Honda Powered Twisted Trike
May 28th, 2008 by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider"
With all of the trike interest these days, here’s another take on a 3 wheeler. Put a 1000cc Honda inline 4 motorcycle engine into a TIG welded tube frame built just 2 tubes short of SCCA specs, add rack and pinion steering, Wilwood brakes, 6 point harness, Momo F1 type steering wheel and what do you get? You get what the boys at Twisted Trikes call a UDO, an Unidentified Driving Object. The body is carbon fiber and kevlar, the whole thing weighs 650 pounds and is within 10 pounds of equal weight on all three wheels.
For those looking for near sportbike performance with the stability of three wheels, here’s an idea. The build took one and a half years of spare time work. Looks like time well spent.
More photos and link below:
Link: Twisted Trikes
See also: Motorcycle Powered Cars
Posted in Motorcycle Builders, Three Wheel Motor Vehicles
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25 Responses to “Honda Powered Twisted Trike”
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May 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Great looking ride - but would it be road legal? ’cause track days can get expense.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:40 am
And then I followed the linked provided… and it is street legal (maybe not in Alberta, Canada).
May 28th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I’d like to see this done with a GL 1800 powerplant. Now THAT would be something to have…
This is very cool, and interesting though…
May 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
dave Says:
May 28th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I’d like to see this done with a GL 1800 powerplant. Now THAT would be something to have…
With a blower, Dave?
May 28th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
That’s the most ridiculous piece of non engineering out there. Look at the way the front bike shocks are tilted inward to decrease the spring rate. Very economical, but I cannot even imagine the bending loads on those dampers. Why they didn’t take the time to design a proper pushrod system is beyond me.
That’s the first visible shortcut. I hope the rest of the vehicle doesn’t contain similar…um…engineering. These guys could kill themselves.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Chris, the shocks pivot on bolts at both ends; no bending loads. This is a common application for shocks.
This looks like a lot of fun and quite a bit of work (and engineering) went into it. Yep, in California and many other states the DMV and highway patrol would consider it a CBR1000 with a side car. Perfectly legal.
-todd
May 28th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
This looks awesome, I want to either buy one of these, or build it. The Can-Am Spyder is a good start, but a little too snowmobile-ish for me.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I love every angle of it, except the rear lights. What the bloody hell were they thinking?
May 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Hawk says:
With a blower, Dave?…
Hells YEAH! Or maybe twin turbos…
Actually, I’d take the whole frame assy off an 1800, and build the ‘trike’ around it. Single side swingarm, shaft drive, yada-yada…
seems like you know who I am, Hawk… ?
May 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I’d prolly two-up it as well…. Fighter-plane style…
May 28th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
You have to watch out when your mounting spherical ball joints out of position. (EX. front control arms) They are not meant to be loaded that way. Good Luck.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
“I WANT ONE NOW”
May 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I would LOVE a few laps round my local track in one.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
My memory could be wrong, but I recall that three wheel vehicles tend to be quite weight biased towards the front two wheels.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
the engineering is pretty sound, unlike the armchair critics these guys got off their butts and did something
congrats it looks like an absolute blast
May 28th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
it looks like a great start and i wish the
guys lots of luck with their project.
any ideas on the aero balance on this puppy?
personally, i think that they have a long way
to go to catch, say the t-rex. or a ‘busa
powered super 7. however, neat stuff.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Very close to the same layout I’ve been playing with. I really love this design.
I’d like to see some more body work around the engine, a formula 1 style scoop for the intake, and the exhaust shortened and hung under the bike (like a Buell).
And please, please remove those tail lights. I can think of dozens of options less hideous than those.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:16 am
I love the basic idea behind this trike. It would be a huge pain to make a four-wheeled track car road legal, but subtract one wheel and a whole lot of hassle goes with it.
Sure, it may not be up to the latest safety standards, but I say that anyone who is ballsy enough to take this thing out on the highway deserves the chance to. Besides, track safety gear is really good at protecting the driver, as long as you don’t hit a tree, or a sign, or oncoming traffic…
May 29th, 2008 at 4:54 am
geez! I know too late I shoulda gone to tech school instead of college. shoulda learnt welding!
I like this better than the can-am spyder.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:26 am
You can always learn to weld - and get a set of Indycycle plans….
May 29th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Of course the shocks pivot at both ends, but mounting them at those extreme angles puts the bending moment right on the seals. I understand why they did it: to decrease the spring rate and gain more travel. But it is a really bad approach. The falling rate of that suspension must be insane.
Rest assured, the engineering is not sound. You want to see a well engineered, well fabricated trike, check out Joe’s http://www.lehighvalleychoppers.com.
Personally, I’ve never armchaired anything. Have a look at my website: a scratch-built car and two cafe racers that were virtually built from scratch.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
we’ll differ but thanks for the link very enjoyable
May 31st, 2008 at 9:35 am
Do you guys know the SportCycle?
http://www.sportcycle.info/
Its a very similar vehicle, and it seems to be older.
I just believe that it only needs a better design…
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:41 am
2 tubes short? They did that on purpose.
Anyone think we’ll see a future for full-blown trike racing?
The concept seems sound, the use of fuel would not be as demanding depending on the powerplant, etc etc
Plenty of ppl can make their own too!
I’m new to Kneeslider and I have to to say, I like all of the brains I’ve seen represented on here and its great to have a place to rationally discuss with other ppl such things as these.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I agree with Justin R. There are a lot of talented people who visit this site and other similar sites. Hat’s off to Paul and what he brings to all of us. You/we all have to remember, when WE put our product out to the public for viewing or for sale, it is going to be looked over with some talented eye’s. The word “GOOD” or well “ENGINEERED” are some very big words, depending on what your describing. There are some very, well meaning people, who do not have the experience on certain builds “basic engineering 101″ who think their product is just fine. Sooner or later, we all eat some humble pie. I am not directing this to anyone in particular. It is for all of us who build anything. Take the views from all of us, who take the time to post a comment and learn from it. Joe