Reverse Trike

[SacramentoMike]

What do you get more of, miles per gallon, or miles per back tire? Looks pretty fun to drive though. Good going.

 

[Nitrotate]

LOL, thanks guys! Yeah I actually have the rear wheel off right now I'm pulling the tire off tonight and getting the rim ready to be powder coated and then I'll be putting a 205/40/R17 car tire on.

 

[LagerHead]

Man, I am so jealous. I wish I had the knowledge, etc. to do something like that. Can't wait to see that at next year's NAFO.

 

[Nitrotate]

Where is it at next year? Are the details here in the forum somewhere?

 

[chivvalry]

I think I woulda used cones for a first test drive instead of concrete light poles....

 

[Nitrotate]

I think I woulda used cones for a first test drive instead of concrete light poles....

LOL, nahh they were spaced a good 50 feet or more apart.

 

[Geezer]

Where is it at next year? Are the details here in the forum somewhere?

An announcement was made at NAFO 2010 that NAFO 2012 will be in Canada. NAFO is every other year, so there won't be one in 2011, but don't wait until then to show it to us in person.

 

[Nitrotate]

Where is it at next year? Are the details here in the forum somewhere?

An announcement was made at NAFO 2010 that NAFO 2012 will be in Canada. NAFO is every other year, so there won't be one in 2011, but don't wait until then to show it to us in person.

Hey I don't mind showing it off. As long as you're not too far away or you are swinging through Denver anytime.

 

[nofreeride]

Everything worked perfect except one little concern I have… The steering is great until you get over about 50 or 60 mph where it sort of starts “chasing cats”, in other words I think it’s just an adjustment issue with the toe, steering box, alignment, and shocks. We did a couple adjustments while we were out there and it improved slightly so I’m confident that I’ll get the little bugs worked out soon.

Nitro,

Enjoyed the video. I think you're right on to check the toe, but also check the caster angle. The front axle centerline projected vertical to the ground should be behind the steering axis line (the line connecting the two ball joint pivots), also projected forward to the ground. 3-5 degrees is about right. I'm sure you probably already know all of that.

You mentioned that you needed to do something to stabilize the lower control arm. If it has any amount of fore and aft movement, it would change your caster while your driving!

A couple questions: Do you know what you ended up with for ground clearance and wheelbase?

 

[Nitrotate]

Everything worked perfect except one little concern I have… The steering is great until you get over about 50 or 60 mph where it sort of starts “chasing cats”, in other words I think it’s just an adjustment issue with the toe, steering box, alignment, and shocks. We did a couple adjustments while we were out there and it improved slightly so I’m confident that I’ll get the little bugs worked out soon.

Nitro,

Enjoyed the video. I think you're right on to check the toe, but also check the caster angle. The front axle centerline projected vertical to the ground should be behind the steering axis line (the line connecting the two ball joint pivots), also projected forward to the ground. 3-5 degrees is about right. I'm sure you probably already know all of that.

You mentioned that you needed to do something to stabilize the lower control arm. If it has any amount of fore and aft movement, it would change your caster while your driving!

A couple questions: Do you know what you ended up with for ground clearance and wheelbase?

Yeah caster was one of my first thoughts and I didn't build it to be adjustable however I think I can re-mount the upper control arms so that I can make them adjustable so that's my next little project after I get the rear wheel and swingarm powder coated and all back together. I did specifically set the caster angle when I built it but I've forgotten the actual angle I set it at right now so I'm going to check it and see.

The lower control arm issue has been fixed so that's not a problem anymore, I mounted support bars from the arms to the front of the vehicle and it stops on a dime now without any flexing.

As far as ground clearance, I believe it ended up at 5.5" - 6" and I keep forgetting to measure the wheelbase so I'll try to remember to do that and report back to you guys.

Thanks for all the ideas and complements!!

 

[Thug]

Absolutely sensational Nitro great work...

 

[Nitrotate]

Thanks again guys. Well this weekend I managed to get the upper control arms remounted and added in some negative camber on both wheels and about 6 degrees of positive caster on both also. HUGE difference from what I can tell so far. I haven't had a chance to get it out on a longer faster straight away but the cornering and under 50mph it definitely feels MUCH more stable. I feel safe now! I'll probably get it out tonight on some longer faster straights. I thinking about taking it down and getting it inspected and registered this week if I can find a trailer. It would be nice to be legal so I can really take it on some longer roads instead of parking lots.

The trike tends to oversteer in really hard cornering (harder than anything I would be doing on the street in traffic etc.) and I'm pretty sure it's because of the used tire I put on there. It's a little old and hard and not much tread left but that's alright for now, this tire was just for testing, I'm going to see if I can find a super sticky one when I replace it. I'll stiffen the front shocks and soften the rear and then with the sticky tire I think I'll be fine.

 

[Canadian FJR]

"VIDEO!!

Here’s the test video we did this weekend! Sorry for the shaky video but we forgot the tripod, we’ll bring it again next time."

How do I view this video?

Canadian FJR

 

[Nitrotate]

It should show up in the forum but if it's not for you, you can go to my youtube address:



crap it just did it again, let me try something else... hold on

Go here and it's my latest video: https://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhum

 

[Canadian FJR]

That poor tire. :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Canadian FJR

 

[fjrob1300]

Needs a big fat car tire on the back!!!

 

[Nitrotate]

Another update, I’m moving right along and having a great time with this build!

I pulled the rear wheel off a week ago and prepped it for powder coating. I wanted to try to mimic the front wheel design as best I could so I masked these shapes into the wheel. Masking took hours!

Here it is after shooting the chrome;

Here’s after pulling it out of the oven;

 

[Nitrotate]

The tire was a Bi!@# to get on so I ended up chipping a little of my powder coating job but not super bad. Here it is on the bike;

Here you can sort of see how it matches the front wheels;

Ok so last night I started to build some skeleton framing on the front and some cardboard templates for the inside panels. I will stretch black vinyl material over the skeleton for the front hood for now. It should look pretty sweet and be lightweight;

 

[Grumpy]

A fat sticky car tire is needed. Also, this is a motorcycle engine and it's OK to rev it up and make some real hp.

 

[Nitrotate]

A fat sticky car tire is needed. Also, this is a motorcycle engine and it's OK to rev it up and make some real hp.

That car tire I have on it now is as fat as I can go, it's used so it's not so "sticky" anymore but once I come up with some cash for a new tire I'll be getting a really sticky brand new one.