Ever Built a Trike!

Has anybody here ever built a trike? I've got a Chinese chain drive rear axle and a KZ900 frame. I was thinking I'd start by replacing the swing arm with a carrier for the axle. As set up the axle has a 7" offset which I would handle with an outboard bearing on an extended countershaft sprocket. Beyond that I haven't gotten into it too deeply.

How about it? Any experience out there?

Bill

Does anybody have pictures of Harrys old trike he built way back when?
I seem to remember it being well built.

i haven't.
but,
if i were i would build a custom swingarm that attached to the rear end you are using and use stock dual shock geometry.

i have seen and rode a few trikes made by using swingarms off of quads and adapting car wheels to the hubs.

leon

and.... how did you like the ride, performance?
Wayne

quote="531blackbanshee" post=617753]i haven't.
but,
if i were i would build a custom swingarm that attached to the rear end you are using and use stock dual shock geometry.

i have seen and rode a few trikes made by using swingarms off of quads and adapting car wheels to the hubs.

leon[/quote]

i rode a yzf 600 with a yfz450 swingarm and wheels off a front wheel drive honda.

it was a trip to ride,
seemed stable enough i blew up to 120mph or so :evil: .

seemed like a little more rake would have helped it feel more stable.

it was fun tho :laugh: .

leon

531blackbanshee wrote: i haven't.
but,
if i were i would build a custom swingarm that attached to the rear end you are using and use stock dual shock geometry.

i have seen and rode a few trikes made by using swingarms off of quads and adapting car wheels to the hubs.

leon

Thanks Leon,

That's what I was trying to describe. I imagine that if I build the swing arm stout enough the swing arm pivots and frame should be stiff enough to take the tweaking that the rear axle will feed into the system. I'm going to move some things around in the shop and get to mocking it up.

Bill

yes bill that is how the majority of trikes are built and of the ones i have looked at none had any extra re-enforcing around the pivot.

my buddy had a vtx trike,they built a heavy duty swingarm and narrowed (what looked like a 8.8 ford rearend) down more one side than the other so it would line up with the factory shaft drive.

leon

Years ago I seen an XS 1100 trike that had the extra wheel in the front. It was very well built. MC wheels all around as well as triple disks. It was real low which for some reason always freaks me out a bit. I never got to meet the owner or ever see what like it since. You sat more in it like a gocart than on it like a trike or Bombadier. Looking forward to a trike build here. Good fortune!
Wayne

Do a search and see if you can find the pics of Harry's trike build. You were here then and he did one heck of a job building that trike out of a KZ1000.