alsport trike!!!!
- Thread starter dsbos4099
- Start date
I bought one of the very first Alsport Trisport street legal trikes from a dealer in Wellsboro, Pa. in 1974 when I lived in Tioga County, Pa. Mine came with an air cooled 2 cylinder 2 stroke snowmobile engine and variable pitch pulley drive. It was a Kohler engine. They could be ordered with the 250cc Kohler, like I had, a 340cc Kohler 2 cylinder 2 stroke, and either a 12 or 16 HP 4 cycle, single cylinder Tecumseh engine. Mine was titled as a motorcycle and I bought it so my wife could ride with me on my Honda 350. It would go about 75-80 mph and was a blast to drive. After our divorce, I put a large windscreen on it and rode it to work, even in a Northern Pennsylvania Winter, wearing a snowmobile suit, my big toolbox strapped to the luggage rack. That's all good, but there was bad also. Since mine was one of the first 100 or so built and they didn't use a jig at first, the frame warped when it cooled after it was welded together. The warped frame put a lot of stress on the rear axle ball bearings and they only lasted about 100 miles till they failed. It was fixed a number of times by the dealer. then I put in quality SKF and then Fafnir bearings. They lasted almost twice as long as the cheapo Roberts bearings the company used. Eventually they got sick of my complaints and replaced it with a new one available locally, a 16 horse 4 cycle Tecumseh single cylinder engined trike. That drove well, except it's top speed was only about 60-65 mph and it vibrated violently at road speeds and the wife refused to drive it. I kept it a few years, then Pennsylvania banned them for on road use. I put knobby tires on it and sold it for off road use. I thought you all might enjoy my experiences with an early Trisport.
I bought one of the very first Alsport Trisport street legal trikes from a dealer in Wellsboro, Pa. in 1974 when I lived in Tioga County, Pa. Mine came with an air cooled 2 cylinder 2 stroke snowmobile engine and variable pitch pulley drive. It was a Kohler engine. They could be ordered with the 250cc Kohler, like I had, a 340cc Kohler 2 cylinder 2 stroke, and either a 12 or 16 HP 4 cycle, single cylinder Tecumseh engine. Mine was titled as a motorcycle and I bought it so my wife could ride with me on my Honda 350. It would go about 75-80 mph and was a blast to drive. After our divorce, I put a large windscreen on it and rode it to work, even in a Northern Pennsylvania Winter, wearing a snowmobile suit, my big toolbox strapped to the luggage rack. That's all good, but there was bad also. Since mine was one of the first 100 or so built and they didn't use a jig at first, the frame warped when it cooled after it was welded together. The warped frame put a lot of stress on the rear axle ball bearings and they only lasted about 100 miles till they failed. It was fixed a number of times by the dealer. then I put in quality SKF and then Fafnir bearings. They lasted almost twice as long as the cheapo Roberts bearings the company used. Eventually they got sick of my complaints and replaced it with a new one available locally, a 16 horse 4 cycle Tecumseh single cylinder engined trike. That drove well, except it's top speed was only about 60-65 mph and it vibrated violently at road speeds and the wife refused to drive it. I kept it a few years, then Pennsylvania banned them for on road use. I put knobby tires on it and sold it for off road use. I thought you all might enjoy my experiences with an early Trisport.