diy elio rwd enclosed trike ideas
 

Hello all, I didn't know what forum to post this in. I have a 97 600cc ninja I want to convert to a fully enclosed rwd reverse trike. the first mile of my commute is a gravel road so I have stopped using my ninja on rainy days and I live in Washington. I have no welding experience but have wanted to learn for a long time. I would love some points in the right direction.

You could try this as something to start with and then improve and add to:
Homebuilt Trike: the Xzilarator

I was thinking about using a Honda Silverwing scooter as the basis for one of these. But it would probably work better for that if it were built slightly reduced in size.

I like the idea, but I am thinking more like a single seat or front back seating.

Tandem seating will allow you to really reduce your frontal area.

Something more along the lines of the Riley Tri-Magnum, I think, would suit the performance potential of the Ninja, but it's a bit on the heavy side for such a modest drivetrain. It's not that I think the engine isn't up to the task, I'm sure it is. But it might cook the clutch in short order.

There are a number of designs out there. The Ridley is a proven design using VW front end. The weight comes from the front axle and the welded frame. A composite Aluminum honeycomb frame would be lighter and not require welding. The foam and fiberglass body could be replaced by a skin of 0.060" ABS. There are a number of paper model plans that could be adapted.
For just an all weather single seater, streamline the bike as Vetter did. Add doors and a canopy, windshield wiper, different gearing, and Maxxis dual sport tires.

There are several options for canopies. Blue Sky Designs and Zzipper are popular sources.

Wouldn't you consider another engine for such project? Either a single or a twin would provide a low-end torque output more suitable for a trike.

Look into the California Commuter. It was built in the 1980s as a high mileage project and set some Guinness Records for fuel economy. It's built around a modified Honda S90 engine and is pretty basic, but a good starting point for ideas and development. I bought the designer's instruction book with plans, intending to build it with a few modifications. My commute has changed but I am still considering building an all composite electric version. His website is Doug Malewicki's patented inventions and engineering involvements..

I saw one made out of an aluminum unistrut type material. Looked like an erector set. I think that stuff is pricey. I also have thought about going the other way and take a totaled rear ended small fwd car and make it into a trike with tandem seating and a tapered aero body.

I have already considered to build a single-seating enclosed reverse-trike with a Honda Cub engine.

The very difficult part of any custom vehicle such as this is the body.
It is very costly and time consuming to make one.
If you see the end results of a lot of these projects, the body ends up rather poorly done if ever actually finished with a body. The good news is I should have the Indy One available 'soon', which makes building such a car almost 'easy'. :)