Motorized Pedal Truck!

I started this past week building a sidecar bike to be powered by a Subaru Robin motor. The idea was to have a rediculously utilitarian grocery getter/ bike hauler/ building supply transporter/ 3 wheeled truck!

I'm happy w/ how it's going and excited to take it further. I plan on making a transmission for the Subaru motor and jackshafting it! Gonna try for 16-18 speed i.e. hi and lo 8 or 9 speed. I love the size of that motor and decent HP.

So anyway here's the 1st pics before paint.
 

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Progress

So its starting to come together I thought it would be fun to post a sort of start to finish chronology of the build.

paint is on, disc caliper now mounted to sidecar. B72 Brooks saddle, heavy duty wheels and other periferies are coming together.

One nice thing about the compact size of the motor is that, I think, I can run a regular width spindle and crank for the jackshaft. if it is too cumbersome I'll use the wide one.

So anyway here's where it stands now.
 

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From my experience with trailers, both bike and auto, you should have used smaller diameter tire with axle centerline that's lower to the ground. I'm not sure how it's done with side cars. I'd get the widest tire/wheel combo I could fit in your bike frame if you plan on hauling any serious weight with 12ga spoke at minimum.
 
Yeah, w/ sidecars on m/c's they usually have the same size wheel and those are 11g spokes. It should be noted that sidecars are essentially a failed design. They don't really turn well in either direction w/o a monkey to shift their weight around; you have to slow way down for turns. This is a project for fun. To build something that's fun to go get groceries w/ or haul heavy stuff w/to show how much work is possible from a little motor on a bicycle.

If one person laughs w/ me it was all worth it!
 
I laughed w/ you srdavo! For sure, that bike is a beaut (been a bigtime ratbike fan for a long time)!
 
So its starting to come together I thought it would be fun to post a sort of start to finish chronology of the build.

paint is on, disc caliper now mounted to sidecar. B72 Brooks saddle, heavy duty wheels and other periferies are coming together.

One nice thing about the compact size of the motor is that, I think, I can run a regular width spindle and crank for the jackshaft. if it is too cumbersome I'll use the wide one.

So anyway here's where it stands now.


Dude, insane!!! (I love it). Good luck with that project.

-Jav
 
Given any thought to articulating the mount to the sidecar frame, so that the bike can still lean into turns? There is a pic of a bike like that floating around here, set up as a flatbed cargo hauler. I did a design study for a similar type arrangement using a crank forward cruiser type frame and powering the sidecar side - done properly it's remove four bolts and you have your cruiser bike as a two-wheeler again.

Could have set up the powered side on the bike proper, but I got interested in the dynamics of powering the sidecar side. The geometry is straight forward, the load capacity is high, and it would lean through 30 degrees either side of vertical for cornering.
 
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