Hey fellow trikers!
I just finished mounting the Duromax 440cc, 18HP electric start engine on my BGW TR-351. I had originally put a Predator 212 on it, but it just didn't have the right kick. It would pull me around alright, but it took some time to get there and always seemed under powered. I caught the 440 on sale for $249 this summer. The roll bar doesn't fit and I had to build a new motor mount for this one because of the size. In order for the driven pulley to clear the shock mounts, I had to lift the motor about 2 1/2 inches up. I work for a metal fab company and got a mount made for almost nothing. I scrapped the factory wiring box/start switch and wired up a universal key switch from AutoZone in the body. For now it is a stock engine, but I would eventually like to build it up with all the nice billet go-fasters that are available for these.
I still need to get the remote choke kit for this motor, but I can reach the choke lever from the seat for now. Once that is in place, I need to figure out a charging system so I can add some lights. The Duromax only has a 3A coil and honda 18A parts would cost me more than I paid for this engine. I'm thinking about a 20A tractor alternator with a generic rectifier, but I'm not sure how to drive it since the 40 series drive pulley took up the whole shaft. My motor mount is basically a hollow rectangle tube with a 5 x 2 1/2 cross section. I can mount most of the electrics inside that to protect and hide them.
There are still some bugs to work out on this trike, though. In addition to the remote choke and electrics, the suspension has two 11" shocks on each side and it still sags quite a bit. With the rounded knobby ATV tires, there is no problem, but street tires will be. I might try some heavy shocks to see if I can level it out. After that it's on to paint and body work. This trike will fit perfectly in the bed of my 1973 Ford Ranchero and I think I will paint them to match so I can take this to car shows with the truck.. I'm not sure if I still want to put the effort into streeting this one, since I just picked up an original BGW RL-20 Mini-Pickup (see my other post for pics).
I just finished mounting the Duromax 440cc, 18HP electric start engine on my BGW TR-351. I had originally put a Predator 212 on it, but it just didn't have the right kick. It would pull me around alright, but it took some time to get there and always seemed under powered. I caught the 440 on sale for $249 this summer. The roll bar doesn't fit and I had to build a new motor mount for this one because of the size. In order for the driven pulley to clear the shock mounts, I had to lift the motor about 2 1/2 inches up. I work for a metal fab company and got a mount made for almost nothing. I scrapped the factory wiring box/start switch and wired up a universal key switch from AutoZone in the body. For now it is a stock engine, but I would eventually like to build it up with all the nice billet go-fasters that are available for these.
I still need to get the remote choke kit for this motor, but I can reach the choke lever from the seat for now. Once that is in place, I need to figure out a charging system so I can add some lights. The Duromax only has a 3A coil and honda 18A parts would cost me more than I paid for this engine. I'm thinking about a 20A tractor alternator with a generic rectifier, but I'm not sure how to drive it since the 40 series drive pulley took up the whole shaft. My motor mount is basically a hollow rectangle tube with a 5 x 2 1/2 cross section. I can mount most of the electrics inside that to protect and hide them.
There are still some bugs to work out on this trike, though. In addition to the remote choke and electrics, the suspension has two 11" shocks on each side and it still sags quite a bit. With the rounded knobby ATV tires, there is no problem, but street tires will be. I might try some heavy shocks to see if I can level it out. After that it's on to paint and body work. This trike will fit perfectly in the bed of my 1973 Ford Ranchero and I think I will paint them to match so I can take this to car shows with the truck.. I'm not sure if I still want to put the effort into streeting this one, since I just picked up an original BGW RL-20 Mini-Pickup (see my other post for pics).
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