New Project

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livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
Well, I went to the Florida Flywheelers again and of course, I had the bug to build something when I got back. So I'm working on a trike this time. I took the 3HP Briggs from my bike and I mounted it on the back and I'm using a transmission from a self-propelled mower to help with gear reduction. It has a 5:1, I'm looking at I think 12:1 from it to the wheel, but I could be wrong; it's a 1.75" pulley to a 12" pulley. I don't have the big one yet, but I'll be getting it later and the nice thing is the wheel has four holes in the hub that I can bolt it to. For going from the engine to the transmission, I'm thinking just go with a belt drive of maybe 1:1 or 1:2 with a slip clutch, but I'm not too sure on it yet. I'm also thinking of using a pair of pillow block bearings to mount the transmission, but I'm having a problem finding any that are that small, so I'm not too sure what I'm going to do if I can't. I don't want this to go fast, I'm gonna use it whenever I go to a swap meet and tow a small trailer with a seat and a place to put anything I buy.
 

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maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
I'm looking at a Mohawk Industrial trike build with a Tecumseh hs and a belt drive, slipper setup.
Very interested in this thread! Keep up the pics and (my) problem solving!:)
 

livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
Sounds like you're having as much fun as I am. I'll see what I can do, but between work and lack of budget, it may be awhile. It also doesn't help that back in July I moved into a third floor apartment. I'm doing the work out on the balcony and other than hand tools I all I have is a cordless drill, cordless sawzall, and a dremel. That metal plate is thin enough that I was able to bend it by hand, but it's strong enough to handle the load I'm putting on it. As far as the problem solving, I don't know if I can help you or myself there, but I'll see what I can do.
 

racie35

Active Member
Nov 17, 2012
1,702
5
38
usa
If you're at 5:1 and the run off at 12:1 you're at 60:1....however I think your pulleys are closer to 6.7:1...still leaving you with a wall crawler at 34:1.
Maybe the actual on the pulleys isn't so cut and dry but maybe.
 

livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
If you're at 5:1 and the run off at 12:1 you're at 60:1....however I think your pulleys are closer to 6.7:1...still leaving you with a wall crawler at 34:1.
Maybe the actual on the pulleys isn't so cut and dry but maybe.
I really don't know but I won't find out unless I try it. To me, the thing isn't too stable, but that's just because I've honestly never ridden a trike, so it's weird to not lean into a turn. I want a speed of about 10 MPH at a decent engine speed of maybe 2K. I don't want it idling, but I don't want it wound out all the way, just where it sounds like it's nice and happy. I was talking with a friend of mine and he wanted me to leave it at the 5:1, but I don't want to be doing 20 on this thing let alone 80. My bike would get up to 60 with a GX160 and roughly 8:1, and I can get the 3HP Briggs up to about 35, but that's on a bicycle where I feel safer at those speeds than on a trike. I would've liked to have gotten the transaxle from a riding mower, but that was out of budget and too much work to try and do where I am. Though if I can, I would like to do that because it'd be pretty simple I think and I would be able to use a dirt cheap vertical shaft engine, but I wouldn't be able to pedal it anymore.
 

racie35

Active Member
Nov 17, 2012
1,702
5
38
usa
Adult trikes are tippy...I copied the simplex truck and cheated on length and width...test runs push down a hill showed it was much more stable then I expected.
I'm looking to limit it to 30mph
 

livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
Very nice trike! That looks like it would be a lot more stable with how long and wide it is. I would do frame modifications, but that is outside my current capabilities and way out of my skill set. The reason I always bolt my stuff together is because I don't know how to weld, don't want to spend the money to have someone else do it, and it works. 30 sounds like it should be good for that. The reason I'm topping off around 10 is because this is just to putt around at swap meets, car shows, and maybe go around the corner to the store.
 

racie35

Active Member
Nov 17, 2012
1,702
5
38
usa
From the seat back and crash bars and foot pad areas I built..frame is just a simplex chopped behind the seat.
I know getting things welded is hard for people though. You can cheat on width easy but at 10mph it may not be worth other alterations I understand.
Lots of people are happy with the adult trike conversions...you will be too
 

livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
More progress pictures as I slowly progress on this. I went to Tractor Supply about three times today to buy stuff only to return it because I couldn't use it and then get other stuff. I have what I believe is a 6" pulley mounted to the wheel, a 1.5" on the output of the transmission, a 2" on the input and a 1.75" on the engine with a 5:1 in the transmission.I have a good feeling that this thing is probably going to do 5 MPH at 4000rpm. If it truly is that slow, I have some extra pulleys to up the gear ratio. As you can tell by all the holes in it, it took a bit to get it on there. I "borrowed" the first bottle of nail polish I could find in from my wife's drawer of makeup stuff and put the wheel on top of the pulley and used that to try and mark the holes and it took a bit, but I got it to work. Then it also took a bit to get the holes right because I'm using a cordless drill. Now I just need to get out to a place in the next town over to get some bearings to support the transmission. The weird looking things holding up my tensioner are actually two "trophies" I had gotten at a local car show; one for my old, beat up, daily driven truck, and the other for my bike that had the GX160 on it. I needed something on the spot that I could stick out that far and bend or that already was bent, and I remembered I had them in the back room and they worked perfect once I drilled a hole in the base. Then I'm going to use that bar as a brace back to the mounting plate as a precaution against bending because I'm not too sure what they're made of and how strong they are. Now I need to work out how to actuate the tensioner and take it to work with me to try out belts. I'm thinking I'll just set the throttle where it sounds decent and leave it to run at a set speed. Then I can get the choke working again and put an air filter on it.
 

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livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
I have everything mounted up and I just need to take it to work to try out different belts and get a tube for the right tire and see what happens. I'll post pictures later because the wife's at work right now and I've been using her phone to take pictures ever since I lost the charger to my camera. I'd use my own, but it's the $14 Walmart special. I gave up on supporting the transmission with bearings because I didn't want to drive 35 miles to go get them, so I drilled right through the plastic case where I figured there wouldn't be anything, made some brackets, and it's very sturdy. I did start it and vibrations don't seem too bad and I can still pedal it, but I'll hopefully have some real fun once I get some belts on it and find out the top speed is somewhere around 1 MPH. I will say it's a little awkward trying to get this in my truck since I can't lift it straight up over the side like I did before, but it's not heavy enough to be a problem. Now I need to make a trailer.
 

livesteamfan

Member
Oct 24, 2009
126
1
18
Palmetto, FL
Well, I got the chance to try it out and it's very fun to sit and watch it spin in circles, but the moment I get on it, it won't move. Then belt from the transmission to the wheel slips no matter what, so I'll have to go to Tractor Supply and get some sprockets and chain and just have the one belt on the engine. It should work that way because I wouldn't be putting downward force on something that's going to flex with it.