suspended leaning trike

i started my project a year ago, built a basic frame with suspention and worked out the lean steer idea then sat back and waited for cheap quality components to throw themselves at me. that never happened.

 

so after 5 more weeks of spare time i'm getting close. the box under the shock will hold a bottom bracket to route my peddle chain though so the suspention wont affect the chain length. the motor is is 50cc with a cvt that i bought on Alaskavan's recomendation. thanks Van. when i started building the trike i wasn't sure exactly where i was going to position the front wheels, peddles or seat so i made sliding brackets for those parts. the front wheels are 16" moped wheels with 3" tires rated at 330lbs apiece. this post is long enough. later.

 

looks really cool.

are you going to be able to use the moped brakes too? and the speedometer?

 

ya to the brakes, the dual brake-throttle lever is on the way. for the front wheels anyway. i haven't checked into getting a speedo yet. are the moped speedo cables standard or do i need to match the Honda Grimeca wheel?

 

wow very well done. what are the gears you used.

 

i will have 2 bottom brackets with 28-38-48 gears on each. the peddles in the pic are just for mock up. if need be i will add an extra set of gears and derailer. the cvt has a 14 tooth, the back wheel a 36.

 

thanks that helps.

 

AWSOME trike mate very well done, just, uhm...one small minor detail, looks like you have put the seat on around the wrong way buddy Seriously though, look forward to seeing this gem run, should handle very well indeed!

KiM

P.S will be bloody fast to has 'twin pipes' hehehe...

 

thanks, i'm sure it will work. just not sure how well it will work at speed in a sharp corner.

 

yaa, turn the seat around, reverse the gearing and i would have fork truck steering. now that would be weird. the pipes were the first ones i found, just luck.

 

latest additions outrigger steering and post to hang gas tank and exhaust support. will add extra braces to back and top of motor then see if the battery box will still fit under tank with out getting too close to exhaust. what do you think, fill gap with battery or try to keep weight of battery lower?

 

I love the pipes they look schweet, delta config with rear steering now THAT would be first for a bent wouldnt it !?! be bloody scary trying to turn at speed wouldnt it LoL...best of luck anywayz mate bloody top job so far

 

The little batteries these things use don't weigh much, so I wouldn't worry about lowering it. I'd recommend getting a 17t sprocket for the motor. I think you'll find that you have so much bottom-end that you'll have to be careful to avoid smoking the back tire.
Good work.
Van

 

i finished the braces and it looks like the battery will fit and be safe from heat. got my duel brake lever - throttle and the cranks came in also but the idlers seem to be lost in shipping. put the brake lever on tightened it down and SNAP, i broke the mount. i'm no aluminum welder so i shimmed it and will drill and tap a small set screw when i know its where i want to keep it.

 

i'm going to see what the 14 tooth does but will probly go with the 17 tooth later.

 

built the battery box and welded it right to the top brace for the motor. put on the cranks and started routing the chain but still don't have the idlers. they shipped saturday so it won't be long. when i broke my brake lever mount i was exspecting some ribbing. you guys are just to nice.

 

picked up my brake cables today. the kid behind the counter tells me up front that the small parts that didn't come with my wheels, brake plates and cable are over priced so i didn't even ask how much. i went home and scrounged an old stud bolt and a couple other bolts and made my own. the second nut is not realy needed since the first nut has a half moon and is traped between the brake arm forks but its cheap piece of mind.

 

finished peddle chain. took twice as long as i thought it would. no derailers, no extra gears. 1 speed. first time i break down away from home i'll be cussing that decision. if the motor proves dependable i won't need any extra gears.

 

Sweet build you got going there. Man, I envy you three things: shop space, welding skills, and obviously a good assortment of tools. That is one very creative bit of engineering you've done.

I been wanting to build a tadpole leaner for a goodly while now, and have thought about doing something like the Honda gyro rear wheel pair and engine mounted above it - the pocket bike engine/cvt set-up would work pretty well for that. Really it would be a four wheeler, but set up so the rear wheels are less than their own width apart witjh the drive sprocket between them, in a common suspension able to twist on the axis of the bike frame front to back - front wheels lean, rear end stays normal to the pavement.

 

thanks. i bought a used bench mill and a small lathe and cleaned out one corner of my garage and walla i have a mini machine shop. the welder was ancient when i got it 18 years ago but it still works well. man if you can swing building your dream i recomend going for it. i haven't rode mine yet but the build has been a blast.