Slow progress but progress (DIY two seater tadpole trike, 9hp Honda diesel)

[freebeard]

:thum bup:

I was going to change the steering system but that just would not give my 6 feet and 205 pounds enough room... My head is behind the second roll bar and I have 4 inches of head room barely enough to wear a helmet.

Is that because the steering box is ahead of the torsion bars, whre rack and pinion would be behind it? How about a 'Gurney bubble' with a built-in periscope rear view mirror??

I wish I still has a Popular Mechanix that I used to do. (??) Anyway, it had a picture of a WWII Jeep that had the canpy of a B-17 grafted on. Which was awesome.

But just look at the nose of the A-20:


Maybe you could have a piece of laminated safety glass in a horseshoe shape (like Bugatti) followed by a blown plexiglass bubble, like the bulletproof part of a jet-plane canopy. With one tiny litle wiper.

[deejaaa]

like this one?
Gussying up the MB Jeep | Hemmings Daily
here's a few more bubble tops:
bubbletop | Hemmings Daily

[sendler]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

It's coming along fairly well. I changed the engine to a 2011 CBR250r.

It will be interesting to see if you can better the 90 mpgUS I get with that engine in motorcycle form.

[freebeard]

This one's the closest, but it had the V-windshield from the B-17.

(the '62 bubbletop Chevy and the '57 Eldo are among the sweetest rides ever)

[user removed]

Originally Posted by sendler

It will be interesting to see if you can better the 90 mpgUS I get with that engine in motorcycle form.

A great point. Does the improvement in CD compared to the stock CBR250R, more than offset the increased frontal area. If the cd is .15 and your bike is probably, .50 or more, even in a tuck, then my 3 times frontal area wins. If not then the bike wins.

It doesnt matter.

The vehicle can not fail unless it never becomes roadworthy. That failure is mine, if I keel over with a heart attack tomorrow and die. it will never see the road, other than that "sword of damocles" it will see the road as long as I am capable of finishing it.

I like bikes, ride frequently and admire your dedication to the 250R. I ride a GZ250 when it's warm enough for me, cost me $650 with 3300 miles, has Metzler tires on it and is a blast to ride.

This vehicle when finished will provide me with all weather capabilities. I don't ride in the dark or rain, if I can avoid it, because I don't need to do that, it's much higher risk with my night vision which is no where near what it used to be.

This build is kind of a transition between car and motorcycle. Like a first gen Insight, 2 passengers only, but considered a motorcyle. It may not even require seat belts, just a helmet, doesn't mean I can not use both belts and helmet, just that I will have to use one of them.

My first concern was safety, second was aero, third was creature comfort, with many others of decreasing importance, but best fuel mileage was almost in the top three.

regards
Mech

[jime57]

OM, have you investigated registration and licensing. I "think" you might be able to pass it off as a motorcycle if you keep enough of the motorcycle frame and the serial number. Just wondering.

[user removed]

In Virginia 3 wheels means motorcycle. The State Police Inspector looks it over for safety and proof of purchase of "major" components. Then they will issue a VIN number and you get a title.

I've built a trailer from scratch and a 49 Plymouth on a Nissan truck frame with a 240z engine. It was titled as the car but I had title to the frame and the engine was bought by my old business. That satisfied them but the key was I had title to the 49 Plymouth.

I don't see any insurmountables. The remaining question is how they categorize it. If considered a motorcycle then I can operate it freely. If they categorize it as a "specialty vehicle" then it has the same operational limitations as an antique car which means 250 mile radius of operation and not daily driven-ridden.

I'm going for option 1, but if two is the best I can do, so be it. I'd say the odds are 90% I'll be able to operate it as any motorcycle.

Someone earlier asked about the windshield. I already have it in lexan, plus the rest of a 4X8 sheet for the gullwing doors and some more next to my head when in the driver's seatfor side and rear visibility.

Picked up all the rest of the stuff I need to get it running, basically all intake, fuel delivery, electrical, and exhaust, air box, emissions, instruments. The radiator and fan are at my youngest brothers house,waiting for me to get there.

regards
Mech

[user removed]

Met my youngest (53) brother yesterday for lunch and to pick up the radiator-cooling fan. Cost me $116.50 including shipping, hit 58 MPG in the Fiesta driving there, mostly 55 MPH and I 64 at 60-65 MPH. Lots of pulse drafting.

He was remodeling and old house for the city of Hampton, been doing it 25 years. He is tough as nails. he was ripping off the old aluminum siding which was 8 inches wide per face. It had a nice curve to it so I took a piece and I could bend it (lengthwise) to the same curve as the rear upper section of the trike. I have been looking for something to use to cover that upper section for a while and this stuff was perfect.

The price? Nothing.

Edit, here is a photo of myself taken last year just before a ride in a SNJ, otherwise known as an AT6 Texan. Pop flew one 70 years before I got to ride in this one, with an ex Navy carrier fighter pilot. Lots of fun.

regards
Mech

[aerohead]

Shame that the original composite teardrop ADF antenna housing was replaced with the fin-type antenna.The original was a paragon of aero virtue.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...sonville_a.jpg

[Xist]