The lightest cheapest reverse trike? 40lbs $350.00

[SpyGuy]

Awesome.

Just awesome.

Great work, dowies. Triple thumbsup from me.

I wanted to make sure you got some recognition for this, so I put it in one of my threads over at pocketbikeplanet.com, "Just For Fun: Radical Rides." Three Dog certainly fits that category.

Here's the link:
http://www.pocketbikeplanet.com/f4/just-fun-radical-rides-53220.html#post442543

 

[dowies]

Awesome.

Just awesome.

Great work, dowies. Triple thumbsup from me.

I wanted to make sure you got some recognition for this, so I put it in one of my threads over at pocketbikeplanet.com, "Just For Fun: Radical Rides." Three Dog certainly fits that category.

Here's the link:
http://www.pocketbikeplanet.com/f4/just-fun-radical-rides-53220.html#post442543

Thanks SpyGuy. I had my trike out today for about a half hour. I made some mods since the video footage. I moved my seating position and footrests forward by 1.5" to slightly move the CG more towards the front wheels. A big difference. This rig really handles great right up to 30 - 35 mph.

 

[SpyGuy]

Good, very good. Remember, I told you earlier I thought the seat was back a little too far, and would affect the CG .... glad that all it took to fix the problem was scooting the seat up a bit. Again, great job.

Darn it, now I'm going to hafta try doing that steering .... I'm considering making a motorized version of the Green Machine, with the original rear-wheel steering. Not entirely sure what to use for motive power, but the paint job will definitely be green.

Hey, what was your total cost on the build? I know that was one of the things you were keeping track of ....

 

[dowies]

Good, very good. Remember, I told you earlier I thought the seat was back a little too far, and would affect the CG .... glad that all it took to fix the problem was scooting the seat up a bit. Again, great job.

Darn it, now I'm going to hafta try doing that steering .... I'm considering making a motorized version of the Green Machine, with the original rear-wheel steering. Not entirely sure what to use for motive power, but the paint job will definitely be green.

Hey, what was your total cost on the build? I know that was one of the things you were keeping track of ....

Thanks Spyguy. I made another few mods over the weekend as well that made a huge difference. I shortened the steering control levers by 1.00". They now have slightly less throw, and the geometry feels better. I also welded returns to the lever plates to help make them more rigid. A huge difference. I'll upload some additional pictures when I can.

My total build so far is very close to $350.00. Keep in mind that I had some donor parts that were free like the bicycle levers, handlebars, and old motorcycle seat.

 

[SpyGuy]

Verey good, very good. Donor parts help a lot on keeping costs down, don't they? I did the same thing for my Re-Cycle minibike.

 

[dowies]

Verey good, very good. Donor parts help a lot on keeping costs down, don't they? I did the same thing for my Re-Cycle minibike.

Do you have a thread on your re-cycle minibike build? I want to see it. My next project is going to be a mini bike.

My Three Dog reverse trike is going to be ridden by my brothers on Thanksgiving. Good durability testing for further tweaking. My plan is to adapt a spring tensioned idler sprocket this weekend. More pictures to follow.

 

[SpyGuy]

Actually, yes I do.

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5450

And the original link over at pocketbikeplanet.com, since I was using a pb drivetrain:

http://www.pocketbikeplanet.com/f82/heavy-metal-re-cycle-53189.html#post439325

 

[dowies]

I've updated this post with my idler sprocket design. It consists of a .875" I.D. split shaft collar welded to the bottom of the frame. The spit shaft collar accommodates radial bearings as shown. The spring assist idler sprocket pulls upward to take up the chain slack.

 

[SpyGuy]

Very clean and simple, I like it!

 

[Go kart builder]

Can you give a list of all parts you used??(Wheels, sprocket wheel, steering components,...)

 

[dowies]

Can you give a list of all parts you used??(Wheels, sprocket wheel, steering components,...)

Here's a quick Bill of material for my build:

1.00" X 1.00" 16GA (.060") 1018 CR square steel tubing for frame
Motor mount plate and related steering / spindle mount brackets, 11GA (.1196") 1018 CR steel.
6.5HP Harbor Freight motor
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66015
Northern Tool stock wheel / tires, 10.5" O.D.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200331207_200331207
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/..._200331217?cm_sp=RVC-_-Search Page-_-Products
Wheel spacers purchased at Ace Hardware.
Rear axle machined on engine lathe out of 1.00" O.D. stock. .750" O.D. X 9.00 - 10.00" bolt could be used.
60T, #35 chain rear wheel sprocket
12T, #35 chain centrifugal clutch for .750" bore bought on ebay
#35 chain, 40" in length
19T, #35 idler sprocket with .375" I.D. bearings
http://www.mcmaster.com/#6663k21/=4r9k4x
Northern tool stock right left spindles
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_35036_35036
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_20861_20861
Speedway motors Heim joint steering linkage and 5/16-24 rod
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Standard-RH-Female-Heims,29264.html
4.00" brake band for clutch / engine brake bought on ebay
All spacers, springs, bushings, and hardware bought at Ace Hardware

I used a old H-D seat and footpegs as donor parts. The steering handles are mountain bike handlebars cut in half. The brake and throttle levers are mountain bike brake levers. These were free donor parts as well.

I have about $350.00 invested into this build. This machine will go 31.5 mph at 5,500 rpm.

 

[porsche930dude]

heres a simpler system i came up with using bicycle necks . it works great on the pedal bike . incase anyone wants more options building somthing similar.

 

[dowies]

heres a simpler system i came up with using bicycle necks . it works great on the pedal bike . incase anyone wants more options building somthing similar.

Now that is really kool. When are you going to strap a motor to it?

 

[Go kart builder]

How do you have assembled the sprocket wheel on the frame of the go kart?
Could you take a picture of the brakes, I don't understand how the brakes works?

 

[dowies]

How do you have assembled the sprocket wheel on the frame of the go kart?
Could you take a picture of the brakes, I don't understand how the brakes works?

The idler sprocket attaches to the bottom of the frame with a .750" I.D. split shaft collar. One half of the shaft collar is welded to the frame, bottom of the motor mount plate.

The brake is just a standard 4.00" band brake being used on the O.D. of the centrifugal clutch. You can buy a good band brake on ebay that actually has brake pad material on it. The cheap ones they sell just have rubber which doesn't work well and de-laminates.

This band brake works very well. It locks the rear wheel up with no problem at all. Keep in mind that this reverse trike only weighs 80lbs total. For something that weighs more you may want to use a mechanical or hydraulic caliper brake assembly.

 

[SpyGuy]

Are you going to make a camera mount for the front of the trike? I know on your video, you had the camera set between your feet. I think having one pointing forwards to reccord an "axle-view" would be pretty fun. Another idea would be an "outrigger" camera mount off to the left or the right, so you could see the front wheel and suspension in the shot.

 

[dowies]

Are you going to make a camera mount for the front of the trike? I know on your video, you had the camera set between your feet. I think having one pointing forwards to reccord an "axle-view" would be pretty fun. Another idea would be an "outrigger" camera mount off to the left or the right, so you could see the front wheel and suspension in the shot.

For some of the video footage we duct tapped the mini HD video camera to a broom stick. I'm all about getting some crazy footage. We just got snow here in Milwaukee...so I might get some snow chains on Three Dog reverse trike.

 

[Routy]

dowies, i have to say that trike is awesome an now i want to build one lol u put alot into the steering i cant even understand how it works but its cool an your vid is savage lol the kart looks like their is more than 350 buks into it its all shiny but the only thing i suggest is a simple bar going around your foot rest to act as a bumber just incase lol