First Thoughts
After much thought -- detailed below -- this is the first drawing. Must apologise for my "artistic skills", or lack thereof.
This is supposed to represent a three seater ( two at the rear, one at the front). The frame is based loosely on a Phoenix layout, and the front, single, seat should be a little further back, so the backrest is between the feet of the pillions.
The lump at the back is the engine and that pipe the exhaust -- though I have no idea yet as to where that is going to go!
This is supposed to represent a three seater ( two at the rear, one at the front). The frame is based loosely on a Phoenix layout, and the front, single, seat should be a little further back, so the backrest is between the feet of the pillions.
The lump at the back is the engine and that pipe the exhaust -- though I have no idea yet as to where that is going to go!
Initially I had the choice between a bike engined trike and a car engined trike. All sorts of bikes are used and some are just bolt on conversions so easy peasy.Trouble is I have always fallen off bikes and my co-ordination twixt clutch and gear shift isn't what it should be!
Car engined beasties also come in all shapes and sizes. The most popular are VW engined ( at the rear) and Reliant engined (where a bike engine would be). Being me, I wanted to try an auto box as opposed to manual --- a lot easier when manouvering in town traffic. That kind of limited my choices .... VW semi auto boxes are out there, but as rare as rocking horse pooh, Reliants are manual or manual and most other auto engines have a large auto box aft of the engine which, although a popular option, means a large, mean, beastie .... not to my taste (nor, more importantly, will it fit in my garage). So I decided to drop an auto A Series lump where a VW flat four would go.
Having chosen the power and transmission, thoughts then turned to seating. Initially I was going to go for a two seater, with rider and pillion in tandem, bike style. There are, as ever, numerous combinations, but I looked mostly at the Phoenix style fibreglass bodies, designed for VW engined trikes. Although specifically for the VW flat four the A Series engine isn't that much larger and I am sure that the body work could be suitably modified to clear the engine. However, the VW engine sits to the rear of the axle and the A Series to the front (one of the reasons I chose the A Series, because the weight falls between the wheels, as opposed to hanging out over the back. This, to my mind, gives a more stable weight distribution and removes the problems caused by too light a front end).
Car engined beasties also come in all shapes and sizes. The most popular are VW engined ( at the rear) and Reliant engined (where a bike engine would be). Being me, I wanted to try an auto box as opposed to manual --- a lot easier when manouvering in town traffic. That kind of limited my choices .... VW semi auto boxes are out there, but as rare as rocking horse pooh, Reliants are manual or manual and most other auto engines have a large auto box aft of the engine which, although a popular option, means a large, mean, beastie .... not to my taste (nor, more importantly, will it fit in my garage). So I decided to drop an auto A Series lump where a VW flat four would go.
Having chosen the power and transmission, thoughts then turned to seating. Initially I was going to go for a two seater, with rider and pillion in tandem, bike style. There are, as ever, numerous combinations, but I looked mostly at the Phoenix style fibreglass bodies, designed for VW engined trikes. Although specifically for the VW flat four the A Series engine isn't that much larger and I am sure that the body work could be suitably modified to clear the engine. However, the VW engine sits to the rear of the axle and the A Series to the front (one of the reasons I chose the A Series, because the weight falls between the wheels, as opposed to hanging out over the back. This, to my mind, gives a more stable weight distribution and removes the problems caused by too light a front end).
Austin Trike Vs Phoenix
This is the Austin Trike I have the plans for. Not big on style but has been designed as a no frills easy build. Looks very "mini Servicar".
This was going to be my first choice, however, Thunderace from BTW came to the rescue with an offer to design something a little more to my liking.
This was going to be my first choice, however, Thunderace from BTW came to the rescue with an offer to design something a little more to my liking.
This is the two seater Phoenix ... By the way ... by "Phoenix" I am referring to the bodies and frames made in the UK, not those magnificent US beasties!
And this the three seater version ---- a close contender for my trike.
In the end I plumped for a custom design by Thunderace, with the metro power plant and ,, erm two .. no ... THREE seats ( I think!).