Trike Conversion

[DLyon]

Reality bites when you pull up to a light, go to put your foot down, and there's a pothole there. BTW...there's a trick with picking up a downed bike...know what it is?

.

Lift with your legs?

[cabinetman]

Lift with your legs?

That's a good guess, but there is a specific procedure.

.

[atgcpaul]

That's a good guess, but there is a specific procedure.

.

I thought I saw this on CHiPS. Don't you grab the bike/handlebars and then lean backwards away from the wheels?

[dbhost]

Speaking of, and back to the issue of wheels... Pappy, there is a guy here in the Bay Area with one of those trike conversions using the "swirl" Ranger wheels, he had a local shop mill out a USN anchor medallion for the center caps. The whole thing is dark, dark almost black blue, with lighter blue ghost flames. I am not much of a cycle guy, but that thing looks awesome. If I run across him again in town I will try to snap a pic of the trike and shoot it your way. I think if you saw the wheels on an actual trike it might help you make up your mind...

[Pappy]

Speaking of, and back to the issue of wheels... Pappy, there is a guy here in the Bay Area with one of those trike conversions using the "swirl" Ranger wheels, he had a local shop mill out a USN anchor medallion for the center caps. The whole thing is dark, dark almost black blue, with lighter blue ghost flames. I am not much of a cycle guy, but that thing looks awesome. If I run across him again in town I will try to snap a pic of the trike and shoot it your way. I think if you saw the wheels on an actual trike it might help you make up your mind...

If you get the chance, try to get a close up shot of the center caps.

[Pappy]

Reality bites when you pull up to a light, go to put your foot down, and there's a pothole there.

Or a puddle of fresh oil...

[Pappy]

The framework and rear axle are still in the truck but I got the stand for the body mostly done yesterday. I added some braces and the casters today, then mounted the body. After I got it positioned where I wanted it i used a centering bit to mark the positions of 2 of the front body bolt holes. Then I moved the body out of the way and drilled through the frame and inserted T nuts from the back side. After the front was bolted in place I repeated the process for the mount holes in the trunk floor, then bolted it to the frame at all 4 points.

The frame is all from scrap wood and assembled with glue and pocket screws. The braces are ply and glued in place. The rear mount is angled so the trunk floor sits flat on the surface.





2 bolts hold the front of the body tight against the frame and 2 more secure the trunk floor to the rear mount surface. When it is ready to paint I will remove the washers and leave the front bolts backed out so the shoulders suppport the body.







Overall shot of the damage where it brushed a guard rail on the left side. Three cracks and both corners of the wheel well are broken off.



After fixing the 3 cracks I will build a mold from 'Kitty Hair' to to clamp to the outside of the rear corner and build it up from the inside.



The last repair will be to make another mold to reform the front corner. I will probably cut away most of the damaged area on the front of the fender, leaving only the lower lip.


My goal is to have the conversion done and on the road in time for the Republic of Texas (ROT) Rally in mid June!

[Pappy]

Went to HD today, picked up some fiberglass supplies, and got a good start on the body repairs. Worked over the outside of the 3 cracks and started on the damage to the front of the fender well.

After grinding/sanding through the gel coat and into the fiberglass around the cracks, I clamped some MDF blocks is place to hold the cracked areas in the proper position. I glassed in 2 layers of mat and, after it cured, remover the clamps and repeated the process on the lip for 2 of the cracks.









On the front of the fender I cut away the edges of the broken areas so it would lay flat, taped the lip in place and repeated the steps to the front and side.






The temperature was starting to drop so I shut it down for the night. Tomorrow morning I will sand out the lip and side of the front. After that I will mix some glass reinforced Bondo and form the inside molds for the corners. I will have to take the body off the stand and position it on the damaged side so I can work form the inside.

Once the molds are cured it goes back on the stand, clamp the molds in place, sand them to final shape, then make another set of molds that will go on the outside of the body. While those cure I can mix some bondo to fill the rough repair areas.

Hopefully I will get the glass layed into the corner repairs tomorrow. Then it's a matter of adding a layer of mat and one of cloth on the inside to reinforce the repairs before coating the outsides of the repairs with glazing putty to fill any small imperfections.

So far, I am pleased with the results. The repairs are ridgid and solid. Pulling up on the lip areas showed no signs of flex in the body.

[Pappy]

Got a bit more work done today, but not as much as I was hoping for. The shaping of the front 'plug' took a lot longer than expected and I had several interuptions. Did some fill work on the repair areas and both positive forms done. The front took a lot of time due to the amont of damage I had to cut away. The working (Negative mold for the rear is ready to go but the front is going to take some more work. I am using Glad 'Press and Seal' as a release film and I got the mix too hot when I tried to form the final mold. Don't know if i am going to try to fix it or start fresh and build it in layers.

Except for a coat of gel putty and final sanding this one is done.



Still have a couple of low spots to take care of at the rear but those will get done after the last of the 'glass work is done.



These were taken before the 'plug' was sanded to shape. I had to build up the putty a little more before I shaped it.





Vacation is over and it's back to work tomorrow. I expect my route to be a mess so I probably won't get any more work done for several days.

[chopnhack]

Good progress Pappy.

[Sweet Willy]

Looks good to me. You are a talented guy Pappy.

[Pappy]

Looks good to me. You are a talented guy Pappy.

more like persistant or cheap.....

[ironhat]

more like persistant or cheap.....

Whatever gets the job done.

[Bruce Cohen]

Hey Don,
Remember when Indians came with a tank shift and foot clutch. You could get a trike with either four forward speeds or three forward and a reverse.

Now those days were fun.
I once had the pleasure of owing a 1947 springer front fork Indian with a tank shift, all four forwards though. The two wheelers did come with reverse. I believe that Indian felt the bikes were too heavy to push backwards.

I really miss the old days.

Bruce

[Pappy]

Hey Don,
Remember when Indians came with a tank shift and foot clutch. You could get a trike with either four forward speeds or three forward and a reverse.

Now those days were fun.
I once had the pleasure of owing a 1947 springer front fork Indian with a tank shift, all four forwards though. The two wheelers did come with reverse. I believe that Indian felt the bikes were too heavy to push backwards.

I really miss the old days.

Bruce

Don't think I ever rode an Indian. Have rode some of the old suicide clutch Harleys.