Trike kits

[Lance65]

Trike Life basic build (no pics today) 3

I had my surgery a week ago last Wednesday and today I decided to get back out to the garage/workshop and get something done .

I managed to 'wrap' the baffles and drill the holes in the tail pipes for mounting screws . I started up the bike to see how it sounds . A little too loud for me but it will do for now ..

I took a short break (still a little sore from surgery) and bled the rear brakes . Would have been easier if I had a helper but.....

The brakes felt good but after they sat for a while they seem to have air in the lines so I'll give it another try tomorrow .

I am going to change the handlebars back to the factory 'mini apes' and adjust the steering stem this weekend .

 

[Lance65]

Trike Life basic build (no pics today) 4

Had my doctors office visit yesterday and got the OK to get back to doing my 'normal' stuff . Still a little sore but I'll manage .

I bled the brakes 2 more times and still couldn't get all the air out so I did something an 'old timer' told me . I purposely let air in the system (bleeder open and slowly released the brake pedal) and then proceeded to bleed the brakes again . It worked . Brakes are good to go . Still don't know why that worked ...

Tightened up steering bearing a little , set rear tires pressure to 25# , front to 25# . Fired up the bike and pointed it straight down the driveway and tried it out . Straight as an arrow , no pulling and the brakes work (of course I was only going 8-10mph.) . Circled around a few times in both directions (lock to lock) and pulled it back into the garage/workshop .

I didn't take it out on the road , no brake , tail lights or plate on yet . Today I have to remove a couple of exhaust brackets and put some paint on them and change out some bolts/nuts to grade 8 . Still not sure on the handlebars . I like the stock sportster 28" wide 'custom' bars that I have on and the way they look . Makes the whole bike look lean n' mean (to me at least) .

The next big challenge is the seat mount . I am using a 1 pc. sundowner seat . The trike body is flat and the seat is curved to fit a curved fender . I could cut the body away underneath where the seat goes and just build a simple 'frame' or use a fender cut/fitted (sliced and diced) to go between seat and body and 'glassed in place . Once I have the seat problem figured out I can put the body on and do some drillin for the tail lights and license plate mount . I traded off the original taillights I bought and now have some led ones (smoke) with built in turn signals .



I am putting all this stuff on the forum to help/show people on forum what it takes to build a 'kit' trike with a body . I may make some mistakes along the way but nothing that can't be fixed down the road . The main reason I chose to build a trike with a body on is because I don't like the looks of a trike with 3 rear fenders , been there done that back in the early 70's . Most bodies are too big and bulky and others just don't have the 'look' I want so I chose a 'kit' with a very basic body .

If I say or write something that offends someone , sorry . As they say , opinions are like butt holes , everyone's got one ..

FTW 'Forever Three Wheels'

Lance

 

[Lance65]

Trike Life basic build (no pics today) 5

Well I'm still here . Had surgery 6 weeks ago , doing fine and then back to the ER . I spent the last 8 days in the hospital with complications from my gallbladder surgery . Now I'm running 6-7 weeks behind my goal to finish the build . My 'ball and chain' (love that woman) won't even let me go out to the garage/workshop until the middle of next week .

I was working on the bolt on seat mount that would set on top of the body when I got severe pains in my stomach , stopped everything I was doing came into the house and told the 'old lady' I wasn't feeling well at all . She drove me to the ER down the street and they admitted me into the hospital . Transferred me to another facility 3 days later which could run a scope down into my stomach and see what was going on .Oops, there seems to be a couple of gallstones hiding in duct to my stomach causing my liver to be inflamed . They ended up getting 1 out but the other right now is stuck behind some stitching by the liver . Have to wait about 6 weeks and go back in and see if they can get to it .

So here I am ,waiting to get back to my build . Doing this build has been/still is fun . Could have just bought a new trike but that wasn't what I wanted to do .

Next week I'll take some pics of the seat mount I was working on and a few brackets I made the 1 week I was feeling good . Maybe it will inspire someone else on how to do stuff better than what I am doing :xzqxz:.

Lance

 

[Gorilla]

Lance take care of yourself. The build will be there waiting for you. Keep getting better

 

[Lance65]

Trike Life basic build with bad pics

I finally got back out to my garage/workshop . took a couple of pics on my 'bolt on' seat mount . it's not quite finished yet , going to weld up what's left of the streetglide rear fender to the frame I made for it , clean it up (a lot to make it pretty) put some paint on it to keep it from rusting . I may cover it with some 'Naugahide' (imitation leather (vinyl)) . The back is curved to accommodate a 'cheap' trunk if I decide to put one on .. .



Some pics of the extra framing that mounts the body and relocated shocks to the StreetBlob's frame . Extra framing for the seat mount and grab bars to keep things together . . The 'duck' tape is holding some spacers in place I use when the body isn't on . I ended up using the 'Streetblob' shocks after trying several other shocks I have around here . From 12"-11"-11.5" and then back to the 12" . I'm not sure if I will end up using air shocks yet .. In 2-3 weeks I should be done with all the frame stuff including all the drilling to mount the body , taillights license plate and trunk door . Then to the wiring harness (easy part) .

Haven't decided on the handlebars yet ..............

The last thing to do then is prep the body for paint . I haven't done any painting since '91 when I painted my '46 Ford chopped convertible (which ended up getting smashed by a falling tree that took out my garage and the neighbors (happened 6 weeks after I got insurance for it)) Hopefully I will be done by the end of July unless I end up back in the hospital .

Glad I still have my Sportster to roll around on .

Lance

 

[Lance65]

Trike Life basic build (no pics today) 6

I finally got back to working on my trike build last week . It's been busy around here . I had some storm damage . Wind took out my garage roofing , tree branch took out my storage shed and a small section of fencing . After 4 weeks they are starting to fix things around here . Glad Nation Wide was on my side (again) . Next week I go back in for some outpatient surgery again (Gall Bladder stone stuck in bile duct) .

Anyhow I managed to drill holes for the taillights , license plate light/mount , trunk door handle (on body) and mounting holes for a cheap 'tour pack' trunk . Drilling and figuring things out took me 6-7 hrs. I started on the wiring harness (3/4 way done) . The seat mount is finished and works as it should . I decided to go with air shocks (12") , have them and waiting for some fittings I ordered to come in ($64.00 + $125 for the shocks) . I should be finished with everything except for painting by the end of next week , unless my surgery doesn't go well . I am glad I went with taillights with built in turn signals . Still haven't made up my mind on handlebars .

I guess this build would have been a lot easier if I didn't want a body on the trike . On the 10 scale I have to raise it to a 7 . I am still glad I went this way .

Lance

 

[dmillsr3]

Lance:

Your build is looking great. I envy your ability to weld. I have many talents but have never been able to do a decent weld.

What air shocks are you installing?

 

[Lance65]

Air Shocks

11.5" Chrome Harley Lowering Air Ride Shocks Touring Dyna Sportster Shovelhead from americanclassicmotors on EBay for $129.00/pair shipped . A friend of mine put these on his Dyna trike and said for the money they are good . No problems after 1800mi. (so far) . They don't come with air valves or lines ..

Lance

 

[Lance65]

Trike Life basic build (no pics today) 7

Well I finally finished the trike except for the painting of the body . Since I put it all together to make sure everything was good to go (except body prep and paint) I thought I would give it a small road test around the neighborhood .

I didn't take it past 35-40MPH . It handles pretty good with just me on it . I set the air shocks to 50# and the suspension seems good to go . Front tire 30# rear tires 25# .

I would have been finished with the build a month ago but my surgery got in the way .. I will prep the body within the next 2 weeks and at least get it into primer .

Lance

 

[Lance65]

Jut before I decided to prep and primer the body I decided to move the both trunk hinges inward a little over an inch . It seems that 1 of the hinges would bind a little when opening the trunk door all the way down . The door and body have slight curves in them and I didn't figure them out correctly the first time . No big deal . I filled the previous holes I drilled (12) using fiberglass and a little 'Bondo' . that was another 1 hr. I'll never get back . Glassing the back of the holes did make it easy ..

I did start sanding the gelcoat and shot some primer on to see if there was anything that needed to be filled in . Started with dark grey primer , wet sanded it , started fixing a bunch of scratches and 3 'stress cracks' in the gelcoat then switched to black primer and more sanding . Took me a couple of tries (3) but things look OK (especially with my glasses off) . I have to give it one more wet sanding and make sure it looks good . Hopefully Monday or Tuesday I will paint it (and more wet sanding ) and then maybe Clear coat it by next week .



Oh , since I put the air shocks on (few weeks ago) they managed to loose 4# . The shocks don't leak but (HD factory tubing and fittings) where they go into the fill valve leaks where the plastic line goes into the valve . It took 3-4 hrs. to see any bubbles in the glass where I put it in some soap n water . All the parts are new . I'll keep an eye on it (with my glasses on) . I do have another new valve ($34) I can use if I need to .

Lance

 

[Lance65]

Oops forgot to post a pic of my finished build



I finished the bike last year (Oct. 2017) . Took the pic today (Sept 2018). The ride is good for me but The Ball'n Chain says it's a little too rough . I'll play with it before the snow flies .. Maybe

 

[Lee H. Mann]

I too, have found my ride to be rough. My shocks are wayyyy.... too short and I only have about 2" of total travel. I am going to relocate my shocks so that I can use 13 1/2" instead of the 11". Hopefully that will smooth the ride out.



update:

Put longer 13 1/2" coil-over shocks on, relocated the lower mounting bracket, reduced the head-shake too a minimum and rides a lot better while setting at the original height.