Drift trike build

[txpitdog]

Cool build.

Are those vertical plates that hold the axel bearing going to stay put?
Seems to me they might need some help.

They came with the axle kit, so I assume they’ll work. We welded them completely and on both sides. I suppose they could bend. We’ll find out.


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[txpitdog]

Chop shop tonight. Had hoped to get this done over the weekend, but my younger son and I did the euro mount of his first buck. We cut the Mongoose down with the plasma. Pretty clean job on the cutting, but I’m not sure I’m happy with the angle of the front end. The Dow tube is about 3” shorter than perfect, which causes the rake of the front wheel to be too long. I’m concerned this might affect the handling and reduce the drift capability.

So we have a choice. With the bike made of 1/16” and the trike made of 1/8”, the downtube is the weak point. We can use it as is and spend fabrication time making gussets and side supports to strengthen the downtube to frame joint. Or we can cut the downtube off and fabricate our own stronger one. As much as I hate to see my original idea not work, and to admit, more of the Mongoose was a waste, I really think we should accept the delay and fab our own downtube. We’re gonna sleep on it and look at it again tomorrow.

[Mofo]

That sprocket looks to be really close to his back and seat.... hope you put a guard on there

[txpitdog]

That sprocket looks to be really close to his back and seat.... hope you put a guard on there

We’re gonna do a bucket seat with a seat back and a chain guard. The bigger issue is the 1” of ground clearance between the sprocket and the ground. It’s all good though. If it’s too low, we can cut the hangers and use pillow blocks instead. That will raise the frame about an inch.


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[TxHamJello]

Have you thought about going a combo route on the downtube? Fabricate your own, that could sleeve with the Mongoose? Would that allow you to adjust the angle and length while adding the strength you need?

[txpitdog]

Have you thought about going a combo route on the downtube? Fabricate your own, that could sleeve with the Mongoose? Would that allow you to adjust the angle and length while adding the strength you need?

Matter of fact that was the first thing we tried. We slid a section of 1.5” tubing inside the downtube, and while that would work, it would only allow one point of weld. The section way up at the top inside the Mongoose tube would eventually wear and rate around loose.

My son had a good idea. We’re going to tack the Mongoose tube in and weld it secure, then roll the trike down the driveway and see how it responds to turning. I’m still leaning towards cutting the Mongoose tube and making our own. It would only be a 1 hour setback and would make the trike a lot stronger in the long run.


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[Chief]

First thing I would do is fabricate a guard for the sprocket, and then put another guard over that.... lol
Looking good thou.


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[SaltwaterSlick]

lengthening the fork tube would also raise the sprocket up some... Nothing says the frame has to sit level. It could have some rise in it too... Be a simple fix for ground clearance. Compensate if you like by putting offset tilt in the seat so rider is still level...

[Hoggslayer]

lengthening the fork tube would also raise the sprocket up some... Nothing says the frame has to sit level. It could have some rise in it too... Be a simple fix for ground clearance. Compensate if you like by putting offset tilt in the seat so rider is still level...

Rear tire size is the only thing that will raise the sprocket because it's concentric to the rear axle.

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[txpitdog]

Rear tire size is the only thing that will raise the sprocket because it's concentric to the rear axle.

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Ugh. You’re exactly right. Duh!

[txpitdog]

First thing I would do is fabricate a guard for the sprocket, and then put another guard over that.... lol
Looking good thou.


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Definitely gonna have a chain guard. And a driver’s seat that should provide further protection. I’ve got some diamond plate aluminum that I think will look pretty sharp for a chain guard. I haven’t ever welded aluminum but this will be the perfect opportunity to get the spool gun and argon bottle out.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Rear tire size is the only thing that will raise the sprocket because it's concentric to the rear axle.

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UGH!!! Serious brain freeze on my part... I saw it, but was thinking "front sprocket on a normal bike/trike...

Never mind...
But then again a smaller diameter sprocket if the HP of the engine is sufficient will get 'er to break loose quicker... n spin faster


I figg'r you've already done the math on the sprockets tho so again, ... never mind...

[txpitdog]

UGH!!! Serious brain freeze on my part... I saw it, but was thinking "front sprocket on a normal bike/trike...

Never mind...
But then again a smaller diameter sprocket if the HP of the engine is sufficient will get 'er to break loose quicker... n spin faster


I figg'r you've already done the math on the sprockets tho so again, ... never mind...

No you’re right. We’re just using the 54 tooth sprocket that came with the axle kit. We’re gonna see how it performs and decide from there. One option is to install a Stage 1 kit on the motor and go down a couple sizes on the sprocket. Really just need enough torque to spin the wheels on demand, and who doesn’t want a few more mph top end!

[txpitdog]

Oh yeah! She’s rollin’, baby! Woooohoooo! We made the tough decision to cut the Mongoose downtube off and fabricate our own. This basically means I both spent more money and ruined a perfectly good bike just for the forks and fat front tire. Certainly coulda gone cheaper, but we didn’t know it would work out like that.

So we cut the downtube off and cut two sections of 1.25” 1/8” tubing, which is the same material as the frame rails. We just eyeballed the joint angle for the base and then eyeballed it again for the join angle to the headset. The result? All angles completely wrong! Lol. I’m terrible with estimating angles, this is why I never play pool for money. We ultimately just held it by hand however it looked the best and tacked the two down tubes to the frame. Then because the bases weren’t flush, the heat pulled them out of alignment. So I pushed em back and that actually turned out to work perfect. Got them in place at the bases and then tacked the top together. Lots of murderously horrible welding and gap filling and we got the front end on...all jacked up. Because the fit up was, for lack of a better explanation...worse than what a blind monkey could do on its first attempt, when I tacked the headset to the down tubes, the heat pulled it out of whack. So, we had to cut it back off with the angle grinder and try again. Nailed the second attempt. Absolutely nailed it. Welded it in nice and solid, and a couple of fist bumps and high fives, because we have a rolling chassis! Filled the tires and rolled it down the driveway to test it out.

It tracks straight, it’s way stronger than necessary, and we absolutely hit a home run on the angle for the front end. She’s beautiful. We were all cheering and yelling out in the street as my son pushed it like a scooter and took it through its first drift around the corner. We took turns pushing each other, sliding 180’s and seeing how fast we could roll it. We live on a semi-busy street and had a couple stop as they drove by and check it out.

I gotta say, this is both the hardest thing and the coolest thing I’ve ever made. I’m flying pretty high today, and I’ll admit I feel like a badazz. I cannot wait for the seat and chain breaker to come in. Then we can finish it off and get to racing it around.

[txpitdog]

Here’s a short video of my son whipping the back end around. I think that Predator motor is going to have no problem breaking the back end loose.

https://youtu.be/eCyqAouHI28