Future Project - but far future due to ignorance of mechanicals 80cc Trike

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gaffo

Member
May 10, 2014
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Norman
Just some dumb questions for those much wiser.

here in my State 80cc is legal (so HF Predetor 79 would be my choice).

I see that Wallyworld has a 199 buck 26" Kent Admiral Trike (Aluminum) - nearly identical to the Swuen(sp) (which is steel - and twice the weight-90 bucks or so more).

1. is aluminum bad? so should avoid?
2. can't weld - does that leave all projects out for me?
3. I have much to learn first before building - will have to learn such things before jumping in too-deep and ending up failing.

gears? Q-matic? etc................ya or nay/etc..............

welcome input from the many wise on all things

thank you gentlemen.
 

Davezilla

New Member
Mar 15, 2014
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Personally I'd go with the steel frame because somewhere in your build you will need to do some welding or need some welding done.
If you can't weld, you can use a mapp torch and braze pretty easily and the connections are almost as strong, not to mention a good braze will be stronger than a bad weld. Another option would be to get one of those 90 amp flux welders from Harbor Freight for around $100... with a few hours practice or less you'll be welding just fine in no time, these are that easy
 

Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
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Indianapolis
It has been my experience with aluminum in projects that it seems to get fatigued sooner than steel. Even some T6 aluminum that I used in a bike trailer a while back. Good steel seems quite a bit more ductile and will bend more radically before breaking, giving you a bit more time to notice a problem.
Maybe it's just what I've been using it for, but I haven't been having good luck with aluminum where regular vibration and torsion are factors.
 

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
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Central Area of Texas
go steel and do like Dave suggested, get a HF flux core mig welder for $99

I suggest while you're there pick up a 4 1/2" Grinder and some 1/16" thick cutoff disc for it and at least one grinding disc.

A small torch is great, but you can do many things related to fabrication with tubing with a hacksaw and a cheap disc grinder and some good cutoff disc, I prefer the Dewalt disc myself, they last about twice as long and cut better than the cheapy ones.

do your home work, and be sure you have the tools before starting a project like this in my opinion and you'll be more likely to succeed.
 

Davezilla

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Mar 15, 2014
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Yup.. those 4 1/2" grinders really come in handy, I got 2 of them so one has a stone disc for grinding and the other has a wire cup brush for quick cleaning of slag, paint, or whatever else is in the way. One thing I noticed tho is the HF grinding stones aren't that good, but you can get quality stones from home depot and other places... the hf stones tend to dull and it takes twice as long to grind compared to better quality ones, I noticed the difference immediately when I put on a stone that was left at my shop by the landlord, the quality brand stone grinds much faster and smoother.

You will also want to replace the spool of wire in that welder with the Lincoln wire sold at the hardware stores like home depot or lowes, the replacement wire spools they sell at harbor freight is also of much better quality than the wire that comes with the welder. You'll notice easier welds and less slag with the better wire.

Another trick to strong welds in the thinner metals is to heat the metal at the weld locations to cherry red and let cool down naturally, this will stress releive the metal and soften the metal at the welds to prevent future cracking. This is best done with a mapped torch if you don't have an acetylene torch setup.
Just a few extra tips if you go this route...
 

gaffo

Member
May 10, 2014
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Norman
Thank you Lady and Gentlemen - I will forget about the cheap aluminum trike and look to steel as the frame in any future endevers.

For now I'll just wait for a 20 percent off coupon and the 99-buck offer for the 79cc engine to coincide. if/when, then just let it sit in the box until the project begins (whenever - if ever that is).
 

Davezilla

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Mar 15, 2014
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I've got a few peices like that just sitting in boxes waiting on a project to put them in... You could buy the engine and build it up really nice while deciding on what to put it in if you got lots of time and limited toy funding, that way you could have a really sweet engine by buying the upgrade parts little by little and installing them on your free time, then by the time you got the engine done up really nice you should have a better idea on what you want to build or the right deal on a trike may come along while you're still working the engine. At that point, you can reassemble the engine and focus all your effort on the bike or trike's frame, wheels, brakes, etc, and the engine will be there waiting when it's time to install it.
I'm currently working another China Doll engine in my spare time at the shop, no hurry, when it's built it's built type timing... don't have a bike for it, but once the engine is built, or somewhere during the process a good deal on another bike should come up.
Then I got another bike but it's a full suspension aluminum frame mountainbike so I'll most likely just harvest the good usable parts off it for the finished product... This bike I got because the guy wasn't using it anymore so I traded him an oil change on his truck for the bike... those are the kind of deals I'm talking about when you're not in a hurry etc...
 

Ludwig II

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2012
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Steel welds, brazes, even solders together. There are different grades, so you can choose what is appropriate to a job, and it's widely available.

I like steel.
 

abdullah

New Member
Apr 11, 2015
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fsd
Someone on the forums has made a double engine setup before.. Lets see if we can find it!
 
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