A Few Questions Before The Big Build.

[moondoggie]

Hello everyone! I plan on building my custom trike off the AtomicZombie Gladiator Trike plans http://www.atomiczombie.com/Gladiator Phat Ass Chopper Trike.aspx and I just have a few questions.

Everyone tells me I need to build it low to the ground for more stability, so it won't capsize on me when I turn. Can someone explain this better? Maybe some tips?

I like the sounds of a 4-stroke, the long term durability, performance and ease of use at a gas pump. One thing I don't like is the orange on black finish and the plastic looking material of every 4-stroke. Is there anything else? 2-strokes at least have a metal finish and are nice looking motors, are we stuck with a plastic looking lawn-mower model. Hear of any kit sellers that have metal 4-stroke kits or am I stuck repainting?

Are there any performance upgrades for a 4-stroke?

Where would I put the 4-stroke on the trike? Will I have to stick the motor on the back of the trike or is there any modifications to the frame I could do so it can sit mid-drive?

**Update**
The two places I wanted to buy an engine from advised me against it due to shape of trike and overall presumed weight. Can anyone suggest a vendor that supports tricycle's?

 

[Luz74]

I'm really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your phorum. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice phorum like this one nowadays..wishes you all the best

 

[moondoggie]

Two hundred and sixty-seven views and I get a compliment on forum structure. Thank you nonetheless, indeed it can get a bit hard to sort through some threads and pick out what they were really talking about. I wish I could get some more answers though.

By paid theme do you mean the tricycle? if so then yeah, you have to buy the DIY plans and follow the pre-made theme or customize it yourself.

 

[JonnyR]

if you need a engine there is a flood of good 4 strokes on E-bay right now at great prices good chance of geting one for under $100 shipped

 

[dracothered]

Many here have stripped off all the plastic and went without it. But sometimes when you do that you also have to do other work like remove the fins on the flywheel and modify other things.

This one I think is all metal covers...

 

[fasteddy]

moondoggie,
I've been kicking around whether or not I could add anything to your build question and thought I'd mention this.

First I'd pick a motor and build the bike around it. My thoughts are a pocket bike or scooter motor would work best simply because they are long and lean and will fit nicely in between the the frame rails or hang below them. You wanted a 4 stroke and I don't know who makes them so it's a search and hope mission.

The frame is where you use what they suggest and bend it, literally, to suit you and what you want. The axles are a constant meaning that they are governed by the fact they are in the middle of the wheel so no matter what you do they will be a certain height from the ground. You can lower the frame below that to lower the center of gravity so you sit lower and have less chance of tipping over. Hope that was understandable.

The wheels you use will play a large part in the build as well. The 26" vs 24" or 20". The lower the wheels are, the lower the frame is , the lower the motor is. The fat freddys that they had on one of the builds are wild and take time to build but to me are a perfect choice.
You can bend the frame down to lower the seat. Nice part of doing your own build.

Hope that I was some help to you and you get this build underway. We'll all be watching

Steve.