a1bummer Posted August 21, 2008 Share #1 Posted August 21, 2008 What rearends are a good choice to build a trike with out of a 1st gen? What gear ratio? What are the pros and cons to a trike as apposed to a hack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hipshot Posted August 21, 2008 Share #2 Posted August 21, 2008 What rearends are a good choice to build a trike with out of a 1st gen? What gear ratio? What are the pros and cons to a trike as apposed to a hack? GOOD LUCK, on this one , Bill! i have been trying for two years, to get someone to "shell out" this information. several here, have "talked about", building their own trike, but never seem to do any follow-ups. i'll be watching this thread real close. just jt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1bummer Posted August 22, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted August 22, 2008 TriWing states that they use a Ford 7.5" rear end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon_One Posted August 22, 2008 Share #4 Posted August 22, 2008 Tri-Wings Ford axle is inverted and then shortened. Standard gearing is 3.43 as opposed to the factory gearing on a 2nd gen at 3.03. They will also supply a 3.73 gearing if requested. Which is the same as a VMax gearing if I recall correctly. Anyhow I've found that the 3.43 is just about perfect . Not to high on the revs but low enough to compensate for the extra weight of the trike. At a true 70 mph the tach on my bike is reading 3600 rpm. Hope this helped. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hipshot Posted August 22, 2008 Share #5 Posted August 22, 2008 Bill , if i'm not mistaken, "muffinman", bought a toyota SUPRA rearend, and said it would be perfect for a trike. ain't heard a peep out of , about it, since then. just jt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicco27 Posted August 22, 2008 Share #6 Posted August 22, 2008 a1bummer We are building our 1986 1st gen trike our selfs with IRS, The rear end is out of a 91 Cougar (7.5 Ford 3.31 ratio) flipped over so it turns the right direction, we are using P235/50/15" tires & the Cougar wheels. I am hand fabricating the frame trellis system, and the reverser, and the IRS W/coil over shocks. We will be mounting a TriWing DX Cruiser body to finish everything off. I would be done by now if my busy season hadn't interrupted me (Vicco Marine Repair) one has to eat you know. lol. Eventually I hope to post all of the photos of the project. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooldood Posted August 22, 2008 Share #7 Posted August 22, 2008 If we could find Fred Vogt, he'd be the one to ask... he built his trike (and I think he's out traveling the country with it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1bummer Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted August 23, 2008 Not sure what I want to do for sure with it yet. If I used a rear end out of a car to build a trike, it would be nice if a guy could find one that already had disc brakes and one that part would be readily available for. I was thinking something out of a small foreign subcompact or chevette or similar. I'm gonna have to do some digging to find out how heavy a Ford 7.5" rear is. I wonder how much weight will be hacked off narrowing it and converting it to disc brakes. Another thought was to find a small front wheel drive like a VW or the like with TDI and an automatic to meld to the rear of the bike. Years ago I had an 84 VW Rabbit w/diesel that got about 45 mpg. If I got rid of the cage holding it down, it should do even better. Another thought to the diesel was to run Bio-diesel through it. That would make it ecologically sound as well as economical. The other thought was to simply add a hack. Don't know if I'll ever be able to do any of it, but it is running through my head a lot. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakota Posted August 25, 2008 Share #9 Posted August 25, 2008 A guy over on the Virago forum used a old jeep rearend. I'll see if I can't find it and give you a link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikenut Posted August 26, 2008 Share #10 Posted August 26, 2008 On MY 86 yamaha venture when I triked it with Tri-Wings kit 3 years ago I went with the 3.24 gear in the 7 1/2 ford rear end they use. The sock gearing 3 years ago from them was 3.08 but I told them I pull a trailer almost all the time and they said to go with the 3.24. Mine works great and gas mileage with the trailer is betweem 35 and 38 all the time. I love mine as a trike but use it very little now because it is for the future when I can not ride two wheels. I am running a 06 Venture right now. I have about 10,000 miles on the trike in three years. Hope this helps Bikenut:thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rottdoglover Posted October 29, 2008 Share #11 Posted October 29, 2008 I've built 20+ trikes in the last 30 odd years. From VW to V-8 to shaft and chain drive. The little 7.5 Ford is good all around. Cheap, strong, parts available. Just remember, it's not just simply turning the rear end over so it runs backward. The gears were not set up to go backwards for any length of time. You MUST (and I mean MUST) set the mesh (lash) of ring and pinion on the back side of gears. First time I thought that little gear whine wasn't much to worry about. IT WAS. I thought I just got a bad rear end and did the same thing AGAIN. Then sought help. Set 'em up right and they will last. Also, when you flip the axle, the pinion bearings that used to be below oil level are now high and dry. So now you need to make a filler plug high enough these bearings run in oil. I just drilled diff cover and welded in a pipe fitting that took a threaded plug. Currently I have an independent rear end from a late T-bird laying around, and I think my 88's 92K mile rear is starting to whine. Yup. That's my story to the Mrs. and I'm sticking to it. Good luck to all you trikers. Free on 3!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladyrider Posted October 31, 2008 Share #12 Posted October 31, 2008 I think I could stick my rearend of a trike and drive it, but some folks think that is a bad idea for THIS widow...I mean, even if I just rode it back and forth to town to catch some air, twad be SWEET! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Owl Posted November 1, 2008 Share #13 Posted November 1, 2008 Not intending to hijack the thread but.... Sherry, Ran into a widow last summer. She was on a Gold Wing trike. She told me she got the trike after her hubby was killed in a MC accident. She had over 90,000 miles on the trike and she said she had covered every state (except Hawaii) and all of Canada. So, IMHO, just blow off those who tell you not to do the tike route and go for it. Then you could start getting out to the M&E's and meeting whole bunches of folks. BTW: Like your new avitar. And all I can say is that if you can't get hooked up with someone decent in your area, there has to be something definately wrong with the guys in your area. Or it's as they say. All the good ones are either already married or gay... Okay... back to your regular programming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipop Posted April 17, 2009 Share #14 Posted April 17, 2009 MY Hannigan kit uses a ford thunderbird rear end upside down and Honda cv joints, brakes and rims. 2005 RSV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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