3verve
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| posted on 19/11/09 at 11:27 PM |
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Advice needed - newbie - VFR400 NC30 to trike
Hi all
First of all, great forum and you all seem to be very friendly and helpfull bunch - therefore me joining the forum.
I have been pondering over the idea of converting my VFR400 to a 2F1R tribike/tricar/Reverse Trike (gosh - there are so many names for these).
I am not quite a newbie at working on cars but the VFR was an impluse buy suggested by a friend and I desp need a project to work on and would like to
utilise this very good handling bike.
Have access to a very good TIG welder friend, and he can source any size of stainless/galvanised steel pipes etc.
From a complete newbie standpoint, where do I start? I could really do with some advice on what to do.
I have made sketches etc and searched various designs and the one I really like is
this - a smaller version using the 400cc on the VFR400 NC30 would be ideal.
directions please? I'm a bit lost .... tilting would be nice but with the design in the link I'd be happy with a cruiser three wheeler
which may be modified at a later stage to take on a bigger honda engine (a bit of a Honda Nutt here!)
Many thanks in advance for all your inputs and guidance.
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ReMan
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| posted on 19/11/09 at 11:32 PM |
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Hi and welcome.
I'd be inclined to leave the good handling bike as it is, rather than buid it to an underpowerd trike.
Do one from scratch with a bigger engine if you must to avoid the worst of both worlds?
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mark chandler
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| posted on 19/11/09 at 11:33 PM |
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I had a VFR400, great little bikes, only thing is that you have to work the gears like mad when its just carrying itself, think you may be better off
with a 600cc as a minimum.
Good VRF's are now getting collectable... must be plenty of bandits etc that you could pick up that would be more suitable.
Regards Mark
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3verve
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| posted on 19/11/09 at 11:40 PM |
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Thanks guys. a biker friend did advised the same. VFR400 is indeed a very rider friendly bike and can keep up with most 600s but yes you have to rev
the hell out of it.
Would it be better to build a Trike from scratch or are there any suitable older bikes I can get for the type of trike I'm hoping to build?
Chassis design ideas? (that i can ermmm copy  )
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skodaman
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| posted on 19/11/09 at 11:55 PM |
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Stunning handling little bike. How can you think of turning one into a trike. As already said they're not that powerful in a bike so with
extra weight of a trike would be a bit slow and u'd have to rev it a lot. Also the clutches aren't supposed to be that strong though I
never broke it on mine. I did break the clutch casing but that's another story.
Skodaman
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woolly
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| posted on 19/11/09 at 11:56 PM |
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quote:
Thanks guys. a biker friend did advised the same. VFR400 is indeed a very rider friendly bike
thank G for that
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trikerneil
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| posted on 20/11/09 at 05:07 AM |
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Hi
My experience is only with 1F2R Trikes.
I think you would be better with a larger engine, something with bottom end grunt rather than buzzy top end power
I have seen many successful CX500 and Goldwing Trikes.
Have a look at Rorty's plans HERE.
Although not strictly the design you are after I would have thought that they would be a good starting point.
You may also find some help HERE at the UK Triker forum.
Best of luck with your build.
Neil
ACE Cafe - Just say No.
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MikeCapon
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| posted on 20/11/09 at 08:14 AM |
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Nooooooooooooooo! Don't do that to an NC30. A little jewel of a bike.
There's plenty of other bikes you could use. What about a written off 750 or 800 VFR. Same unburstable V4 but with power and torque.
You're not going to need the front end so a write off would be ideal.
I did some work with this guy if you want some inspiration look at his site:
Ludo Lazareth
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02GF74
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| posted on 20/11/09 at 01:20 PM |
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here is your donor engine sorted:
 <--- clicky
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3verve
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| posted on 20/11/09 at 10:18 PM |
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thanks for all your replies.
I guess the first mainquestion is which 800-1000cc engine is known for reliability. I can pick up a CBR1000 (1989) for a £1k but not clued up on if
the engine will be suitable for that.
If you guys can recommend some engines in the 800-1000cc range that are highly reliable (i.e. can eat miles if maintained well), then I can research
for specs, and sources to get from.
I am aiming for a steering wheel Trike, with a car racing Bucket seat in it. Some additional thoughts would be to design the chassis similar to that
of Atom.
One thing at a time .... so please please engine recommendations.
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dinosaurjuice
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| posted on 20/11/09 at 11:24 PM |
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take a look at:
vf800 trike linky
it was built, tested, registered, insured and taxed for less than £2.5k!!
its possibly on the long side, but that just adds character 
the 800cc V4 is OK, but a bigger/newer engine would probably be better.
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3verve
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| posted on 21/11/09 at 12:01 AM |
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that's ideal .... nice nice .... thank you for the link - bookmarked 
£2.5K is all good ...... where are these guys?
I wish there were more details as to the width and lenth of the chassis (or calculations for higher stability and faster cornering) which hubs they
ended up using for the shock assembley to mount that way. Also noticed that they used the standard car tyre on the rear along with the hub and some
fabrication.
My aim is to go for a single seater ... just me - selfish me but 2 seater like that would be nice too. however would still prefer to go for a single
seater smaller trike than that.
thanks for link again ....
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dinosaurjuice
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| posted on 21/11/09 at 12:12 AM |
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the rear swing arm was custom made from chunky box section and uses a ford sierra rear hub with sierra handbrake caliper.
The front uprights/hubs are ford cortina.
steering rack was from a ford granada, and has 100mm extensions either side. its quite wide as well as long!
with a full tank of fuel it weighed it at just under 400kilos at Msva.
Hes had it on the road for a few months now, so im sure theyll be an update on the website soon.
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3verve
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| posted on 21/11/09 at 12:51 AM |
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is there specific maths to the chassis calculation.. most car specs seem to have width as 2/3rd of length. have no clue what the Y trike measurements
would be - or where to begin.
These parts you quote should be easy to source.
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3verve
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| posted on 21/11/09 at 01:08 AM |
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would it be a crazy idea to:
1. use the existing bike chassis with the front wheel and forks removed
2. #1 welded to the a new chassis which is for a single seater with 2 front wheels
3. rear wheel with handbrake hub as used in the RG triclone
That way, the items remaining on the bike to move will be the clutch, new brakes setup all around, accelerator, and speedo.
am i mad??
[Edited on 21/11/09 by 3verve]
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ReMan
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 12:19 PM |
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cbr1000 engine should only be be £250
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Steve Hignett
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 12:44 PM |
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Since the OP posted this, I've been searching for that photo of the trike outside Ace Cafe, that someone posted on here...
Not been able to find it though 
It was matt black and it had fairly hefty rear wheels, and prob wasn't 100% kosha/legal 
Anyone know where it is???
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designer
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 01:16 PM |
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This the one?
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=107622
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Steve Hignett
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 06:57 PM |
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Hell Yes!!!
Thanks very much, that is one lovely trike!!!
I think I may do something similar to that in a year or two, when I've got over the shock (and lack of money!) a baby brings!
quote:
Originally posted by designer
This the one?
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=107622
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3verve
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| posted on 22/11/09 at 11:47 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
cbr1000 engine should only be be £250
Would that be with everything else such as TB's, radiator cables etc?
Sorry if I am asking a lot of questions ... if it was repairing a car or bike, I'd just find the manuals online and get on with it some minimal
advice but this is all new.
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