Indian Tadpole

GoldenMotor.com

RicksRides

Member
Feb 22, 2012
864
6
18
osceola IN
Sb, hope you're feeling better and the bars ,uh, I mean bears didnt get ya.
I'm glad you guys like it. I think you'll like the sound it produces. Not your typical chainsaw noise, lower and slower. We all know the jokes bout how 2 strokers sound. Honnnn daaa, Kawaaa saaakiiiiiii and then there's the Indian tricar I'mmmmm noooot ped linnnn noooo mor. or is that Steve?
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
113
northeastern Minnesota
Hanging in there. Bears are never a problem. As the local Ojibwa (Chippewa) say, nisiiyeemukwaawug (ni sigh yay muck wah wug) meaning "our elder brothers, the bears". Respected relatives, in other words. I mean that literally. They are honest. I'd rather have bears for neighbors than most two leggeds.

Good to hear about the engine exhaust. One thing I never liked about the China girl engines was the irritating exhaust noise. Too rinky dink sounding for my tastes. Sets your teeth on edge. Lower is good! When it warms up and I'm feeling better I want to get mine started... see if it sounds like ajidamoo the red squirrel or mukwaa the bear. Might even sound like the throaty growl of maaingan the timber wolf. That would be good!
SB
 

curtisfox

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2008
6,067
4,017
113
minesota
Am i missing something here! I see a about a 1 1/8 th inlet? but don't see a outlet.Got a shot of it?...............Curt

Yes the bigger the pipe the deeper the tone..........Awesome
 
Jul 15, 2009
594
1
0
waukegan IL. U.S.A.
Well it just proves that great minds think alike.... I cant wait to get some picks of my latest build ( a delta trike or tadpole) silver for some reason i was thinking about your style when putting the idea together . Maybe it was my buddys dog sitting on the seat (hes a dead ringer for the wonder dog) or the fact that old indians are one of the coolest things ever.... I am trying to defeat the high center of grav issue by having the bars go up and down rather then rotate left to right , forcing the rider to lean into turn.
A stock tank looks really good on the frame (first time for everything) but the more i look at the old indians ,the more i want to fab a tank like theres? I'll try a get some pics on here asap.
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
113
northeastern Minnesota
Well it just proves that great minds think alike.... I cant wait to get some picks of my latest build ( a delta trike or tadpole) silver for some reason i was thinking about your style when putting the idea together . Maybe it was my buddys dog sitting on the seat (hes a dead ringer for the wonder dog) or the fact that old indians are one of the coolest things ever.... I am trying to defeat the high center of grav issue by having the bars go up and down rather then rotate left to right , forcing the rider to lean into turn.
A stock tank looks really good on the frame (first time for everything) but the more i look at the old indians ,the more i want to fab a tank like theres? I'll try a get some pics on here asap.
Jim,
Oh good, another different tadpole to look at and learn from! So good to see you posting, too. I don't understand about the up-down business, but pictures will no doubt tell a lot. Yes, old Indians are so cool.
SB
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,464
4,946
113
British Columbia Canada
Well it just proves that great minds think alike.... I cant wait to get some picks of my latest build ( a delta trike or tadpole) silver for some reason i was thinking about your style when putting the idea together . Maybe it was my buddys dog sitting on the seat (hes a dead ringer for the wonder dog) or the fact that old indians are one of the coolest things ever.... I am trying to defeat the high center of grav issue by having the bars go up and down rather then rotate left to right , forcing the rider to lean into turn.
A stock tank looks really good on the frame (first time for everything) but the more i look at the old indians ,the more i want to fab a tank like theres? I'll try a get some pics on here asap.
Welcome to the club. It's nice to see it expand as more people join us.
I did see a report written when the tricars were new about how they handled and how fast they would go as well as what could be improved. I wasn't able to get a link to it and now can't find it.

The top speed was 18 mph and I would think that is about as fast as you would want to go with a trike. Having the handle bars pivot left and right would cause the person steering to lean in the direction they are steering.
Are you going to have a rod go down to a bell crank and then have a rod from the bell crank to the steering? Very innovative no matter how you do it.

What style of tank are you thinking of building? If you or anyone else would like copies of the patterns that I made for my build please ask. They are not fantastic but they are a start that you can modify to suit your needs.

Waiting for photos when you get a chance, like everyone else.

Steve.
 
Last edited:
Jul 15, 2009
594
1
0
waukegan IL. U.S.A.
Thanx for the welcome , i had too step away from building lately and it's real nice to be back at it. The tadpole is coming along nicely but aRRRRRRGh i cant say the same for photo shareing apple vs the world . I been trying to get pics posted all afternoon and am starting to think the thousand words is easier....
I am useing a central pivot (vertical plane ) and a cam and cable conifg to force the rider into a lean (slight but effective) when turning. Were right a the point of fabing all the cable mounts and guide ons . Some of this stuff will make your brain hurt if u stair to long.... Im running 20 inch front wheel and rear 26 w slick (2.21") .so far just a coster brake but i used bike necks for the forward wheel pivots so there may be a way to get a front (x2) brake going aswell ? The other nice thing with this design is the forward crossbarr is a great footrest and letts you "stand" on the wheel you want to weight when cornering.
I'll try and use dropbox or something and gett a pic up ....
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,464
4,946
113
British Columbia Canada
The hubs for the tricars are coming from England. Found a chap over there who makes them and they look right for the period. I ordered one set and they looked good so I have a second set coming and axles for both sets. They are set up for discs which aren't period correct but will stop us quickly if needed. I have to figure a way to get the calipers on the steering arms but that will have to wait until the new year when I get back at them.

Cables for the steering was my other guess. Reverse engineering these things are hard enough but to do what your doing building something from scratch that hasn't been done before can on a build like yours is a mind bender of epic proportions.

Can you post photos on photobucket or one of the others and then post a thumbnail on to the thread?

Steve.
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
113
northeastern Minnesota
Or... I'll send you a PM with my email address. If you can email your photos to me I'll translate them and post them here... with credit to you of course. Then people can ask about such and such in the pictures and you can respond.
SB
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,464
4,946
113
British Columbia Canada
Came through fine here as well. The peanut tank does look good doesn't it. I'll be interested to see how the steering works out. Are you going to use bike brake cables for the steering or are you going to use motorcycle brake cables which I think are heavier?

The spindles are a clever idea. The steering will ride on the bearings and move smoothly without binding as you turn. What are you planning to use for a motor?

Very much looking forward to following your build and I hope we can see more photos.

Steve.