My Trike build- ala Steve and Tank

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landuse

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Well guys – it has been a while since you have seen me put my expert :)D) hand to any sort of build, so I thought it would be high time to share something with you again.

Here is the backstory to this build:
I got a PM from someone called TANKSAREUS (Daniel), over at OMB. He is also a South African, and doing a search over there he found out that I was too. (I had posted the build of my minibike there too). He wanted to know what I was doing and if I was still building. We traded a few PM’s and then emails. He lives in Port Elizabeth, about 500 miles from me.

I got curious to see what he had been building and posting at OMB, so I started checking out his builds. He is a VERY talented guy, and seems to be able to do anything he turns his mind to. His fabrication work is also brilliant!

One of his build was a Trike that another OMB forum member had come up with. Daniel had done a recreation of it. It looks so simple and so cool, that after a week or more of thinking about it, I just had to try it myself.

Last Thursday, I went around to a place I know in town where I could get 8” quad rims quite cheap. I found loads of 6” rims, but will also be able to get 8” if the guy orders some second hand ones for me. I gave Daniel a call to make sure I was getting the right rims, and he has offered to help me out with measurements and a parts list for all that I might need. He is also going to help me out with making the hubs for the trike. Thanks Daniel!!

I am going to use a Honda GX140 with a 2:1 reduction box on it. It will be geared low, so it is not going to be built for speed. I still have brakes and a lot of steel left over from my minibike build that I didn’t use, so that should come in handy too. I have also got 2 tyres that have been lying under a workbench for about 2 years now that would work out perfectly. They are 17" AFAIK. I hope they are not going to be too big, but we will see what the gearing is like.

Here are some pics of what I have so far as well as what it is going to hopefully look like. The pic of the motorbike wheel is to show the brakes I will be using.

Here is Tanksareus's build thread for those that want to have a look. Mine will be built using square tubing though
 

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landuse

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Looking forward to the build. I just hope you don't have to send anything to the machine shop, we might be here for another 8 months...

:lolgoku:

:funnypost: :roflol:

If there is, send it NOW; you might get it by the time you're finished :lolgoku:

And I will have to. :censored: I will need to get things like keyways cut. At least that is a straightforward job (you would hope).
 

landuse

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I have organised to get 3 8" rims this weekend. I am also going to have a look at the engine, make sure it works properly (maybe clean the carb), and get the hydraulic brake woking well. I will update with the progress
 

landuse

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Update (small):

I didn't get too much done this weekend. I went around to my 'guy' that runs a motorbike/quad repair business looking for rims for the trike. He had told me they would be $12 a rim, but when I got there he said he could only get for $35 a rim. That was too much for me.

I spoke to Daniel later on during the day, and he said he would source some for me, and then make the hubs for me at the same time. He will then mail everything to me. I am going to send him a bunch of 6" rims in return. He will also be sending me some dimentions of his trike so that I can have an idea how large to make it.

I also bought my axle that I am going to be using. It is a 1" axle, 39" in length. I also had a look at what steel I still have left over from all my other builds. It looks like I only have 4m, and will have to get some more. It was all rusty, so I spent some time with a wire wheel and freshened it all up.

I also got the engine out and worked on it a bit. Changed oil and plug. It doesn't star at the moment, but I am 99% confident it is just the carb that needs a clean. I will do that during the week

EDIT: I just got a message from Daniel that he was able to get me rims for $5 a piece. :cheers2: :thumbsup:
 

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OzFab

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I also got the engine out and worked on it a bit. Changed oil and plug. It doesn't star at the moment, but I am 99% confident it is just the carb that needs a clean. I will do that during the week

That's not the engine you rebuilt is it?

EDIT: I just got a message from Danial that he was able to get me rims for $5 a piece. :cheers2: :thumbsup:

Dang, that's a great price on any continent...
 

machinist@large

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Good luck, I hope this build goes a little easier than the last.....

The only issue I have with the design is the fact that it hangs your feet/ ankles/ lower legs out where they can get really :censored:; having spent way more time than I would like to remember in the ICU, I'm kinda sensitive to those types of things.....:surrender::surrender::surrender:

Pat
 

landuse

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That's not the engine you rebuilt is it?

No, this is an old GX140 that I have had sitting for a few years. I wanted to use it on another kart, but that didn't happen...

Good luck, I hope this build goes a little easier than the last.....

Pat

You and me too. This is really going to test my abilities. I haven't tried something this ambitious before. I gotta make the forks for the handlebars etc.

The only issue I have with the design is the fact that it hangs your feet/ ankles/ lower legs out where they can get really :censored:; having spent way more time than I would like to remember in the ICU, I'm kinda sensitive to those types of things.....:surrender::surrender::surrender:

Pat

I will keep that in mind. Thanks Pat
 

landuse

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I just bought myself another 6m length of square tubing. It cost me about $15 (which includes delivery). When I bought some 2 years ago, it cost me about 8$ per 6m length more. Steel must have come down in price!
 

landuse

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The steel arrived! I am stoked to get started. I have also gotten some plans with the help of Daniel. Thanks. :thumbsup:

I am going to rent a cut off saw to do all the cuts on saterday, and hopefully I will get pretty far with the welding as well.

Some pics:
 

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Doc Sprocket

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Fantastic! That's going to be a cool little ride! Check all measurements with that cutoff saw before you actually cut anything. Grab a square and make sure the saw is calibrated properly. I have had nothing but trouble with other people's saws, and ultimately went back to using a square, a sharpie, and an angle grinder. More accurate results.
 

landuse

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Big update:

Today (tuesday) is a holiday here, so I had decided to take mnday off from work for a really long weekend to get a head start on my trike. I have gotten pretty far.

I had hired a cut off saw to do all the cutting, so saterday morning was spent doing that. The afternoon was spent going to Durban to visit some friends. Sunday was the big day and most of the welding got done the. I managed to get some welding tan on my left wrist (I really must wear a long glove on that hand too). My welding skils are definately something to be bettered, but the are strong, just ugly. They actually inproved quite a lot as I went.

I first started by welding up the base rectangle of the frame. I used a piec of melamine board and nails to make a jig for myself. I then ground down all my welds to make them look a little prettier. They are still strong though. I then started with the engine compartment cage. It took me a while to figure out how to line everything up, and with the help of some clamps, I managed to sort of get it right.
 

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landuse

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Here are some more pics. Yesterday I went to the scrapyard and got some metal plate for the engine mount, some tubing for the front neck of the trike, as well as some metal strip to make tabs for the seat to attach to. I cut those and welded them on the backrest for the seat back that will be made soon.

I dug out some handle bars that I had from my last build. I think they will look pretty cool.

I wasn't too sure what to do about the front end. I had some old forks from a pitbike, so I did a littl bit of a mock up. I don;t think I am going to use them though. I am going to make my own and use a tyre like in the last pic

I also cleaned the engines carb today, and when I put it back it started first time! It runs like a dream!!
 

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machinist@large

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Rollin, rollin, rollin.....(Raw Hide!!!!)

Nice Paul!!! You're making great progress; I will back Chris up on double checking any saw, of any stile when it comes from any type of rental outfit.

Hopefully helpful questions for you. If my memory isn't totally missing, you're welder is a solid, basic, AC buzz box, right? And you're welding fairly thin cross sections (wall thickness, not tubing size). What dia. rod are you using? If you are welding 1/8" (~3mm) thick wall tubing, 1/16" dia. rod will still be a pain to use, but so much easier than, say 5/64", or even worse, 1/8" rod.

The reason I ask, is because it looks like you are fighting to lay down good beads without blowing thru using a pretty big rod. When building bridges, ships, and submarines, the rod dia. has a very small dia. compared to the final cross section of the welded joint. And while you can weld thinner matl. with a large dia. welding rod, you sacrifice most of your control of the process while doing it.

How do they classify welding rod over there? Over here, for ease of learning I would recommend a rod with an E6013 of the smallest dia. practical. While it's nick name is "Liars Rod" (beads look pretty, but may or may not be attached to anything, like the parts you are trying to connect together), if the joints are clean, the heat and rod dia. are correct, it'll be a whole lot easier for you work on your technique. The next step up would be to go to E7014AC or E7018AC for your rod. A little harder to master, but with great strength. For the sake of discussion, we'll leave E6010/ E6011 out as the learning curve for proper use is quite high.

Like I said, looking good so far; maybe we can help make things a little easier? Pat

:cheers2::thumbsup:
 

landuse

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Nice Paul!!! You're making great progress; I will back Chris up on double checking any saw, of any stile when it comes from any type of rental outfit.

Hopefully helpful questions for you. If my memory isn't totally missing, you're welder is a solid, basic, AC buzz box, right? And you're welding fairly thin cross sections (wall thickness, not tubing size). What dia. rod are you using? If you are welding 1/8" (~3mm) thick wall tubing, 1/16" dia. rod will still be a pain to use, but so much easier than, say 5/64", or even worse, 1/8" rod.

The reason I ask, is because it looks like you are fighting to lay down good beads without blowing thru using a pretty big rod. When building bridges, ships, and submarines, the rod dia. has a very small dia. compared to the final cross section of the welded joint. And while you can weld thinner matl. with a large dia. welding rod, you sacrifice most of your control of the process while doing it.

How do they classify welding rod over there? Over here, for ease of learning I would recommend a rod with an E6013 of the smallest dia. practical. While it's nick name is "Liars Rod" (beads look pretty, but may or may not be attached to anything, like the parts you are trying to connect together), if the joints are clean, the heat and rod dia. are correct, it'll be a whole lot easier for you work on your technique. The next step up would be to go to E7014AC or E7018AC for your rod. A little harder to master, but with great strength. For the sake of discussion, we'll leave E6010/ E6011 out as the learning curve for proper use is quite high.

Like I said, looking good so far; maybe we can help make things a little easier? Pat

:cheers2::thumbsup:

Thanks for the feedback Pat! You are right that I was having a problem laying down good beads. I attribute it to my lack of welding knowledge more than anything else. I was learning so much more as I was welding during this build, and learned a better technique. I started making better beads as I went on. Because I have never welded much, I am still on a steep learning curve. I know that they look ugly, but I know that they are strong.

You are right in saying that I was using a larger diameter rod. I have been using 2.5mm diameter rods. I have always just assumed that they would be easier to weld with. I guess I was wrong. They are E6013 rods, and that type is all that I have ever used, as I read that they are the easiest to weld with if you are a beginner. I still have to go back and grind my welds down and reweld any that I feel are weak. I actually hesitated to post pics before I did that, but I felt I might get some more constructive criticism if I left them as they are

The chop saw that I had rented worked out well. The angles were slightly off, but not too serious for me to bother. I will hopefully be getting the hubs and tyre rims early next week, so I might have a roller within 2 weeks or so.

Any more constructive criticism is gladly welcome
 

OzFab

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You haven't mentioned what guage steel you're using (not that I can see anyway) but, IIRC, the diameter of the welding rod should be smaller than the guage of the material (but I can't remember how much smaller...)

I wouldn't worry too much about unsightly welds, that's why grinders were invented :D
 
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