Dual engines on trike

[Member 28982]

Yay or Nay?

My neighbor has this old trike that's barely been driven. She wants like $25 for it, my question is how would I convert a single speed trike into a multi-speed trike with 2@60cc two stroke engines mounted independently on each rear wheel.?

We've had discussions about single speed and multi-speed bicycles before but... This is a trike. LoL

Imagine it. Not friction drive. But one 60 CC 2 stroke engine mounted on the left wheel axel with a sprocket and one 60cc 2stroke on right with its own sprocket.

Some how in the middle is your multi speed pedal operation... Instead of dual brakes. Install 3 independent and find a 3 way brake lever. Use clamp of some sort to bond together left clutch cable and right clutch cable to a sturdy ATV lever. Same for throttles maybe to an upgraded ATV throttle grips.
I know it would be a very complicated task and and very adventurous and learning experience so I'm asking these great minds that you find here on this wonderful site to tell me what the possibilities are because if it's not possible I'm not going to try it.

 

[Jag]

Is it possibly blue to send a picture of the rear end on it?

 

[Will'smotobikes19]

It would be hard to time both engines together. It could bend the axle if not careful. I would use a front wheel Golden eagle engine and one kit engine in the rear. That would be cool. If the front propels the bike to 20mph then the rear 30mph you could possibly get 50mph. Don’t know for sure. The front would be a friction drive with a pivot clutch. Tires aren’t too expensive. A cheaper route would be make your own brackets and use some type of leaf blower or weed eater powerhead.

 

[Old Busted Hotness]

Trikes are set up kind of goofy. Although there's a solid axle in back, only the right-side wheel is driven. That could work for you if you're using wheel-mounted sprockets. If you want to put the sprockets on the shaft, you'll need another right-side wheel (with the D shaped hub center) and a differential.

Then you've got the problem of controlling each engine in a turn. Running both off the same throttle won't have any differential action, and will just plow the front wheel straight ahead. Even with a differential gear, with throttles tied together it won't turn. You may be able to butch around that with a separate clutch lever for each engine, like a tractor's cutting brake (cutting clutch?) Or if you really want to get creative, a push-pull cable on the fork linked to each throttle. Turn left, pulls the right-side throttle for differential action. How you make that happen is up to you.

There are multi-speed trikes out there, so that much is just a matter of buying the right parts.

 

[LewieBike]

I would not want to ride an engine powered adult trike, they handle poorly at speeds higher than 15 mph, they tip over too easily and the wheels can collapse because they don't handle side-loadings well. There are other good reasons not to put engines on these but those are the main ones.

Adding a second engine will just add to the complexity and danger.

You want to engine power an adult trike? I'd do it with the smallest, friction drive, single engine you could find and gear it so it maxes out at 15 mph tops.

 

[FNTPuck]

Due to the already wide variances in motor performance it would be nearly impossible to sync the two engines together for smooth operation.

You'd always be pulling to one side unless you tear down, measure, and blueprint both motors to be exactly the same. There are normal variances in the castings of the transfer ports and cylinders plus the cranks are not all balanced equally so one motor may make more power and rev higher than another. Plus, you would need pull starts or drill starters on both of them since starting a dual motor setup on a trike by pedaling sounds extremely frustrating, and syncing the clutches would likely be too difficult as well and they would need centrifigal clutches.

Much, much better idea is easily slap a 79cc on the back with a centri clutch and gear it for ~20-25mph tops. Cheap and easy plus the extra TQ would be great for a heavy trike.

 

[Will'smotobikes19]

If you want a trike may as well get an ATC. I don't see many advantages of a bicycle trike over a regular bike unless you have poor balance/disabled. They're heavier and you could probably fit enough stuff in a backpack and in a box on a rack. There are no 3 wheeled cars because they're dangerous look up the reliant robin.

 

[Member 28982]

I was thinking instead of driving my van around the neighborhood doing jobs, I could have just have a trike with enough power to carry whatever I needed. With a small trailer type not much wider than 4'.. Or wider than trike rear wheels width..
Unsure what measurements are supposed to be on a bike lane but I do know each lane is supposed to be 9 feet wide. LOL dont ask how I know that.
And use my van for anything outside of 3mile radius.
Wishful thinking. Wouldnt be traveling that fast as I know trikes like to topple over on tight turns.

 

[wheelbender6]

"trike with 2@60cc two stroke engines mounted independently on each rear wheel.? "

That sounds like a racing go kart from the days of my youth. They mounted a chainsaw engine on each rear wheel.

 

[try 1897]

Man o man you take me back many years.When I was a kid dad got me into karting .I raced with other kids in junior class . My dad had a friend with an older kid that had an M 300 . We went to Marlboro scca track in Marlboro Md. I got to ride the 300 in practice.Man that thing was fast and way beyond my skill level.I did 6 laps on the main track lost it in the hairpin turn and hit the fence. That kart cornered for what it was. Skinny hard compound slicks. Push it to hard and it can smoke the tires like a drift car. It was capable of turning those tires. What a ride.very good budget racer years gone by. Wish I could relive those days. I'd love to have one now. Tom 10/27/1951