Indian Tadpole

[DaveM]

Hi Steve,

I have finally taken my scrap steel to the steel merchant, I had to borrow a trailer from my friend Mike, his trailer has a cage attached. I made enough to pay for a sheet of plywood. My health has slowed me down, but I am almost ready to have another go.

Regards,
Dave.

 

[fasteddy]

Dave,
Glad to hear that you were able to get some plywood. I fully understand about the health issues.
For me, it just gets left until I feel like doing it and that can take a while.

Hope your feeling better soon.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Got a little more done on the springs. I bolted them together as well as the welding just to be sure. The ends are ready to be bolted on as soon as I can weld the tubing in that will be the bushing for the rod going under the seat and foot rest to hold the seat to the spring.

The seat will be ready tomorrow to have the rods installed so the springs can be mounted and in a couple of days, if it doesn't rain, I'll have the whole thing mounted on the tricar. Have to weld outside and I'm not wild about it being a shocking experience.

Click on the photo to go to photobucket.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Got a lot done since I was here last. The springs are mounted and the spring perches are ready to weld on the next sunny day we get.

Next week it's up to the machinist to get the front axles welded to the spindles and the the king pins made and then off to the bike shop to see if they can swap out the front hubs for the 20mm hubs with the disc brakes.

Here are photos of the springs and spring perches. Just click on the photo to go to Photobucket.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Very nice work, Steve. I know that a lot of thought and care has gone into this part of the project, but it is paying off big time. The upcoming work on the axle / king pin / spindle assemblies is going to be another leap forward. How were we to know when we set out on this venture what all would be involved? I guess that's part of the fun... the not knowing,, the finding answers and then doing it. Your camel back and my Hiawatha are going to be killer bikes. Looking forward to more photos and already getting itchy for summer to come.
SB

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

Wow ,it's just so nice ... I want one ! Alot like Dan i keep trying to think of bike born bizz ideas , the tri car idea would be a great people mover .
Cant wait to see how the spindles come out

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

Thought i post a little update of my tadpole project :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pzus6jf29s437cz/Photo Mar 17, 10 15 52 AM.jpg pic of frame
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5nvl11vnpyptid/Photo Mar 17, 10 16 00 AM.jpg pic of inspector
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wzmy4sfc9gyij2r/Photo Mar 17, 10 16 40 AM.jpg spindle from front
https://www.dropbox.com/s/onofjzbonm4b0gf/Photo Mar 17, 10 16 55 AM.jpg spindle from top
So far so good ,my favorite thing is the zero dollar cost thus far ! Now on to the stearing system?? Cables? Or uni joints? Not sure?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6yj3pbew1n0m4ut/Photo Mar 17, 10 16 19 AM.jpg
Back to work ,boss is looking...

 

[Mr.B.]

Yea Verily- Looking good!

-Kirk

 

[fasteddy]

Hi Silverbear,

We are going to be the coolest vehicles on the Bear Head State Park Road. I'm going to try and get the rest of the spring mounts finished today since it's too cold and windy to work outside.

I had to cut the springs down 5" since they were to long. Good thing that they were too long since the spring stretcher is broken and they don't know when the parts will be in to repair it.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Hi Shop Dogs,

Is "Inspector 12" sniffing out a problem? LOL. Sweet looking puppy and I recognize the, which hand has the treat, look.

Looking forward to seeing your tricar finished as well. They would work as a people mover and I've seen them with two passengers in front.

A lot of the cycle cars that were on the road in the early part of the 1900's had cable steering. These cars had up to 4 cylinder engines and more often high speed twin motorcycle engines. The cars that are still being used on the race track in Europe from that era still have their spool and bobbin steering as they call it. Still working a 100 years later.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Hi Mr. B,

Thank you.

Finally getting that warm feeling every builder gets when the project is coming together at long last. The part where you realize it wasn't just a dream.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

I imagine the dog asking, "Is this the bike you promised me? I get to sit up front?"
SB

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

Thats my dog son xerxes (zirk) ,110 lbs puppy! Hes tripple checking that the frame isnt eddible! And it's his job to be under foot or laying in the walkway ,when not barking at squriles. Alot of time he will run into the shop and demand petting and love ,then race off to bark at bikes on the trail behind the house. He can be a pain in the ass ,but makes me smile everyday.

The spindles on my frame took alot of trial and error to get all the angles right (and then the inverse) when fab took place ,but i think it's finaly right. So im looking forward to seeing how yours are done ?
I keep going back and forth on stearing ? I want it to work well ,but also be "simple" ?
Still up n the air ?
A buddy just finished a olds replica
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=45546
He loved the work on the tricar so much ,he may even learn to use the forum...

 

[fasteddy]

P.S.B.,
LOL. Triple checking that the frame isn't edible. Yes, they are there to be to be a pain in the tail feathers but nothing loves you like they do.

I set the king pins on a slight rear angle (caster) but there is no camber angle. They were very much still in the buggy and wagon era. I will build in the Ackerman steering where the steering arms angle meets the center point of the rear axle.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

I put the mounts on the springs to see how they would work and to line them up and hopefully tomorrow I can weld them on to the front axle but it's looking like rain and if it does it will be a day to go up to the city and visit the machine shop.

Here are some photo's of how it looks. I put a piece of tubing under them to make sure it was in line.

Click on the photo to go to photobucket.


Steve.

 

[Ludwig II]

I know there's the desire for correct period style and feel, but a little amount of camber would help reduce side loads on the wheels. I've seen spoked wheels that have collapsed from side loadings, they looked very unhappy.

 

[fasteddy]

Hi Ludwig,
I thought it over for quite a while before I put the front axle together. I have seen some very unhappy wheels as well even unhappier riders who lay there realizing that someone was going to surgically remove pieces of tarmac from their person.

I woke up face down on a hospital operating table just in time to hear a metallic clink repeated over and over. I gathered by the conversation that the doctor had never removed that many pebbles from anyone's back area, buttocks and legs in a rather lengthy career. I was able to inform him that it was my great sorrow that I was able to supply him with a first time of such a magnitude.

If there are any problems with the steering in the tricars I wouldn't hesitate to build new ones with camber built in somehow.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

We had a narrow weather window today where it was sunny and I got the spring pads for the seat welded on. Just as I finished it started raining and I pushed the bike back into the garage.
I'm going to stop into the local bike shop and see if they can switch the hubs and on Friday I'll go into Vancouver and get the spindle parts to the machinist.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Oh boy! That's looking good. Really coming together now!
SB

 

[fasteddy]

Interesting day today. First I stopped into the local bike shop were I've had good luck and asked the bike mechanic if there was any interest on his part in taking the wheels apart and putting the trike hubs in, in place of the Shimano hub that is in it now. I showed him the picture of the original Indian tricar and he was quite interested in it.
Brought in the wheel and hub I had in the van and he said no problem. We like a challenge here and it should fit without and problems so they get dropped off tomorrow on the way to the machine shop to see about getting the spindles made.

The other thing was my brother and I were looking over the springs on the seat of the tricar and and he was giving me the gears about not letting anyone heavy sit on the seat.
Now the kid is a belt buckle under 240# so I suggested that he could place himself in the seat ( in a very brotherly way mind you) and he would see that I was indeed right, so he did. Even with his rocking back and forth and a few slight bounces up and down it moved like a set of springs should.
I was of course very pleased.

A tip of the Fasteddy, Hat of Gratitude to Mr. B for suggesting how to do the springs. An absolutely winning idea.

Steve.