Drift trike build

[CabezaBlanca]

In for this awesomeness!

[txpitdog]

Kind of a double post from my other thread, but here goes anyway. Just wanting to make sure our plan of attack for finishing the frame and getting the axle set is a good approach. I’m mainly worried about the axle getting bonded because the frame comes out of square due to heat distortion during the welding.

I plan to set the hangers right on the centerline of the frame rails and then do all kinds of measuring and cross measuring to make sure the axle will drive the trike straight. Instead of tacking the hangers on the left and right sides of the plates, I will tack them on the front and back edge, along the direction of travel. I’m hoping this will prevent any possible heat distortion from pulling the hangers one way or the other that might cause the axle to bind.

We would then go back and finish out all the welding on the frame and then weld the hangers in fully. My strategy is to slowly increase the rigidity of the frame and the support for the axle by tacking everything then adding small welds all over, eventually welding the thing solid. Hopefully we can get this thing built without introducing any distortion.

So, here’s my question: am I doing this right? Lol. Any warnings or other things to look out for when finishing out the welding or frame? We try to go slow and move to different corners and sides to let the metal cool and to weld the project evenly, but we are definitely in uncharted waters with this trike. Appreciate any guidance or recommendations.


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[kparker158]

If youre not already on it, there is a facebook group strictly about Motorized Drift Trikes with over 13k people. Probably lots of useful knowledge in there. Im looking forward to the build!

[txpitdog]

Alright! We got the wings cut. Had two helpers tonight. My daughter held a second light, and my son kept the workpiece square to the miter as we pushed it through the portaband. The SWAG table is definitely useful, though I would say the semi-“one size fits all” design leaves some of the cut angle accuracy left to be desired. I could shim it and get it dead on, but I’m currently too lazy for all that. I’d really like to get a dry cut saw, but we’ve done fine with the portaband. Now, let’s not go into asking any questions about the fit up, mkay? Let’s just be happy that it’s recognizable. It isn’t so bad that several hours of grinding and possibly some re-welding can’t fix, lol.

I watched a video yesterday where someone made a drift trike using the same crappy harbor freight tubing bender that I didn’t trust for this project. Definitely would’ve been easier, but ours will be heavy duty and won’t ding if one of us loses control and careens into a stop sign.

So, tomorrow we will tack it up and get it to hold. Then we’ll flip it over to mount the axle hangers. I hope to provide a pic with the axle in place tomorrow, but we’ll see how homework and housework goes.




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[txpitdog]

We’re going slow but trying to do a little each night. About a half hour of shop time after homework. Little more progress tonight. Got the wings tacked in. Some of our angles are slightly off, and the fact that we skipped the whole “how to scallop the end of a pipe that’s been cut to a 45” issue, means that we’ve got some welding to do. I may try to cut some shims to fill the gaps then just really lay into it with the wire. I dunno, we’ll have to see how it goes.

My original thought was to tack the wings on then tack the axle hangers on with the axle and bearings installed. But that axle is pretty heavy, and I didn’t the the tack welds would support the weight. We did a good job of keeping the frame from potato chipping, so I think we’ll just weld it out then deal with the axle.




I need to go ahead and order the wheels, tires, and sleeves. We’ve got plenty to do, but I need to get all that so that we can set the front end at the right angle to keep the frame parallel to the ground. I think it will ride about 3” off the ground, hopefully perfect for throwing your weight into a turn and breaking the back end loose.

I am curious about how the gear ratio and horsepower will work. 3600rpm, 5.4:1, and a 11” rear tire puts it at about 21mph top end but geared low. I’m not so worried about hauling *** as I am being able to hit the throttle and cause it to spin. We can always change the sprocket to another tooth count if we need more top end.


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[txpitdog]

Finished the frame tonight! Ok, we still have a bit of cleanup to do. One or two small correction spot welds, and yes more time with the flap disc. We’ve done good though. We got about 1/8” distortion in the wings, meaning both pulled up about 1/8” despite having gone slow and made even tack welds to hold them in place. It’s all good though, it’s an even amount of distortion on both sides, and all it really means is that our butts will sit 1/8” lower than perfect. But both cheeks will be evenly 1/8” low, so it’s all good.

I assembled the axle, I think I did it correctly. Gotta check before tightening it down. We’re going to use the axle and bearing plates to hold the axle hangers perfectly perpendicular to the frame. We just need to be super careful about making sure it’s lined up evenly with the front of the frame, and it should weld in just right.

Ordered the wheels, tires, and sleeves. Once we get the axle hangers in, we’ll be at a stopping point until the wheels arrive. We’ll use the height of the frame with the wheels mounted to set the front end angle. Then it should finish up quick...except for paint. Man, I hate painting.







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[TxHamJello]

Any updates?

[hpdrifter]

Any updates?

Turned into a snow trike!!!

[txpitdog]

Any updates?

We’ve got the throttle, rear wheels, tires, and sleeves held up in Houston waiting for delivery due to the weather. I’ve done all my research on wiring a kill switch, throttle and governor adjustment, and am fully prepared for the volume of profanity that will be required to get the tires on the wheels.

The axle is mounted in the bearing hangers and is waiting for final welding. There will be a number of small tasks that will take a little time, but it should go pretty quick once we get the rear wheels.

...and then there’s the dang paint. Man I hate painting.

[txpitdog]

Wheels, tires, and sleeves arrived. I’m a little concerned that the sleeves won’t go on, and boy will I be ****** if they don’t. We’ll see. First I gotta get the dang beads to set on the wheels. Got one side on each wheel but man that thing doesn’t want to set on the top side. It’s the long side of the rim so it has more resistance, but I ran both tires up to 70 psi and still nothin. Might just take them to a kart place and have them use a strap.

Hangers are welded in. 5 good welds, one unforgivable one. I guess I’ll grind it down and redo it. Got throttle grips but they came in broke. As soon as I get these back wheels set up, we’ll cut the bike and weld the front end in. Then we’ll have a rolling chassis.

[Big Lee]

Try using silicone spray instead of windex. I think it will help the beads to set. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this!

[UncleBubba]

I'm in, looking good so far!

[Archery1st]

Wheels, tires, and sleeves arrived. I’m a little concerned that the sleeves won’t go on, and boy will I be ****** if they don’t. We’ll see. First I gotta get the dang beads to set on the wheels. Got one side on each wheel but man that thing doesn’t want to set on the top side. It’s the long side of the rim so it has more resistance, but I ran both tires up to 70 psi and still nothin. Might just take them to a kart place and have them use a strap.

Hangers are welded in. 5 good welds, one unforgivable one. I guess I’ll grind it down and redo it. Got throttle grips but they came in broke. As soon as I get these back wheels set up, we’ll cut the bike and weld the front end in. Then we’ll have a rolling chassis.

Cool build! I've used a ratchet strap to get the bead to set.

[txpitdog]

Well yeehaw, I found a kart track nearby that said they will set the beads for me. I’ll try again tonight, but at least I have a backup plan.


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[hog_down]

pretty stinking cool! keep us updated