feel for how long this sucker has become.


Here's after the switch, with a slightly different angle. Which bike has a motor? Answer - both.


Keep in mind that this is just barely bolted together for now. I had to make the seat-back adjustment braces clear the motor. I used some more boat-top ribbing.


The pipe fits pretty well. I might bend it to run closer to the chainstay. That would fit better with my visualization of the finished product.


Here is my first major miscalculation. Notice how much room there is behind the engine, and where the engine sits on the mounting bracket? I am not happy with this. It just doesn't visually balance. I will figure a way to move the engine back another 4". Also, the chain is 5" too short. Moving the engine back 4" should give me enough chain.


I didn't get the Trek back together either. But that's okay, I have a bunch of parts coming for it, too. I'm gonna slap a new crank on there with a 52 tooth top chainring. I'd like to be able to pedal at 20 - 25 mph.


I'm content with the progress today. tomorrow if I get time, I'll cannibalize another frame for the passenger seat.

 

[Large Filipino]

Awesome. Just Awesome.

 

[Torques]

****, that is so cool. I really enjoy making new things like you do.

 

[Alaskavan]

Torques, I really don't feel like this project is as creative as the rides built by any of the members here that start off by cutting a frame. There are so many bikes and trikes on this forum that I find more creative, that I won't even try to list them all. I just started with a different platform, and I was lucky enough to choose one that lends itself to modification. The main thing I did was stretch the frame, and we're just talking about one tube here, no worries about geometry, etc. Once the frame was stretched, a person could pretty much slap any style/config engine on there. My only inovation (if any) is frame mount/recumbent.