Rick, I was picturing one of those easy lift chairs in the trike so I could get in and out of the seat. Wish I'd started building these bikes twenty years ago.
Steve.
Steve.
Old Guys Simplex moto-peddle bike
- Thread starter indian22
- Start date
How 'bout rigging a "climbing" harness Steve & coupling to a small electric overhead winch in the garage to assist entry and exit. (multiple fail safe devices advised) and as for me; I'd have so many bikes built I'd need an extra storage warehouse to house them all, as I'm almost to that point already.
I'm planning to co op a build with a young friend who has a passion for the early moto bikes. My plan is to design the bike and gather all the necessary materials along with fabricating any additional parts required and then assist with the initial fit up and tacking the whole together. He is looking for a unique, one off motor bike, at least unique to this area, something he won't run into at the local shows or on the street. Which especially means different from one of mine! That works for me as well.
He owns a nice industrial fabrication shop & has good TIG/MIG skills and some really nice metal fab equipment, so I've no doubt he just requires a minimum amount of assistance in getting it all together, then final setup. At this point I have the 212 Predator and a 3 D clutch ready to go into a build if that works for him. Rick C.
I'm planning to co op a build with a young friend who has a passion for the early moto bikes. My plan is to design the bike and gather all the necessary materials along with fabricating any additional parts required and then assist with the initial fit up and tacking the whole together. He is looking for a unique, one off motor bike, at least unique to this area, something he won't run into at the local shows or on the street. Which especially means different from one of mine! That works for me as well.
He owns a nice industrial fabrication shop & has good TIG/MIG skills and some really nice metal fab equipment, so I've no doubt he just requires a minimum amount of assistance in getting it all together, then final setup. At this point I have the 212 Predator and a 3 D clutch ready to go into a build if that works for him. Rick C.
Definitely Curtis, I hope he's willing to go with the Predator 'cause I've really been itching to try the Predator with the 3 D clutch setup on a peddle bike. This one has the gov. removed and 18 lb. springs installed & oil fill for vertical mounting. Stock hp, with only a Mikuni carb as an upgrade, mainly for looks. I do plan on chunking the motor shroud and installing an ARC billet flywheel and going peddle start only. I don't do pull starts. I don't know if he is in a rush to get started, but it's ok if he is. As I see it the V twin sidecar shouldn't slow work on his build. I'm old but I can still order parts as fast as he can write the checks lol. Take care my friend. Rick C.
I 'll double check, but think it's a Mikuni 24. I still need to fab or find a manifold for it though.
Something I forgot to post was that he is really interested in having a side car for this bike & that as much as anything got my attention....he mentioned the bullet style Enfield as his favorite early style car & I think that shows great taste on his part!
Something I forgot to post was that he is really interested in having a side car for this bike & that as much as anything got my attention....he mentioned the bullet style Enfield as his favorite early style car & I think that shows great taste on his part!
Harold I finally have the dimensions on the Ruff forks and the inside width at the drops is only 4" so I'm glad I didn't order a set as these would be ruff to alter the width. The design of the forks I ordered may not be any wider but far easier to modify for whatever width is required (4.5" minimum). The Ruff is however a very nice fork.
My forks cleared customs in N.Y. yesterday. Rick C.
Thanks Curt the Predator is not a Hemi, but I'm pretty sure there are more performance and dress parts available for the tin hat Predators. Rick C.
I don't know what I'd have to do to get in and out of a low trike but I'm pretty sure we could sell tickets for the performance.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the bike your friend wants to build. It would be nice to see more sidecar builds that's for sure.
Steve.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the bike your friend wants to build. It would be nice to see more sidecar builds that's for sure.
Steve.
I'll take a ticket to that show Steve! I've finally collected my thoughts on the fantastic electric recliner & I'm now certain it was the great work of KC Vale. Since the photos of so many great builds have been lost in the photo bucket fiasco I've not wasted much time looking, but hope his were not caught up in the madness and lost as so many have been.
I give credit to those responsible for upgrading this forum recently, especially in the area of uploading without a re-size each photo...big improvement.
The Predator build with sidecar could be fun, but the ball is now in his court at the moment. I've given him several options...his decision. At any rate eventually I'd planned to use the 212 cc & 3-D clutch in a wide drop Sportsman Flyer frame (no sidecar planned) if he bails on the proposed sidecar project that will be my next build after the V-twin/ swing arm bike/sidecar, but since I only build one offs I won't be fabricating one for him & one for me using the Sportsman frame. There are lots of drawbacks to just getting started on a build with other individuals. I hope he decides to just let me design something cool and leaves it at that. Rick C.
It was KC vale who built a really nice trike that was a bit of a recliner. He's pretty computer savvy so I'm sure he got the photos on the site without using photobucket. They keep sending me a $10 off offer. Probably a good thing they can't hear my offer to them.
When I was building reproduction antique furniture I would build something for sale when things weren't busy. People couldn't understand why I wouldn't build another one to their specifications. Each one was unique and used period correct wood with hand made hardware if the originals weren't available and when someone bought it they could be assured that it was the only one.
My answer to people when they offered me a down payment was that I didn't need one. If they didn't like it when I was finished that was fine because I'd have at least one other buyer when before it was finished and probably more. No one said no when they came to look at it.
The odd part of that is that a good friends of mine now lives a few hours away from me and we both are 2,700+ miles from where my shop was at the time. Their antique shop was about a block away and he'd stop in about every day so he saw what I was building. They are now licensed antiques appraisers and 3 of the pieces I built have been appraised by them. They were given a long story about the family history of the furniture.
They enjoyed it immensely and never say anything of course.
Steve.
When I was building reproduction antique furniture I would build something for sale when things weren't busy. People couldn't understand why I wouldn't build another one to their specifications. Each one was unique and used period correct wood with hand made hardware if the originals weren't available and when someone bought it they could be assured that it was the only one.
My answer to people when they offered me a down payment was that I didn't need one. If they didn't like it when I was finished that was fine because I'd have at least one other buyer when before it was finished and probably more. No one said no when they came to look at it.
The odd part of that is that a good friends of mine now lives a few hours away from me and we both are 2,700+ miles from where my shop was at the time. Their antique shop was about a block away and he'd stop in about every day so he saw what I was building. They are now licensed antiques appraisers and 3 of the pieces I built have been appraised by them. They were given a long story about the family history of the furniture.
They enjoyed it immensely and never say anything of course.
Steve.
Glad I recalled it correctly, and thought you'd be able to verify, credit to KC Vale...good work & I'm sure he is up on tech.
Great story Steve & mirrors my feelings on building for others. Even in areas of repair my thinking is drop it off and pick it up, how it's done is up to me. A co op build on the Predator may be doomed to failure because of my attitude, but some parts are in hand so the concept is alive. I have no real reason to build for hire, I can make more money in far less time doing what I do. The only reason to co op is to be building something interesting. I don't need another bike V twin, Predator etc. and I really don't want either...I just like to build.
You are obviously a craftsman at heart so I've no doubt your work of old is worthy of authentic validation by experts and your Indian tri-car is an extension of that creativity. Rick C.
Great story Steve & mirrors my feelings on building for others. Even in areas of repair my thinking is drop it off and pick it up, how it's done is up to me. A co op build on the Predator may be doomed to failure because of my attitude, but some parts are in hand so the concept is alive. I have no real reason to build for hire, I can make more money in far less time doing what I do. The only reason to co op is to be building something interesting. I don't need another bike V twin, Predator etc. and I really don't want either...I just like to build.
You are obviously a craftsman at heart so I've no doubt your work of old is worthy of authentic validation by experts and your Indian tri-car is an extension of that creativity. Rick C.
I'm late to this thread but let me chip in on the 'assistance getting in and out' trike theme. One of my more recent builds was an Aero Cycle Car MG3 - a replica Morgan 3-Wheeler (see pic). This project took up four years of my free time and the fun I had building it was immesurable. This thing drew a crowd everywhere it went but the big drawback was clambering aboard and exiting with dignity intact. Shoe-horning oneself into the cockpit was relatively easy, but squiggling up and out was a lot more tricky. After much practice, I learned what was required, but my wife Jen never could get out without me lending a hand - and that was with the passenger side compartment being six inches wider than the driver's side thanks to the offset prop-shaft running back to the rear wheel from the Moto Guzzi LeMans 1000cc V-twin mounted up front and centre). Kind of spoils things when you pull up somewhere then end up becoming 'the entertainment' whilst exiting a ride, lol.
Forgot to mention.... from early on during my MG3's build, I figured a pop-off quick release steering wheel was an absolute must-have. Without one, it would have been nigh impossible for me or any driver to get in or out. When I sold the MG3, one ahem, 'portly', potential buyer rode with me for a test drive and it took us 20 minutes to get him out of the passenger seat. He didn't buy it...
Pete with wheel removed I'm seeing that even an Old guy could fit; if he was & also save himself the indignity of dismounting his transport without crawling on his belly like a reptile. Also a deduction in auto insurance premium might be in order, with the additional theft deterrent of wheel removal. Rick C.