Bumstead wants to build a Gas powered Trike

3

3rdWheelExtra

New Member
I'm a 51 year old disabled guy, and I'm a bit tired of being stuck on a quarter acre.

I've got some moderate balance problems, so driving is now out of the question. On the other hand, all my friends ride offroad on the railroad right of ways in my area. So a gas powered trike seems like it might be a good solution.

Not interested in speed, so I'm looking for something that will have good torque, but max at about 10-15 mph.

Local bike store recommended I look into Worksman Trikes, due to the heavy duty drive train and wheels.

I'm interested in the PAV,

http://worksmancycles.aitrk.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/pav3.html

which has a flipping arm chair for a seat. Harder for a dizzy old man to fall out of... It's semi reclined so I'm not sure it's suited to having a engine mounted. The engine is necessary because, I only have about 25% strength on my right side.

I'm still in the early stages of researching this idea, so any suggestions for a better trike to build on would be appreciated. Needs to be a setup that would be hard to fall off of. Rather not be strapped into the thing. Worksman PAV seems to fit the safety parameter at least.

Total newb on the topic of mounting a gasoline engine to anything. **** I'm a total newb on gasoline engines. But since I've nothing else to do and internet access, I figure to learn.

Trike would be a significant investment for our family. My disability just came through, so I have a little bit of money to spend, but I'd like to keep expenses down as much as possible. After a couple of years without an income, there's a long list of places to put money.

So, anyway, with a budget of around 1200 bucks can I get anything useful built?
 
3WE,
Welcome to the forum. I like everything about that Worksman trike other than the price. Ouch. On the other hand, it looks like it would be just the ticket as an electric trike. Steve has some expertise in that area. I know it adds more money than your budget allows; I'm just trying to think what would suit you well as a nice, stable ride that would be practical, safe and reliable. That could be set up with an electric front wheel and batteries in the basket deal behind the seat.

Question. How handy are you? Or do you have family members or friends who might find a bike project interesting? My thought is that what is so great about the Worksman trike is the seat. But I suspect you could buy the seat by itself from Worksman. If so, then it means with some adaptation it could be mounted on most any trike which would drop your investment quite a bit. And I would think that in California a used trike in good condition would not be that hard to come by. It's a thought!

A few questions:
Where would you like to be able to ride this... in town, be able to go to the grocery store if you want? I get the idea that you are out in the country and mentioned a railroad track (I'm guessing the tracks are gone). Would you also be able to ride on streets?

How big are you?

How much trouble is it to pedal? Can you pedal at all? If you had gears could you pedal some to assist? This makes a difference on how you would start a gas powered trike (some are pedal start) Whether or not you'd be able to pedal assist from a dead stop or on hills.

Electric trikes have great torque and the speed you're looking for would not be a problem. Their limitation is in how far you'd want to go on a charge. A few miles? Twenty miles?

However you go you want to have this be a reliable and fun ride and as close to your budget as you can make it. The Worksman eats up almost all your budget at the beginning. If we could use a different trike and start out at around $300.00 then that leaves a lot of possibilities for either gas or electric. So the seat is an issue. I'd find out if that seat from Worksman can be purchased by itself. If not, what else might work? Figureing a way to mount it to the seat post on a regular trike would not be all that big a deal for anyone who can weld. If you can't, someone else can. Even a new Schwinn 3 wheeler with a different seat would make a nice ride, I would think. There's a way to do this within budget, but not with the Worksman. Either we need to get creative and resourceful or need to find more money. I'm not good at finding more money, so tend to figure another way around the problem.

Lot's of good folks here, some of us disabled, too. You're in good company.
SB
 
I've been looking on craigslist and I saw a worksman with the upright seat setup for two hundred bucks. I'm not stuck on the PAV, just like the low center of gravity and the wide seat. I also particularly like the reputation for toughness. This thing needs to be tough enough to last because we won't be able to just go out and buy another one.

I'm messing about with disability back pay. But you know, it been two and a half years since my last paycheck, so there's sort of a list of stuff that needs to get done. I have a wonderful wife and she's insisting on the trike first. :)

I'm 6'1" 230 ish. Not particularly breakable, just sort of newly careful.

I'm handy enough to do something like this (I think. It's probably more important that I'm determined to figure it out.), and yeah I've got some friends that would enjoy helping with this. One friend has mounted an engine on his bicycle. He tinkers with the thing constantly (looks like fun) which is what set me to thinking. (I'll be doing the build in his shop, with his help.)

I can come up with more cash. 1200 was to get the engine and get it mounted and ready to ride. Sorry I wasn't more clear on that. The trike isn't part of the budget. But I've been eating through the family's resources for a couple of years now, so if ingenuity and creativity gets me there, great.

Also not in any big hurry. Much rather enjoy building it and be able to get it right, than just toss a crap load of money around and roll up in my shiny ride that someone else built and I have no idea how to maintain. See what I mean?

Never bothered to learn this stuff, now is a good time to give it a go.

I can pedal but need the assist. Mostly for stamina reasons. I don't like the electric option, because they are more expensive and the range limitation wouldn't work for me. I'm hoping to do trips in excess of fifty miles. Also, I really have this yen to play around with gas powered engines.

I figure I can do a pedal start. I don't really want to have to get off the bike to start up. But if that adds too much to the price, then I'll get off and pull start. Pull start will probably be harder for me than pedal start though. I'm right handed and weak in that hand, so pull start doesn't sound like a lot of fun. More like I'd end up having to ask someone to start it for me, which is sort of unacceptable.

We have a lot of abandoned railways around here, tracks have been removed so they are essentially rough gravel roads. Access can be a bit tricky, but nothing that a trike with good torque couldn't handle. And they are open to the public.

I can ride on the roads, but have this morbid fear of hooligans throwing beer cans at me. :) I'll likely overcome this as necessary.

Completely open to suggestions. Like the idea of saving money. But more interested in building a stout solution that will last a couple of decades with proper care. Figure that actually saves money over the life of the trike.
 
3WE,
Well that helps to clarify things a lot. Electric is out due to range and expense. So, you'll be going with a gas engine and it sounds like pedal start is a good option for you. A three speed for the pedal chain would give you easier pedaling to start it, so that would be a plus. A 200.00 worksman is a good deal! Does it have a drum front brake? 3sp? Stopping is as important as going! I would think that with a modified seat and a China girl engine, rear sprocket setup for driving the axle... you could come in under the $900.00 the new Worksman would cost.
Any difficulties with the left hand for operating the clutch?
Good to hear that you have a biking buddy already familiar with this stuff and friends who can help out, too. That really helps bump the fun part of this. And you're going to have a whole lot of fun! I have not yet done a trike, but will. Down the line I expect more trouble waling as I have Guillane Barre Syndrome (like polio). If it get's worse I will need three wheels.
There are no doubt good build threads to explore on adapting a trike to run from a China girl engine... what you need to do to the axle, etc.
The two stroke China girls are more fussy to keep going well. It can be done, however. Four strokes are more reliable. You might be surprised at how easy a 79CC or 99CC four stroke Predator engine is to pull start... not a lot of resistance and two or three pulss gets them going. They are very reliable. Something to consider anyway. They have them on sale at Harbor Freight regularly for $99.00. A four stroke could fit under the basket behind the seat. I was just thinking that the pull cord could be longer and routed so that you could pull start the engine sitting down. Just a thought.
I'd suggest looking at other people's trike builds for ideas and inspiration. And feel free to ask questions. Someone will step up to the plate who knows more than I do. Good luck!
SB
 
If you are not in a big hurry you can wait and see how my trike project turns out as I am building it for a guy in almost your exact position.

I have this new 7-speed 24" Kent trike here now. $500 delivered.
Nice trike, front shock and V brake, rear band brake, seat back, and it feels and looks very strong.

yhst-131534770732890_2239_10934665360


It is getting this 36V 960W center mount electric system. ~$800.

CaddyNumbers.jpg


The controller and motor will mount to the back of the seat post in that small triangle cavity and tie into the new dual sprocket freewheeling front cranks so the electric can use the bikes 7 gears, or you can just pedal as the motor has a freewheel sprocket, or a combination of both.

This is the mechanics of how the motor ties into the bikes pedal system.

ElectricCaddyRmiddle.jpg


The motor will just be back and under the seat so nothing is in the step-through center cavity.

I am just waiting on the bottom bracket (pedal crank assembly) parts ~$120 to come in and I can mount it up.

What I can tell you first hand about this type of electric system is I absolutely adore it. My main personal ride has been that Cadillac with a NuVinci internal hub and at 53 myself perfect for my needs.

It is so clean and odor free I can park it anywhere inside and just plug it when not in use, when I need it I just unplug the charger, flick the ON switch on the throttle and twist the throttle and I bolt way in virtually complete silence and can go as fast as I care to which is considerably faster than you want to go and have torque up the poop chute if you know I mean ;-}


Anyway if you aren't in a hurry I should have this wrapped this up in a week or so and will be taking pictures and running tests so you can judge for yourself but let me put it this way...
I build all sorts of high end gas powered bikes for a living and always have something really cool here to ride but will take the Electric Caddy most every time.
 
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I have an American Triped I put a small motor on the back of ...seats two but you're too far away I think
 
Here's a few pics of the $200 Worksman I'm looking at.

The setup looks really clean, practical.

If I can swap to a wider seat, this might be a good alternative to the expensive PAV. Be really nice to build the thing for around 1000 bucks.

I'll keep thinking about the electric option. I like stealth aspect of it. Doesnt' draw so much attention when you are using the power plant. But my main concern is that I'd be pretty limited on range. I'm a ways out of town and figure I need the extra range for the trike to be really useful.

My left hand is fine so operating a clutch with that hand won't be a problem.

Would you folks mind looking at the worksman pics and seeing if you think I can mod it to work?

I'm gonna email Worksman as see if the armed seat is for sale separately.
 
3WE,
No pix came through.

KCVale,
That's a nice looking trike. I'll be following your build on it.
SB
 
Hmm. I may not be allowed to link.

Anyway, I found a Worksman PAV3 for 600 bucks. Prolly not the stretch frame. I wonder how much difference that makes?

I'm four inches over the max rec height for the non stretch frame.
 
3rdWheelExtra said:
Hmm. I may not be allowed to link.
Click to expand...
Just type the URL with the whole http:// on a fresh line and hit enter, this forum converts them links when displayed like this.
http://KCsBikes.com
That's all there is to it.

$200 is a good price for 3 wheels if they are all good.
What I mean is just be careful with used as sometimes they end up costing more than new to fix or worse yet you have to change bikes after all the work you did to get motor on plus the time to take it all back off and re-install it on another bike.
 
Okay, first I'd like to thank everyone for the feedback.

Helped me feel a lot more confident during the first stage of this project.

Keep in mind that this seems like a pretty complicated thing to me:

I know very little about gasoline engines or trikes.

So the information I've gathered here turned a fairly intimidating process into something much more simple.

So thanks.

:)

Now, I've made progress. Yesterday I picked up a Worksman PAV3 for 600.00 bucks. (craigslist) Yellow, but it's gonna be repainted anyway. (another thing I want to learn how to do)

I wasn't able to post pictures here earlier, I'll see if I can't track down the reason why, resolve that problem and post some pics of my new trike (and a rather large American bulldog.)

Remarkably, the trike was an hour from my house and was the stretch version. In fact the thing had every option, including the 3 speed recommended here, that I wnated. Except rear fenders, which I'll order from Worksman.

Fairly bizarre set of coincidences involved. Maybe you'll be interested.

My dad's name was Arvin. My middle name is Arvin. The only time I've ever seen the name Arvin was on an old tube radio created by a company named Arvin. The car that carriend my grandmother to the hospital to deliver my father had a radio in it named... Arvin. My grandma was notorious for putting things off. While on the way to the hospital she panicked because she realized she hadn't yet picked out a name for the new baby.

Arvin.

Grandma was a music lover and I dont' recall a time when her house was without a radio playing in the background. People are so wonderfully strange sometimes.

Only seen the name once... until yesterday. The trike was located in a town named Arvin. Exactly what I want, 'cept for the fenders, Saved around 800 on the bike and 250 on the shipping.

Thanks Dad.

This thing is fun to ride even without the motor. I've been stuck in chair for over two years, so I'll tell you frankly that I was excited as Christmas. I'm pissed cuz it's dark and I can't ride it. :)

My legs are pretty sore. But I'm grinning.

As it happens I have this American Bulldog. 130 pounds of high energy. So, I put her on the leash, hop on the trike and she takes me for a walk...

She needs training, in safe locations, but now it seems that I have another power plant for the trike...

Still gonna do the motor, she can ride on the back or run along side. Felt bad that she never got enough exercise. That's gonna change.

Looks like there is a lot of room under the seat. But then I don't really know what engine to mount or how big it is.

Not sure how to proceed from this point. I'm gonna take some pictures and measurements in the morning.

I'd appreciate some input on the best way to go about mounting the engine. The Staton kit will work according to Worksman. But I'm not terribly fond of it.

I don't like how it sticks out the back and consumes cargo space.

Since this is my first try at something like this, I'll need to keep things simple and bullet proof. So, I may end using the Staton kit to serve that more important requirement.

But perhaps you folks have some better ideas?
 
3WE,
I'm sitting here smiling as if I'm the one who got the trike. Way to go!

By any chance is your bulldog named Arvin? As a kid my family had an English bulldog named Butch. Dumb as a doorknob, but was a lovable if slobbery friend.

We'll be looking forward to photos. No doubt opinions and suggestions will follow. I agree on the Staton... kinda sticks out there. No great rush since you can't ride it much now anyway, This is the time for creative staring and research so you pretty well know just what you want and a good idea of how to go about it or at least start.

One thing, though. We're gonna want a picture of Arvin? pulling your trike. Where I live is sled dog country, with teams pulling a dogsled over frozen lakes and forest. Dogs like to run and some of them love to pull. You might want to do a little internet surfing to see how harnesses are set up, or even buy one. She'll learn "gee" and "haw" in no time. You'll be like Sgt. Preston of the Royal Canandian Mounties (without the snow) chasing down evil claim jumpers. Ha! (I listened to that show on my grandparent's radio some sixty years ago. I can still hear the hero's voice calling out, "On you huskies!")
SB
 
My dog is a purebred, bought just as we went over our own personal fiscal cliff.

I have this incredible wife. I fixated on getting a dog after the operation and being laid off... Months of research. Finally I settled on the breed. Then I spent a month or so checking out a variety of breeders. Always something wrong. One was obviously a puppy mill, no reason to support folks like that. Other I just simply didn't get the right 'feel'.

After awhile I found a place a couple hours from my house. When I drove up I saw this huge dog in the back playing with one of those donut tires you stick on to get you to the place that's will fix your flat.

The rim was still on and this female was flipping this tire and wheel at least six feet in the air. Growling like Godzilla. Sounded like a nightmare. Pretty cool, right?

So I go inside and the guy obviously doesn't want to give up this last pup of the litter. His wife just as obviously doesn't want another frenzy of energy bouncing off her knickknacks.

So, he brings this pup out that's about the size of my hand. Promptly bit me on the finger. So I gave her, her first name.

Widget.

When she was about nine months old I was walking her along this route we'd travel daily. Roosevelt Utah, really damn cold. I was still able to get around fairly well at that point so, we spent a good bit of time walking along this small river that ran right throught town. Thing was chock full of beaver, which rather remarkably came as a shock to every single person I mentioned it to. No one appeared to know about the beaver. Strange.

So we are walking just after the first freeze and we come to the river and Widget goes bombing toward it, full out enthusiasm at all times.

Well the river has frozen except for a couple foot wide strip down the middle. So Widge goes bounding toward the water for a customary drink and suspicious sniff at all that water, hits the ice and slides right into the water. Which is moving pretty good, 5-8 mph at a guess.

Before I can even start to panic her head pops out and she grabs the edge of the ice with her front paw and heaves herself right out and up the shelf of ice. Leaving like four inch furrows in the ice.

I can tell she's a bit freaked out. So she comes running up to me, give a huge shake, which essentially turns to snow and is damn near completely dry.

I bend over and pet her sort of weak kneed with relief. "Good girl"

So, she flips around and jumps right back into the river.

Just to prove she could do it on purpose, I guess...

Dumb ass dog. Reminded me of those Jackass movies. You know hillbilly punch me in the stomach idiocy...

So she got her second name.

Bubbachili

:)

Just after she turned two I was walking her, where we finally ended up. We were living in an RV park at that point, and I'd take her out and sit a the picnic tables while she'd run.

So, I'm sitting there and she's run off somewhere and I look over my shoulder and a couple of dogs are kind of sidling up behind me. Sort of rough looking, and I really didn't like the look of them much.

Bad problem with strays around here, they end up killing a lot of pets and doing other kinds of mischief. So, I'm looking around for a stick.

One of them kinda looks at me an that upper lip curled back. And that low warnings snarl that sort of curls your hair came out.

No way, this was gonna come out good.

The Widge comes blasting over this little hump, she'd been down messing about in the pond and was cover in moss.

I don't think she bit anything, but she ran right through both of those dogs. Under one, lifting it completely into the air and flipping it on it's back. And right over the other one. Sort of squashed that one a bit.

Pretty good surprise attack, completely routed the enemy.

She thought it was a joke.

That's when she got her third name.

Slaverfangs.

Uber drooly

:)
 
Great stories! Sounds like quite the dog. You may need to figure out a trailer for your biker girl. She gets to ride sometimes, too, don'tcahthink? My dog loves going for bike rides. I used to use a bike trailer until last summer when she got a sidecar made from a Grumman canoe. She likes that mo bettah! Made up a pair of doggles for her to wear which she is now used to. Too many dragonflies in the air to risk putting an eye out. I think somehow she knows she looks super cool sitting there with her ears lifted up by the wind... like some kind of movie star dog. Ha!
SB
 
silverbear said:
Made up a pair of goggles for her to wear which she is now used to. Too many dragonflies in the air to risk putting an eye out. I think somehow she knows she looks super cool sitting there with her ears lifted up by the wind... like some kind of movie star dog. Ha!
SB
Click to expand...
This cool?

2903279784_cd2d1bb20f.jpg


Hehehe ;-}
 
That's a cool dog and bike alright, but my biker babe is Aaniimoosh The Wonder Dog, star of stage, screen and bark radio. (Movie star dog!)
SB
 

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