Who is well versed on Tri Rod Trikes ?

[Rustygold]

This Tri Rod that I recently got has old reminents of a electric start system.
A battery box and a old solenoid that looks like it could be factory.
Is it possible that it was a electric start model ?
I was under the impression that only the street legal versions had electric start.
This trike also looks to have had lights and possibly turn signals.
It also has the optional spoke front wheel but this front wheel has a drum brake.
I thought only the street legal trikes had brakes.
This trike also has a Indiana Inspection sticker that expired in 1980 on the left front fork.
What is more confusing is I thought this is a wrong model to be street legal.
I thought the street legal models used the longer chassis/body.
The tag is gone on this trike and any decals on the body are painted over.
You may also notice the last owner replaced the rear shocks with solid struts.
So any Tri Sport gurus here or anyone know where to find Tri Sport literature to help shed light on some of my questions ?

 

[Steve73]

lots of info in the files section of group may help you out.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/alsport/

 

[wjustice]

I cant help much with a trirod but some Alsports did come with electric start as an option. It has the spoked front wheel, so it may be a higher end model. Dont directly to Alsport info to get your answer, Alsport and Trirod(BGW) were 2 different manufacturers. A street legal model would have the vin stamped into the frame.

 

[Cuda54]

Some one could have added the electric start after they bought it to make it easier to ride. I am adding it to my TRI-ROD and putting a 440 18hp. I had Electric start on my 10hp but did not hook it up. As for yours they could have added it just before a repaint. Is the body metal flake? I have see pictures of them with snowmobile engines on them too. It was probably for the lights and they might have had it on the street back in the day before the laws changed.

 

[t555trailblazer]

Just to add to what wjustice said… some Alsport models have the VIN number on the front fork tube behind the fork plate. Maybe Trirod did the same. You need to remove the front forks to find it.

 

[wjustice]

Some states you can tag almost anything. Maybe Indiana is that way. Most would require at least a lighting system. Many also had lighting systems as an option from factory. My personnel opinion is its been repowered and the owner was trying to hook it up. Its really not that hard. I added the ring gear and starter to my RTS trike and wired the rest myself.

 

[metalhead1982]

That's the problem with Tri-Rods, there's not a lot of info around on BGW, Arms Industries, or Tri-Rods in general. I'm not sure much of it survived the end of the company. There is one sales brochure that I think is from the late 70s. I've never seen any info on their street legal models other than the mini-pickup. There is an old Popular Mechanics article from the early 70s that shows a picture of a TR/STR style body like yours and mine sitting in traffic with what looks like a two-stroke motor, but the write-up only mentions the mini-pickup. There is at least one old post on here that mentions a TR-3477 model number, but I haven't seen pics of one. Sometimes I think we may just have to be content owning a mystery.

 

[Rustygold]

That's the problem with Tri-Rods, there's not a lot of info around on BGW, Arms Industries, or Tri-Rods in general. I'm not sure much of it survived the end of the company. There is one sales brochure that I think is from the late 70s. I've never seen any info on their street legal models other than the mini-pickup. There is an old Popular Mechanics article from the early 70s that shows a picture of a TR/STR style body like yours and mine sitting in traffic with what looks like a two-stroke motor, but the write-up only mentions the mini-pickup. There is at least one old post on here that mentions a TR-3477 model number, but I haven't seen pics of one. Sometimes I think we may just have to be content owning a mystery.

Thanks that's the best reply yet.
I agree from the research that I have done info on Tri Rod stuff is almost non existent.
Info on trikes of all brands in general is scarce but some brands more than others and this brand is one of the more than others.
The electric start stuff looks to me like it could very well be original equipment and that along with the other things that I pointed out points to possibly a street legal model.
I would love to be able to dig up more original info on these trikes so I will continue to dig.
One issue with online searches is most people today don't realize that the trike segment of the vintage minibike,go kart,buggy,6 wheeler,trike,etc even exists.
In short they don't even know about these old trikes and that makes finding trike info even harder than other segments of this hobby.

 

[Eastwood45]

This Tri Rod that I recently got has old reminents of a electric start system.
A battery box and a old solenoid that looks like it could be factory.
Is it possible that it was a electric start model ?
I was under the impression that only the street legal versions had electric start.
This trike also looks to have had lights and possibly turn signals.
It also has the optional spoke front wheel but this front wheel has a drum brake.
I thought only the street legal trikes had brakes.
This trike also has a Indiana Inspection sticker that expired in 1980 on the left front fork.
What is more confusing is I thought this is a wrong model to be street legal.
I thought the street legal models used the longer chassis/body.
The tag is gone on this trike and any decals on the body are painted over.
You may also notice the last owner replaced the rear shocks with solid struts.
So any Tri Sport gurus here or anyone know where to find Tri Sport literature to help shed light on some of my questions ?

Those are cool looking trikes.

 

[RJ from PA]

Hi guys! I am new here and not trying to hijack the thread, but I have a neighbor who is looking for a Tri Rod if anyone knows of one for sale.
Thank you.

 

[Cuda54]

Start by doing a search in all of the Craiglists in your state then go to states around you.

 

[RJ from PA]

If it were that simple he would have one already. It took months of various searches just to find this thread in this group.

 

[Cuda54]

Funny I did some looking just last year and found 1 in NY 1 Michigan and 1 in AZ. And they were not even on Craigslist. My son on my blue TRI-ROD and I have the ski for mine too.

 

[Lanny 800]

i WAS LOOKING FOR A MINI TRIKE SEAT FOR A BOB-CAT TRIKE MUSKIN. MISSING THE FIBERGLASS SEAT AND REAR AXEL AND CORRECT TIRES. THE GUY IS IN OHIO AND TRIYING MY LUCK HERE. OR COW BOY HE GOES BY THANKS