Another Trike

[pegboy]

Saw this on the Bay??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1995-DUCATI-FORD-ST-ORANGE-TRIKE-/160714512875?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item256b54d9eb


Hope this works

[He11cat]

Apart from the fugly headlight And the orange spokes on it back wheels it doesn't look to bad.
I'm not a huge trike fan but if had to ride one that's not bad .
Bit pricey considering only a 600 engine .
Better off with a bigger lump in it .

If I had to have a trike a few tweaks And it would look ok!
Love the colour!!

[He11cat]

Apart from the fugly headlight And the orange spokes on it back wheels it doesn't look that bad.
I'm not a huge trike fan but if had to ride one that's not bad .
Bit pricey considering only a 600 engine .
Better off with a bigger lump in it .

If I had to have a trike a few tweaks And it would look ok!
Love the colour!!

I would be happy to ride that if need where I had too.

[Scott1]

I bet those cans are very very loud, the back light is something I've never seen before, I can't decide if I like it or not but you're right HC, it could definitley do with more than a 600 lump in it.

[He11cat]

Not enough power for a trike really ..
A lot of lady riders are switching to trikes now.
( I await the influx of comments :) )

I've heard enough after that stupid go compare advert where the cave woman crashes the trike!!!! Wish she had ran that singing twit over myself!

[LVC]

I like the view of the rear end but not the other views - different and I admire the work involved :thumbsup:

[He11cat]

Your pretty limited ..
If I had to have a trike I'd have to trike a monster .
Unless you have a rewacco type with big fibre glass shell and a car engine.
( I don't like much)
I prefer to see a bike trike then a car engine driven one to be honest.
I can't quite grasp the idea of a trike with a car engine ?? I understand why .. But it's a bit reliant robin :)
It's the rear wheel spokes in orange that look odd .. That's what's throwing it and the headlight ..
I know they cost a lot to build but £5k for a second hand trike with a 600 cc engine it's a bit over priced.. I'd want more cc for that money.
Only a single front disk hmm

[Saint aka ML]

Question is trike classed as motorbike or car. In other words do you have to pay congestion charge nad park in car bays only?

[He11cat]

One for GT !
Some car engine trikes are huge crazy big things.
You couldn't park in a bike bay.

They are really a class of thier own I guess ., I wonder if engine power and weight comes into it as well it must do.

To me bike engined ones and bikes that are triked are bikes but the car engined ones and massive great things to me just not bikes really.
Sounds bad of me..

GT s and the orange ones to me are still monsters just 3 wheeled so to me are bikes.
A big old 3 wheeled barge with a v8 really isn't to me.

[d8mok]

Surely trikes are the worst parts of a bike and car combined?

[He11cat]

My friend has to ride one now for stability as she is going down hill with MS
if she didn't have her trike shed be lost.
If you have a disibilty that prevents you riding on two wheels it's the next best thing .,
I for one would trike a bike because no matter how nice the car I had it's just not the same to me.

I have noticed as I said before they are becoming more popular especially with lady bikers.
I myself have never taken one out but I hear it takes some getting used to!!
You have to remember your back end is wider then the bike end :)
many a time I've seen people forget it , one the chap had had under a week rode out of a carpark and caught his back end right on a car :(

I've been on the back of a VW rewacco one with no lid ( I know) had to be done once.
It was strange only because it was a rear engine beetle trike.
It was fun but more like an open top car!
But also takes 3-4 people so again more car like as you need a bit of ommph and substance to haul it about .

The orange one would feel and sound more like a bike :)

quads ... Now I don't grasp the point!

[d8mok]

I'd rather have a nice bike engined quad, or a bike engined kit car.

[Saint aka ML]

I'd rather have a nice bike engined quad, or a bike engined kit car.

agreed r1 powered Yamaha raptor is so much fun.

[PedroII]

Question is trike classed as motorbike or car. In other words do you have to pay congestion charge nad park in car bays only?

I guess you'd get away with congestion charge. Only reason we don't pay is because of where our number plates are positioned - which I'm sure is being addressed
Think you should be ok parking on bays that are not 'solo bays only'

[gary tompkins]

I know they cost a lot to build but £5k for a second hand trike with a 600 cc engine it's a bit over priced.. I'd want more cc for that money.
Only a single front disk hmm

As a comparison my DIY build cost was £8500 including £2500 for purchase of original M900ie donor

Single front disc on a lightweight trike should be adequate, provided rear brakes are powerful enough. Most of your stopping power should ideally be biased to rear on bike-trikes, otherwise the front just tends to lock.. especially in wet conditions. The rear tyres have a much larger contact patch and have less tendancy to lock up. I plan to eventually link mine to operate off the handlebar lever, and have a valve installed to adjust bias front to rear. Would give me less to do with my right foot - currently rear brake and gearchange both on R/H side.

Question is trike classed as motorbike or car. In other words do you have to pay congestion charge nad park in car bays only?

Trikes fall under class 3 for MOT (specific to three wheelers) and are catagorised as motortricycles for road tax and licence purposes. The licence you need to ride one depends on weight. Smaller trikes under 450kg can be ridden on a motorcycle licence, but over 450kg you need a full car licence. Although most car based trikes end up being too heavy to fall under the 450kg limit.

Surely trikes are the worst parts of a bike and car combined?

Try riding one before you attempt to make that kind of sweeping judgement

It's amazing how many bikers are quick to slag off 3 wheelers, when most have never even sat on a trike let alone ridden one. It's obvious trikes will have disadvantages compared to two wheels, but they also have some advantages.. especially for disabled riders. I set myself the goal to build one to a high standard, and keep it both practical and comfortable, while making as compact a bike-trike conversion as I could.

Given that I still really enjoy using it after 5 years and 20,000+ miles..

Think I achieved that.. don't you?

People often choose to ride trikes for one simple reason.. we just like to be different


Full credit owed to Jim (LouSCannon) for this great photo from 2009 UKMOC weekend :thumbsup:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6692395153_0388c76dfd_z.jpg

..and Dan (Banditloon) for this taken at a Boxhill DSC meet:cool:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3492/3907983260_1f71ec50c6_z.jpg?zz=1

[Mand]

I've the pleasure of being a pillion on GT's trike, it was ace fun too :D, It's an amazing piece of engineering gets my vote every weekender. Am I biased? Nah!

[Lima071]

GT have you looked at honda bikes with a split bias on their brakes, as standard, coupled with a larger master, to move more fluid, it could be a relatively cheap answer/ build.
Nice bike btw.

[d8mok]

I have ridden one and several quads too. Dont get me wrong, yours looks lovely, and probably the nicest one ive seen .

But trikes still get stuck in traffic like a car, but at the same time your getting wet unlike a car.they have Similiar risks to a bike, but dont go round corners as well as a car/bike.

I had a fireblade engined 7 type car a few years ago. That was exactly the same hence the reason i sold it.

[He11cat]

Thanks GT I prefer the bike based ones..
So his asking price is pretty ok.

However yours looks better put together .,
the back wheels on the 600 one don't look right to me just cosmetic.
Also rack edition a total must!!!
You'd get nothing on the orange trike!!

What do you think about 600 lump in it though?
A bit more oomph would be better surely?

Definate up trend on trikes now.
I'm not a fan of the huge car based ones I'm sorry.

Not keen on the car engined rewacco ones to look at however on taking a trip on one it was fun.
But it's more like a car as car engined and has to have seatbelts.

Yours is more what I class as a proper trike.

Would I own that little orange one ?
Yes If I had the money and a garage!!
I'd be quite happy to own it :)

[utopia]

I don't like the car engined trikes much either, without being quite sure why.
Somehow the bike based ones still seem like bikes, whereas the car based ones seem more like a reliant convertible !! .....and they're often quite messy in their construction.
And I don't get the quad thing either.
But each to their own.
I've not seen GT's trike in the flesh, but from the pictures its just about the nicest one I've seen.
I also liked the Russel Mitchell one that was in the biker build-off programmes.

[He11cat]

Russ builds some good stuff even if it's mostly HD .,

I know trikes get stuck in traffic and such like .
But the two my friends have are because of disability neither could ride a bike now so they opted for trikes.
I would do the same ..
Given posh mobility car or trike I'd somehow get a trike a Monster trike of course!!
Wish I had space and 6 k spare I could do with that trike myself at the moment !!
So unsteady at the mo I dare not ride the monster but could cope with 3 wheels.

[gary tompkins]

I have ridden one and several quads too. Dont get me wrong, yours looks lovely, and probably the nicest one ive seen .

But trikes still get stuck in traffic like a car, but at the same time your getting wet unlike a car.they have Similiar risks to a bike, but dont go round corners as well as a car/bike.

I had a fireblade engined 7 type car a few years ago. That was exactly the same hence the reason i sold it.

Sorry but other than the "they get stuck in traffic" comment I don't agree with this at all

The fact that a trike has 3 wheels and more rubber on the road, makes it much more stable on slippery road surfaces if you hit rain, roadmarkings, mud, ice, deisel, cow/horse sh#t etc... or any loose surface like gravel. You can still skid or slide but wouldn't drop a trike like a bike, although you can still be thrown off if in a bad crash. I rode the Simplon pass over the Swiss Alps in 2011, and encountered some nasty weather on the trike including heavy rain and melting snow/slush at high altitude. I'm very glad I tackled that journey on 3 wheels rather than 2 at the time. I would probably have come to grief several times in those conditions on a bike.

As for poor handling issue. I thrashed mine round Brands Hatch indy circuit for two sessions with UKMOC last July, and managed to keep up with bikes in the group ok. I dropped back a bit on second session, mainly because it was baking hot and I was knackered. The trike's very physical and tiring to ride in atack mode, but I normally keep up on club rides fine... unless we hit traffic obviously. In my experience a trike can handle well provided the steering geometry and suspension is set up properly. I spent the first 6 months adjusting ride hights, preload settings, suspension damping, tyre pressures and rear shock rates (swapping springs 4 times) before I was finally happy with it. http://www.flatoutphotography.com/gallery3/DMBH/BH111725

You also state here you have ridden just one trike

I personally don't think that gives you any real evidence or experience to judge other trikes by


http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6216/6335182237_62daf2b1b8_m.jpg http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6239/6335188437_2f60a67852_m.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6052/6335944636_e9f0004eaf.jpg

[gary tompkins]

Thanks GT I prefer the bike based ones..
So his asking price is pretty ok.

However yours looks better put together .,
the back wheels on the 600 one don't look right to me just cosmetic.
Also rack edition a total must!!!
You'd get nothing on the orange trike!!

What do you think about 600 lump in it though?
A bit more oomph would be better surely?



The 50bhp M600 would struggle a bit to be honest - especially loaded with luggage or two up. The general rule of thumb regards bike-trikes is you need 70-100bhp to make them really fun & usable. A well designed trike conversion will add 100-150lbs to a donor bike. My own trike weighs in at 258kg dry compared to 195kg from factory. So it gained 63kg or 138lb - and about 10lb of that is from huge rack which is quickly detachable. To compensate for this I dropped the final drive ratio by about 5%, or equivalent of 3+ teeth on rear sprocket. This means it can still pull a passenger + luggage with ease, top out at just under 120mph solo and still return an average of 50mpg. I'm sure it accelerates faster up to 80mph than the stock 900ie monster did, despite the extra weight it's pulling as a trike.

[He11cat]

I really can't understand why they spent all that money and built it round a 600 maybe that's why it is for sale.

[gary tompkins]

I've the pleasure of being a pillion on GT's trike, it was ace fun too :D, It's an amazing piece of engineering gets my vote every weekender. Am I biased? Nah!

Aww shucks Mand... you'll make me blush :o

GT have you looked at honda bikes with a split bias on their brakes, as standard, coupled with a larger master, to move more fluid, it could be a relatively cheap answer/ build.
Nice bike btw.

It had crossed my mind but i think it will be a PITA to get working properly, possibly costly, unreliable and over complicated. You also have the issue of maintaining a separate handrake operation on the rear wheels, something that wasn't easy for me to manage on the original build. I have a game plan to upgrade trike's stoppers sometime later in 2012, but I need to shop around for some parts first ;)

I really can't understand why they spent all that money and built it round a 600 maybe that's why it is for sale.

Swapping to an aircooled 900 Ducati motor would be pretty simple and not that expensive to do

[He11cat]

This trike belongs to an amazing man Barry .
He Is severley paralyised chest down.
Bike accident .

This is his " big black bitch" BMW R1200R

he was born a Manx man but now lives on mainland.
He returns to IOM regularly and BBB can out do R1,s
he says is really funny when he comes hurtling past as they suddenly realise it's some old fart on a trike ..

My friend is an IOM Marshall and always on tv coverage.
Both go over a few times a year.

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/helsinkvampire/29eafdc3.jpg

He is so couragious . It's big as he is wheelchair bound.

[buzzbomb]

Mel I've seen that trike or one like it at Williams BMW motorcycle dealer in Manchester I think if my memory serves me well that the Williams F1 GP team helped with the developement of it, an amazing vehicle if not alittle bulbous.

On to Gray's trike, I've sat on it and studied it quite closely and it really is a testimony to his ability to design, build and develop such a great bit of kit...:hail:

I've followed him and it certainly seemed to handle well and I take my hat off to him for his dedication to motorcycles (particulary ducati) and the amount of miles that he puts on them...:thumbsup:

[samieb]

GT those of us who know you, I sometimes forget it has 3 wheels as not only did you achieve your goal but you often ride the trike as if it had only 2 wheels. Anyway giving a compliment where 1 is due. ;0)

P.S. I agree with Buzzbombs comments above too. Hats off to ya GT.