1973 BGW Tri-Rod project

[metalhead1982]

Hey all, I just wanted to show off for any vintage trike fans.

I bought this Tri-Rod STR-381 with no motor for $100 last fall. I originally had it set up with a 212, but it was under powered for what I want. I just finished installing a Duromax 440 with electric start last weekend and this thing rocks!

I have it geared at 4.8:1 with a 40 series TAV2 and it will ALMOST wheelie with me on it. If I gun the throttle, it will unload the front suspension. It will wheelie with my wife on it, as she found out accidentally. Now I can't wait to mod the engine and build it up right. Completely stock with the governor on it, it will carry my 290 pound self around at about 40 MPH when the governor kicks in. I'm planning on removing the governor and installing a new Mikuni style carb, intake, and exhaust just to get started. I think once i do that, it will be flirting with 60MPH at about 4500 RPM.

Up next it gets new brakes and a lighting system, since I have to have the battery for the electric start. I think with a little work, this will make a nice around-town runner.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Sweet ride man!!

 

[Texan]

Those are cool looking.

Got any plans for the blue gas tank, kinda sticks out like a sore thumb?

I don't know, but 60mph on that machine sounds kinda scary

 

[metalhead1982]

Those are cool looking.

Got any plans for the blue gas tank, kinda sticks out like a sore thumb?

I don't know, but 60mph on that machine sounds kinda scary

60-65 MPH is the theoretical top speed on the street that I am shooting for. I live in a small rural town and I'd like to use it as an in-town runabout/cruiser so it will likely not see over 45-50 most of the time. I just don't want to run WOT all the time with no governor.

It is also bigger than it looks in the pics. It is a little less than 7' long from front to back and the rear wheels are about 4' wide. It rides and handles a lot like a full size motorcycle trike.

Absolutely I have plans for painting the whole thing! I am currently also working on a 1973 Ford Ranchero resto-mod on the weekends and this thing will fit perfectly in the bed of it. The current plan is to paint the trike to match the truck when I get it done. I thought the weird car/truck and trike combo would be pretty cool color matched.

This winter, the trike will be getting completely torn down so I can get the frame, fork, and bars sand blasted and powder coated where I work. There are a couple of small (half-dollar sized) chunks missing from around the edges of the fiberglass. I will fill those in with bondoglass and some mat to reinforce it and then repaint the entire body.

If I can get the gas tank and engine shroud powder coated to match, I will do that, otherwise they will get painted. The stock exhaust and air box are going to go away because the roll bar won't fit with them on there.

 

[landuse]

Welcome to the forum!! That is a cool looking trike

 

[Ramair351]

Following this thread. I have a similar trike. Tell me about the 440 engine?

 

[metalhead1982]

Following this thread. I have a similar trike. Tell me about the 440 engine?

What do you want to know?

It is a Honda GX390 clone that I bought on sale from GeneratorFactoryOutlet.com. It has a slightly larger bore and stroke which gives the larger displacement. It is a torquey beast. I'm am not a small guy, 6'3" and 300 lbs, and it will completely unload the suspension. It will wheelie with my wife on it. I'm running it completely stock, straight out of the box right now and it will run 45 mph with the governor. The only modifications I have made to the engine was the removal of the emissions box and adjusting out the throttle stop screw a little. I still have some room on the throttle stop screw to take it out some more and get a little faster.

It was pretty straight forward to install with a 40 Series TAV. I have a 15 tooth jack shaft sprocket and a 72 tooth axle. I did have to make a custom mount for it so it would clear everything. I made a section of rectangular tubing with a top section the same size as the mounting plate, but it is lifted about 2.5" from the original frame. This also gave me a mostly enclosed location for the wiring. I also had to install a slightly longer jack shaft for the driven pulley because the motor is so wide. You can see in the pictures above, it really fills the entire back end of the trike. There is very little room for anything else. I will have to replace the exhaust and intake just to get the roll bar on it.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

BAHAHAH! That's like sticking a Dodge 440:

On a Reliant Robin!

Ridiculously awesome!

 

[Kartorbust]

BAHAHAH! That's like sticking a Dodge 440:

On a Reliant Robin!

Ridiculously awesome!

That's the American way, smallest vehicle with the biggest engine possible and let 'er rip!

This will turn heads going into town though. Any plans on a head light and tail/brake light?

 

[metalhead1982]

That's the American way, smallest vehicle with the biggest engine possible and let 'er rip!

This will turn heads going into town though. Any plans on a head light and tail/brake light?

Absolutely! My goal is to get it legal and licensed for an around town run-about. I need front/rear turn signals, headlight and tail light, horn and speedometer.

The stock Duromax charging system only puts out 3A (about 36W at 12V). That is not enough to run lights and charge the battery unless I add another charging coil and a voltage regulator. The other option would be to add an alternator, but there is not a lot of room for that.

 

[Bansil]

They do make very small alternators you could drive with rear axle ( they look like miniture gm ones)

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

What brand are those? Just wondering for the future.

 

[Kartorbust]

https://www.dbelectrical.com/produc...9friOFscaiQsEaePecmprK2DtPghej-BoCScMQAvD_BwE

4" diameter, 4.5" long, 5.5lbs 35amps

 

[LawnCrawler]

that is beautiful. i think it would look even better with a 5 gallon spun aluminum fuel tank perched up on top of that motor.

Any chance you could get a photo of the axle set up?
is it an open diff rear? I have a home built trike with a live axle and it is un-steerable

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Ooooooh..... SHINY!!
I love the look of those shiny spun aluminum tanks. Closest I could get is my old round Clinton tank, but I'm still happy with it!

 

[metalhead1982]

that is beautiful. i think it would look even better with a 5 gallon spun aluminum fuel tank perched up on top of that motor.

Any chance you could get a photo of the axle set up?
is it an open diff rear? I have a home built trike with a live axle and it is un-steerable

I don't have any pics of the axle handy at the moment, but it has what looks like a Peerless 100 series differential on it. It is a pretty common setup for these old trikes. I know Alsport TriSports and MTD Mudbugs used a very similar setup.

Here is a youtube video about the diff on a DuneCycle. Mine looks just like this except the brake drums are farther out, almost inside the wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvLiUh2LYZ0

---------- Post added at 10:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 AM ----------

Ooooooh..... SHINY!!
I love the look of those shiny spun aluminum tanks. Closest I could get is my old round Clinton tank, but I'm still happy with it!

I really like those too, but they are spendy. Also, I think 5 gallons is a little large for this vehicle. If I could fins a 2 gallon tank like that I think that would be best. The stock tank is a little more than one gallon and it will run for 3-4 hours on that.

I work at a metal fab company and i think i can have one of our fabricators make me a diamond plate tank out of off-cuts for not a lot of money. We'll see.

---------- Post added at 10:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:05 AM ----------

https://www.dbelectrical.com/produc...9friOFscaiQsEaePecmprK2DtPghej-BoCScMQAvD_BwE

4" diameter, 4.5" long, 5.5lbs 35amps

Thanks for the link. That is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Bansil]

Thanks kartorbust! For the link

 

[mckutzy]

https://www.dbelectrical.com/produc...9friOFscaiQsEaePecmprK2DtPghej-BoCScMQAvD_BwE

With this type of Alt.... How would you wire it up???
2( + -) wires to the fields, One fat wire(+) back to the battery with case being ground???

 

[Kartorbust]

It's similar to the GM 10 SI alternator (stock thr 10si is 3 wire).

 

[metalhead1982]

It's similar to the GM 10 SI alternator (stock thr 10si is 3 wire).

Thanks for this. For anyone interested, I found the same 12180-SE alternator on Amazon for $38. This is what will go on the trike.