I started building a frame a while back. It was originally going to be a fat tire trail mini. After seeing the trike posts, I decided to go to 3 wheels. I started by building a wide mini style frame. This will be built 90% from junk. The upper bars of the frame were made from the handles from a Merry Tiller Suburban. The tubing is nearly 1/8" thick wall. The forks and lower frame is tubing from a freight dolly. The triple trees were cut from a piece of plate from the scrap bin. The engine plate is a piece cut from the Suburban tiller. About 1/8" thick. I put an extra 1/8 by 2" flat stock across the front and rear and one in the center running front to back, for extra strength. Made some bearing blocks for a jackshaft and mounted them with some end cuts of bar stock.After building the mini frame, I grafted a box frame and a section of each side of a mower frame to the rear. The differential came from the same mower. It's a Peerless 100 058. It has 3/4" axles. The bearings are sealed precision bearings. They are mounted to the sides with the cups pictured with the forks. The rear tires are 15X6.00-6, and the front is a 13X5.50-6. I left plenty of room to go bigger on the front and rear. I made the forks wide and the rear fender mounts high. :weld::hack::grind::hammer:
Mini Trike from scratch
- Thread starter jimh
- Start date
Nice enough project BUT I think you had better add some more bearings to that rear section or that differential will not last to long with out at least one more bearing up close to the drive side of the differential all the wheel loads will be transfered to the Fanchette type bearings and to the differential. Four bearings would be better as you are using a 3/4 inch diameter Axel differential and with your added weight and shifting weight while riding may cause very premature failure of the differential . Hate to rain on your parade but I have been there and seen a lot of projects go bad .
Steve
Steve
Steve, I'm putting about 6hp to this now,versus 10 on the mower. The gearing I'm using won't run over 20 mph. The trike is about 200 lbs. lighter than the mower. I'll take my chances. I have room inside the frame to mount another cup and bearing on the drive side, if I remove a spacer. This ain't my first rodeo.:thumbsup:
To avoid anyone thinking I'm building an inferior trike, I made some more bearing blocks and stuck in some R12 bearings. The original cups and bearings will be mounted inside the frame. These will be drilled and tapped so the bolts can go through the inner ones, and the frame and screw into these heavy duty ones, which will be on the outside of the frame. I'm still convinced that the originals would have been fine, with no more hp and weight than I have,but this should be twice as good. These should hold it.:thumbsup:If I go to a bigger engine/tires I would have to do this anyway.
I put a little more forethought into this than I normally do. I made it so if I don't like it later, I can cut the rear off, add axle bearing blocks, and move the sprocket on the jackshaft to the inside of the bearing, and go back to a mini. If I build another one, it will have a bolt on rear section.
Managed to get some work in on this one this week. Since I upgraded my rear bearings, I decided to gear it a little higher and add a little more engine. I originally planned to use a Tecumseh OHH60. But I had this Briggs Intek 206 I built for a go cart. I no longer have the cart, so I decided to put it in here.
This engine was a freebe from a pressure washer with a frozen pump. All I did to the engine was totally remove all the internal and external governor and throttle parts, make an intake for a slide carb,doubled up the valve springs and drilled a few extra big holes inside the muffler and extend the pipe a little. I painted it with Duplicolor engine enamel. The frame is sail blue with way too much silver pearl. I painted and mounted the fenders , which were robbed from an old riding mower. I put in the bearings and jackshaft with sprockets. Started building a little wooden flatbed from 3/4 marine plywood, to cover the rear section. I used some utility box plugs to fill the holes at the front of the top frame rails at the steering head. I also added new bronze bushings for the steering head and a new 3/4" steering head bolt.
So far things are coming along well and I think I'm going to like it.:hack::grind::hammer::weld:
This engine was a freebe from a pressure washer with a frozen pump. All I did to the engine was totally remove all the internal and external governor and throttle parts, make an intake for a slide carb,doubled up the valve springs and drilled a few extra big holes inside the muffler and extend the pipe a little. I painted it with Duplicolor engine enamel. The frame is sail blue with way too much silver pearl. I painted and mounted the fenders , which were robbed from an old riding mower. I put in the bearings and jackshaft with sprockets. Started building a little wooden flatbed from 3/4 marine plywood, to cover the rear section. I used some utility box plugs to fill the holes at the front of the top frame rails at the steering head. I also added new bronze bushings for the steering head and a new 3/4" steering head bolt.
So far things are coming along well and I think I'm going to like it.:hack::grind::hammer::weld:
Does it suck that bad? Throw a clone in a late model frame and people drool all over it. Try using a little engenuity and build something with American parts welded with an American welder, and painted with an American paint gun and American paint blown by an American air compressor, and no comments. No wonder we're in a recession. Thread closed .:thumbdown::thefinger:
Hi Jimh : to answer your question no it doesn't look bad at all, the trike frame is stretched out a bit longer than a mini frame and that is a good thing for handling, and you did start with a differential and that is a must when you are using smaller HP engines. I say go ahead and get it under power and enjoy it. Steve
I built a few choppers before they became yuppified and acceptable, so handling and ride rates high on the priority list. I planned to make up a couple of U-weld-It type kits to sell. Similar to this one, but more refined,all new tubing etc. This one is built from what I had sitting around. All I need is another day to finish it, other than the brake. It has a big band brake drum attached to the sprocket drive hub. I'll have to find or make a band for it. It's about 8" diameter.
Hey jimh,
Myself, i just got back on line, been off all weekend, cause I took the computer in to the shop for a tune up, friday, got it back yesterday, but was too tired after work to get on, this am, I'm looking at what I missed and sure enuff here comes your trike build, and geez! it's done almost! nice job!and it looks cool too! and i like it too because you didn't go out and spend hundreds on it!
dave
Myself, i just got back on line, been off all weekend, cause I took the computer in to the shop for a tune up, friday, got it back yesterday, but was too tired after work to get on, this am, I'm looking at what I missed and sure enuff here comes your trike build, and geez! it's done almost! nice job!and it looks cool too! and i like it too because you didn't go out and spend hundreds on it!
dave
jimh, they still make a band brake for your rearend. the only problem you may have is you need to know want rearend model lawnmower it came off of. most of the small lawnmower shops need to know. kind of sucks? you think they could just measure it and figure something out that would fit. let us know how that style rearend works for turning and handling when finish. i have same kind of rearend without the 8inch drum bolted to the sprocket. i am thinking of using it someday on my atv minibike project:thumbsup:
<---
<---
I'll probably have to go to a mower graveyard and find a common brand that used the same brake, then go buy one for that. I took this diff from a Deutz -Allis. When you walk into a mower shop around here and say that, they get a dumbfounded look and shrug their shoulders. I'm sure another more common brand used the same part.
A recession is traditionally defined in macroeconomics as a decline in a country's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more successive quarters of a year (equivalently, two consecutive quarters of negative real economic growth).
Therefore, since we have not yet even experienced one quarter of negative economic growth, we are not in a recession. Be careful of letting those who are fighting for the candidacy convince you otherwise. Some say that if we end up in a recession that the media will be partly to blame, they are telling Americans that we are in a recession when in fact we are not in order to scare them into feeling that we need a "change." I am not saying that things do not need to be changed, but the media has a clear motive in their word choice. Sorry this does not really relate to this thread, I just have strong feelings on using the word when it is improper to do so.
Therefore, since we have not yet even experienced one quarter of negative economic growth, we are not in a recession. Be careful of letting those who are fighting for the candidacy convince you otherwise. Some say that if we end up in a recession that the media will be partly to blame, they are telling Americans that we are in a recession when in fact we are not in order to scare them into feeling that we need a "change." I am not saying that things do not need to be changed, but the media has a clear motive in their word choice. Sorry this does not really relate to this thread, I just have strong feelings on using the word when it is improper to do so.
Thanks man. I'll have my secretary forward my posts to you for approval. I'd say we're definitely headed for recession. As for the media and those running for office, they're both full of the same stuff. Neither has any influence on my thinking. I do what I think I need to do, no matter what party or person is in office, or what the media has to say about them. I'm just funny that way.:thefinger:
