Reverse Trike

[Leskid]

What's that steering box going to give you in turns lock to lock, do ya think? I'd want a racing-type rack on this thing myself, less than a turn to either side.

Unfortunately the steering does turn quite a bit, it's about 3 turns each direction so unfortunately it's not as nice as I'd like but it will have to do for this build.

I hate to be an armchair engineering critique here but: If you want to take some turns out of that steering setup, wouldn't it be 'easy' by making the pitman arm a little longer? (don't know if it's called that anymore - the arm between the steering box and the tie rods)

If you lengthened that arm by an inch or so, it would move the tierods that much more for each revolution of the steering wheel. You'd have to re-fabricate the mountings for the steering box and move it forward to compensate for the longer arm but I'm guessing that's not a big deal for you.

Not sure if that arm is cast aluminum or whatever but there are surely many forum lurkers who could offer-up some suggestions on cutting, extending & re-welding that part.... or you could fabricate your own, no?

FWIW - just a thought

 

[Nitrotate]

What's that steering box going to give you in turns lock to lock, do ya think? I'd want a racing-type rack on this thing myself, less than a turn to either side.

Unfortunately the steering does turn quite a bit, it's about 3 turns each direction so unfortunately it's not as nice as I'd like but it will have to do for this build.

I hate to be an armchair engineering critique here but: If you want to take some turns out of that steering setup, wouldn't it be 'easy' by making the pitman arm a little longer? (don't know if it's called that anymore - the arm between the steering box and the tie rods)

If you lengthened that arm by an inch or so, it would move the tierods that much more for each revolution of the steering wheel. You'd have to re-fabricate the mountings for the steering box and move it forward to compensate for the longer arm but I'm guessing that's not a big deal for you.

Not sure if that arm is cast aluminum or whatever but there are surely many forum lurkers who could offer-up some suggestions on cutting, extending & re-welding that part.... or you could fabricate your own, no?

FWIW - just a thought

Well... yeah I suppose so, good thinking but unfortunately I've already welded all the supports in place and don't really want to cut them all off and start over. However it's a good thing for me to keep in the back of my mind in case I do decide so thanks for the idea for sure!! Wish I had though of it ahead of time...

 

[Leskid]

Well... yeah I suppose so, good thinking but unfortunately I've already welded all the supports in place and don't really want to cut them all off and start over. However it's a good thing for me to keep in the back of my mind in case I do decide so thanks for the idea for sure!! Wish I had though of it ahead of time...

Actually, would you really need to move the steering box forward? If you stuck-in a longer arm and adjusted-out resulting the toe-in at the tie-rods, you'd be back where you started, with less wheel-turns

ahh, I'll shut up. What do I know about such things

 

[Nitrotate]

Well... yeah I suppose so, good thinking but unfortunately I've already welded all the supports in place and don't really want to cut them all off and start over. However it's a good thing for me to keep in the back of my mind in case I do decide so thanks for the idea for sure!! Wish I had though of it ahead of time...

Actually, would you really need to move the steering box forward? If you stuck-in a longer arm and adjusted-out resulting the toe-in at the tie-rods, you'd be back where you started, with less wheel-turns

ahh, I'll shut up. What do I know about such things

I don't think so because I'd have to move the bar and tie rods back or the steering box forward either way. It would probably be easiest to just move the box forward but I think I'll wait until I get the brakes plumbed and pull the trike behind my truck to test the steering and then I'll make my decision. Then I'll know for sure if it needs to be done.

 

[wfooshee]

I don't think it would make that much difference unless you seriously changed the length of that arm. Another thing that would happen is the wheel-to-wheel geometry would change as the size of the arc described by the arm changes. As the wheels steer, one (inside of the turn) moves more than the other by a designed-in amount. Change the length of that arm and you change that wheel-to-wheel difference, and you end up with wheels that don't track the correct arc for the turn.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

see this

 

[Nitrotate]

Did a little more mockup and measuring last night to find the right location for the steering wheel, now I just need to wait for the new steering wheel and pedal assembly to get here so I finalize and mount them.

My goofball dogs wouldn't stay out of the trike, I guess they think they get to go for rides already!

 

[Nitrotate]

Ok so I took the tank, subframe and the pipes and just kind of sat them in place about how I envision them so you guys could kind of get an idea.

Oh and the pedals and throttle cable showed up yesterday so now I’ve got some time consuming and detailed work to do soon and my “visible” progress will slow down now but I’m still working just as fast. I have to get the pedal assembly positioned and then plumb the hydraulic clutch and brakes and then run the throttle cable.

 

[cruppelt]

Ok so I took the tank, subframe and the pipes and just kind of sat them in place about how I envision them so you guys could kind of get an idea.Oh and the pedals and throttle cable showed up yesterday so now I’ve got some time consuming and detailed work to do soon and my “visible” progress will slow down now but I’m still working just as fast. I have to get the pedal assembly positioned and then plumb the hydraulic clutch and brakes and then run the throttle cable.

I just finally discovered your thread. This is one superb project, keep up the good work!

:good: :good: :good:

 

[Nitrotate]

Ok so I took the tank, subframe and the pipes and just kind of sat them in place about how I envision them so you guys could kind of get an idea.Oh and the pedals and throttle cable showed up yesterday so now I’ve got some time consuming and detailed work to do soon and my “visible” progress will slow down now but I’m still working just as fast. I have to get the pedal assembly positioned and then plumb the hydraulic clutch and brakes and then run the throttle cable.

I just finally discovered your thread. This is one superb project, keep up the good work!

:good: :good: :good:

Thanks man! It's a lot of fun and I'm moving pretty fast on it too.

 

[Nitrotate]

Ok so I got the steering shaft shortened, mocked up, the pedal placement figured out, and the flooring installed this weekend!

Now I just need to mount the pedals and start plumbing the brakes and run the throttle cable.

I decided I’m going to go to the salvage yard and see if I can find a VW bug with the collapsible steering shaft and just cut the collapsible section out of it and try to fit it in for safety.

 

[kolonial72]

Damn, that's quite a project. Hats off for tackling this one. One question, maybe you already answered, but are you going to change out the rear for a car tire?

 

[Nitrotate]

Damn, that's quite a project. Hats off for tackling this one. One question, maybe you already answered, but are you going to change out the rear for a car tire?

Absolutely, it will stick a lot better, but not until after I burn this one up doing donuts and burnouts, hehe...

 

[Nitrotate]

Ok so I have brakes and a clutch!! Woohoo, now I just have to get the throttle cable ran, mount the steering shaft and steering wheel and then I can start working on the shifter. I think I’m going to use a push-pull cable and shift lever for now but my long term plan as an addition is an air shifter. I might start on the electronics here shortly while I wait for shifter parts to show up. My biggest hold up right now is the busted water pump cover I need to replace and the radiator with holes in it that I need to see if a shop can repair for me and then I can get it started again and check the clutch and shifting etc.

 

[SacramentoMike]

I've been watching this with fascination. Hell of a project. I looked and can't find if you've answered this, but what will the back end look like? Are you going to put the FJR seat back on and carry three? Kind of like a rumble seat, or maybe a rickshaw? Have you done any kind of concept drawings or anything you could put up? Sure can't wait to see the results, but the progress you're making has been very impressive. BTW, where are you? Wondering if we'll see you riding past. (You might modify your profile with this info.) Good luck.

 

[Nitrotate]

I've been watching this with fascination. Hell of a project. I looked and can't find if you've answered this, but what will the back end look like? Are you going to put the FJR seat back on and carry three? Kind of like a rumble seat, or maybe a rickshaw? Have you done any kind of concept drawings or anything you could put up? Sure can't wait to see the results, but the progress you're making has been very impressive. BTW, where are you? Wondering if we'll see you riding past. (You might modify your profile with this info.) Good luck.

Thanks man! Well I do have some ideas on a body but I haven't decided for sure yet and I don't want to get mine or anyone else's hopes up by showing it quite yet because if I try it and it looks like crap I'll get roasted by everyone... Not that I really care what other people think but I want to first make sure I think I can do it and then I'll post it up for everyone. I'm not too far away from it anyway so don't worry I'll share it soon, especially at the pace I'm moving on the project.

As far as the backend, no I won't have the seat on there, basically I'll be routing the pipes up there and then building the body around it.

I'm in Denver, Colorado.

Thanks!

Tate

 

[Nitrotate]

Ok so got the steering wheel mounted last night, now on to the throttle cable...

 

[Nitrotate]

Alright, so I was able to test out the brakes, steering and suspension by towing it behind our vehicle this weekend and everything works perfect. The responsiveness of the steering is amazing! Sorry about the squealing noise, there was a piece of metal rubbing on the brake rotor.

Testing:

 

[nofreeride]

Alright, so I was able to test out the brakes, steering and suspension by towing it behind our vehicle this weekend and everything works perfect. The responsiveness of the steering is amazing! Sorry about the squealing noise, there was a piece of metal rubbing on the brake rotor.
Testing:

Looking good, Nitro! I'm glad it's going well.

 

[cruppelt]

Alright, so I was able to test out the brakes, steering and suspension by towing it behind our vehicle this weekend and everything works perfect. The responsiveness of the steering is amazing! Sorry about the squealing noise, there was a piece of metal rubbing on the brake rotor.
Testing:

Woohoo, looks like your pretty much ready to get going with FJR power now.

Again, great job! It's simply amazing how far you came with this project in a very short time.