Monday, December 30, 2013
Silver Wing Conversion Kit
by Pastor Chet Smith chetnellen@gmail.com
Installation Manual
The reason for writing this manual is to describe the steps taken in building my trike. The purpose for building a trike was made evident, that at 78 years of age with a desire to continue riding, I needed more stability. I am the visitation pastor for our church and use my Silver Wing for over 90% of all my calls. Many weeks I drive over several hundred miles in calling on seniors and shut-ins that the only contact with the church is through this ministry.
I prayed about the need of a Trike and God pointed me in the right direction so that I would be able to continue using my Silver Wing in HIS ministry. On Sept.16, 2010 at 4:00 am I woke with the realization that God was prompting me to get up out of bed and go to my computer and type into the search engine “Motor Cycle Trike Kits” I did, and was directed to a website that showed me a picture of a cycle that was converted for under $600. I had done similar searches for hours on the previous days and not found this website, but at this exact time God directed me. I thanked Him and went back to bed and slept with peace.
Also, I needed to built this trike the way I did, because I did not have the resources to purchase a $3,600.00 or $5,000.00 ready made conversion kit. God saw my need and supplied the way.
The website by the name of MOTORCYCLE HONDA YAMAHA KAWASAKI HARLEY SUZUKI TRIKE HOW I TURNED A BIKE INTO A SUPER TRIKE FOR UNDER $600 gave me the inspiration to do it myself.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140307011299&_trksid=p2759.l1259
The following information is given to you free of charge for your development.
Step 1. Purchase a 42” X 60” utility trailer and remove the tongue. 2 bolts hold it on.
Lowe’s has this trailer for $425.00
Remove the 2 bolts and the tongue and begin the process.
Stet 2. Material to Purchase or have on hand.
a.You will also need a Reciprocating saw in some areas with metal cutting blade. I used 3 blades while doing the job.
b.3 fiber metal cutting blades for your 7 ¼ “ circular saw.
c.You will need a soap stone for marking the metal to be cut.
d.You will need a face mask or eye protection.
e.A pair of gloves for handling hot metal.
f.Two concrete block will help to hold the trailer bed up for working on it.
g.A pair of saw horses or workbench for laying material on when cutting.
h.8 each 3/8”X 1” bolts with nuts with nylon locking plus lock washers.
i.35 each ¼” X 1” bolts with nuts with nylon locking with lock washers.
j.2 metric bolts, 10 Met. 1.25 X 75 long, no nuts Lowe’s #216019 @ $2.92 each.
k.2 lengths of 1” X 36” flat bar.
l.2 lengths of 1 ¼” angle iron by 4’
Step 3.
Measure in 8” on both sides. The long cut is 26” long. Go over 4 ½ “ then up 4” then 2 ½” on a 15% angle Do both sides the same and then cut out the center line. It should be about 7” long. Since this leaves a rough edge from cutting it is advised to use a 1” angle along the edge for support as well as protection.
Step 4. The trailer comes with higher sides than desired, so I cut the sides down from the 26” mark to the height of the fender all the way back. The angle iron that I cut off was used to put back as the top rail after cutting off the excess cage metal from it. The angle was bolted on with ¼” bolts. The next picture shows what was done.
Step 5. From the 26” mark to the front of the trailer, I cut the sides down to 6” and then replaced the angel along the top for support with ¼” bolts.
Step 6. If you are going to use a tool chest like mine, find one that is 48” wide and cut the sides out of the trailer to fit the dimensions of the chest. Mine was 8”. I let the chest extend over the sides 3” on each end. Lowes has these chest for apro. $135.00
Step 7. You will want to cut off the stop lights from the sides of the trailer and mount them on the back. View picture below.
Step 8. Remove the center stand from the scooter and install the bracket that you make. Use a 24” X 1 1/4” angle iron. On the kick stand side of the scooter measure in 9” and mark the angle iron.
Cut 2 pieces of 1 ¼ flat bar 1 & ½ long. You may want to drill the flat bar before cutting with a 7/16” hole near the top edge. Weld the flat bar to the angle iron with 9” from the outside to the outside of the flat bar.
Now measure the inside distance of the center stand that you removed and place the remaining piece of flat bar at the distance. Mark it and weld it.
Cut 2 pieces of 1 ¼ X 4” flat bar and clamp 1 to each end of the angle iron with a C clamp or vice grips. Now drill a 3/8” hole through the flat bar and angle iron about 1 ½ “ from the ends.
Cut 2 more pieces of flat bar 6” long and drill 3/8” holes about 2” from the ends. Cut 2 lengths of angle 9” long.
Now weld the 4” to 1 end of the angle and the 6” to the opposite end with the pieces going in the opposite direction. Make sure that the angle will fit flush against the cut side of the trailer where you have bolted on the angle for the cut out. The 6” flat bar needs to be welded to the angle iron with the 3/8” hole closest to the angle. Do the same for the opposite side of the trailer.
Before you place the trailer in place to bolt up you need some way to balance your bike on a flat service where it is secure and will not fall. Once you have secured your bike, measure from the ground to one of the bolts on the side of the scooter and check the measurement on the other side. Adjust the bike to make sure that the measurements are the same.
(I have a car port with post that holds up the roof. I put the bike in the middle of two of the posts and used come along ties to adjust the position of the bike.)
Now you are ready to install the bracket to the center stand holes. **Use the bolts that were removed from the center stand to bolt up the new bracket.
Before you bring the trailer around you will need to cut about 2” – 3” off the bottom of the rear fender of the bike in order for the trailer to fit in under it.
You should have about ½ to 1 inch clearance between the fender and the bottom of the trailer.
You may want to spray the floor of the trailer with a coat of rubberized paint spray. This is the same type of spray that they use for pick up beds. It also helps things not to slide around if you have items in the storage area. Lowe’s has it for about $9.00 a can. One can of spray should be enough.
Step 9 Move the trailer around and make sure that you are installing it evenly on both sides. Block the wheels so that it will not move and bolt on the 6” flat bar bracket to the trailer and then connect it to the center stand bracket with 3/8” bolts with lock washers.
This is not the illustration I wanted for I did not take a picture of the installation of the trailer, but this illustrates about securing the bike and blocking the wheels.
Step 10. Remove the top bolt out of the side panel above the kick stand. You will need and Alan Wrench to remove this bolt.
Cut 2 pieces of flat bar 12 inches long and drill a 3/8” hole in one end. Bend the end with the hole more than a 90 degree bend. You will have to fit it to the angle of the bike.
**The reason I prefer to bend it rather than welding it, is because the place you are installing this piece of flat bar is a difficult angle. Use the bolt you purchased 10 Met 1.25 X 75 long with 2 washers and secure it. .
Repeat the same on the other side, then clamp down the flat bar and drill a 3/8” hole through the flat bar and the angle. Do this on both sides. Line up the front of the trailer even with the 10 Mil 1.25 X 75 bolts on both side that you are installing.
Step 11. Remove the coverings on the sides of the cycle under the rear seat. You will see above the shock a piece of metal with a rubber washer in it.
Cut 2 pieces of flat bar long enough to reach from the rubber washer to the side of the trailer.
Cut 2 pieces of flat bar 1 ½ “ long and drill a 3/8” hole in them. Weld the flat bar with the hole to the longer piece.
Now cut 2 pieces of 1 ¼ “ angle and notch both ends about 1 ½ “ down going the opposite side of the angle. On one end drill a 3/8” hole and then using the 3/8” X 1” bolts connect the angle and the flat bar to the flange with the rubber washer. Keep the rubber washer in place.
You will have figure the length of the angle you want and where you want to bolt in down to the trailer behind the rear wheel.
You will have to notch out an area on the side panels where the angle and the flat bar attaches to the rubber washer. You will have to look at this and estimate how much to cut out. You will also have to cut off about 1 ½ of the square area with the tip on it, on the inside of the side panels. You will see this as you look at the inside of the panels. Once you have this done you can bolt them back in place.
Step 12. You are ready to put the tool box in place and secure it. Before I cut the tail gate I placed the tool box in place and figured how tall to make it so that it would meet the bottom of the drawer in the tool box. You can secure it any way that seems good to you.
Step 13. It is time for you to wire the lights for safety reasons. Also you will need to connect the license and safety inspection if you have them to the rear of the trike. It is no longer a trailer, but a trike on the cycle. You are ready to test drive.
You may notice that the front wheel may shake while hitting bumps at low speed. This is normal. When you go over 25 – 30 everything reacts the way you would expect. You will need to practice turning all over again. You do not lean to make turns, but you turn the handle bars in the direction that you want to turn.
REMEMBER TO SLOW DOWN ON ALL TURNS.
Step 14. Go for a ride and enjoy yourself and be very careful on all your turns. Have a great day.
NOTICE: I am furnishing this information at no cost to you. I do not assume any liability for damage that may occur due to converting your scooter into a trike.
This information is given freely for the individual to use. You must use your own discretion as to whether you what to use it or not.
Happy motoring and may God bless you and yours.
Chet Smith
P.S. After you have ridden your trike for a 100 miles or so, re-check the bolts to make sure that they are still tight.
Also I would appreciate it if you would drop me a line and let me know what you think of the manual and if you are going to convert yours. Send me some pictures of your conversion.
Now for Some Personal Thoughts
I had one person write me back and said that after seeing what I had done he was glad that he had purchased a Dawson Trike Conversion Unit. He said that with the installation the cost was around $6,000.00. I can applaud him for his choice of products, however when the dust is all settled, I will be traveling down the road at the same rate of speed and still have over 4 to $5,000.00 in my bank. He may have the glitter on the trike, but I have the glitter in the bank.
This unit may not be for everyone, but for many who do no have the means to purchase the commercial Trike Conversion Units, this self built unit does everything the others do and saves you money at the same time. You make the choice, pay the commercial businesses, or build you own and keep the difference. The choice is yours!
by Pastor Chet Smith chetnellen@gmail.com
Installation Manual
The reason for writing this manual is to describe the steps taken in building my trike. The purpose for building a trike was made evident, that at 78 years of age with a desire to continue riding, I needed more stability. I am the visitation pastor for our church and use my Silver Wing for over 90% of all my calls. Many weeks I drive over several hundred miles in calling on seniors and shut-ins that the only contact with the church is through this ministry.
I prayed about the need of a Trike and God pointed me in the right direction so that I would be able to continue using my Silver Wing in HIS ministry. On Sept.16, 2010 at 4:00 am I woke with the realization that God was prompting me to get up out of bed and go to my computer and type into the search engine “Motor Cycle Trike Kits” I did, and was directed to a website that showed me a picture of a cycle that was converted for under $600. I had done similar searches for hours on the previous days and not found this website, but at this exact time God directed me. I thanked Him and went back to bed and slept with peace.
Also, I needed to built this trike the way I did, because I did not have the resources to purchase a $3,600.00 or $5,000.00 ready made conversion kit. God saw my need and supplied the way.
The website by the name of MOTORCYCLE HONDA YAMAHA KAWASAKI HARLEY SUZUKI TRIKE HOW I TURNED A BIKE INTO A SUPER TRIKE FOR UNDER $600 gave me the inspiration to do it myself.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140307011299&_trksid=p2759.l1259
The following information is given to you free of charge for your development.
Step 1. Purchase a 42” X 60” utility trailer and remove the tongue. 2 bolts hold it on.
Lowe’s has this trailer for $425.00
Remove the 2 bolts and the tongue and begin the process.
Stet 2. Material to Purchase or have on hand.
a.You will also need a Reciprocating saw in some areas with metal cutting blade. I used 3 blades while doing the job.
b.3 fiber metal cutting blades for your 7 ¼ “ circular saw.
c.You will need a soap stone for marking the metal to be cut.
d.You will need a face mask or eye protection.
e.A pair of gloves for handling hot metal.
f.Two concrete block will help to hold the trailer bed up for working on it.
g.A pair of saw horses or workbench for laying material on when cutting.
h.8 each 3/8”X 1” bolts with nuts with nylon locking plus lock washers.
i.35 each ¼” X 1” bolts with nuts with nylon locking with lock washers.
j.2 metric bolts, 10 Met. 1.25 X 75 long, no nuts Lowe’s #216019 @ $2.92 each.
k.2 lengths of 1” X 36” flat bar.
l.2 lengths of 1 ¼” angle iron by 4’
Step 3.
Measure in 8” on both sides. The long cut is 26” long. Go over 4 ½ “ then up 4” then 2 ½” on a 15% angle Do both sides the same and then cut out the center line. It should be about 7” long. Since this leaves a rough edge from cutting it is advised to use a 1” angle along the edge for support as well as protection.
Step 4. The trailer comes with higher sides than desired, so I cut the sides down from the 26” mark to the height of the fender all the way back. The angle iron that I cut off was used to put back as the top rail after cutting off the excess cage metal from it. The angle was bolted on with ¼” bolts. The next picture shows what was done.
Step 5. From the 26” mark to the front of the trailer, I cut the sides down to 6” and then replaced the angel along the top for support with ¼” bolts.
Step 6. If you are going to use a tool chest like mine, find one that is 48” wide and cut the sides out of the trailer to fit the dimensions of the chest. Mine was 8”. I let the chest extend over the sides 3” on each end. Lowes has these chest for apro. $135.00
Step 7. You will want to cut off the stop lights from the sides of the trailer and mount them on the back. View picture below.
Step 8. Remove the center stand from the scooter and install the bracket that you make. Use a 24” X 1 1/4” angle iron. On the kick stand side of the scooter measure in 9” and mark the angle iron.
Cut 2 pieces of 1 ¼ flat bar 1 & ½ long. You may want to drill the flat bar before cutting with a 7/16” hole near the top edge. Weld the flat bar to the angle iron with 9” from the outside to the outside of the flat bar.
Now measure the inside distance of the center stand that you removed and place the remaining piece of flat bar at the distance. Mark it and weld it.
Cut 2 pieces of 1 ¼ X 4” flat bar and clamp 1 to each end of the angle iron with a C clamp or vice grips. Now drill a 3/8” hole through the flat bar and angle iron about 1 ½ “ from the ends.
Cut 2 more pieces of flat bar 6” long and drill 3/8” holes about 2” from the ends. Cut 2 lengths of angle 9” long.
Now weld the 4” to 1 end of the angle and the 6” to the opposite end with the pieces going in the opposite direction. Make sure that the angle will fit flush against the cut side of the trailer where you have bolted on the angle for the cut out. The 6” flat bar needs to be welded to the angle iron with the 3/8” hole closest to the angle. Do the same for the opposite side of the trailer.
Before you place the trailer in place to bolt up you need some way to balance your bike on a flat service where it is secure and will not fall. Once you have secured your bike, measure from the ground to one of the bolts on the side of the scooter and check the measurement on the other side. Adjust the bike to make sure that the measurements are the same.
(I have a car port with post that holds up the roof. I put the bike in the middle of two of the posts and used come along ties to adjust the position of the bike.)
Now you are ready to install the bracket to the center stand holes. **Use the bolts that were removed from the center stand to bolt up the new bracket.
Before you bring the trailer around you will need to cut about 2” – 3” off the bottom of the rear fender of the bike in order for the trailer to fit in under it.
You should have about ½ to 1 inch clearance between the fender and the bottom of the trailer.
You may want to spray the floor of the trailer with a coat of rubberized paint spray. This is the same type of spray that they use for pick up beds. It also helps things not to slide around if you have items in the storage area. Lowe’s has it for about $9.00 a can. One can of spray should be enough.
Step 9 Move the trailer around and make sure that you are installing it evenly on both sides. Block the wheels so that it will not move and bolt on the 6” flat bar bracket to the trailer and then connect it to the center stand bracket with 3/8” bolts with lock washers.
This is not the illustration I wanted for I did not take a picture of the installation of the trailer, but this illustrates about securing the bike and blocking the wheels.
Step 10. Remove the top bolt out of the side panel above the kick stand. You will need and Alan Wrench to remove this bolt.
Cut 2 pieces of flat bar 12 inches long and drill a 3/8” hole in one end. Bend the end with the hole more than a 90 degree bend. You will have to fit it to the angle of the bike.
**The reason I prefer to bend it rather than welding it, is because the place you are installing this piece of flat bar is a difficult angle. Use the bolt you purchased 10 Met 1.25 X 75 long with 2 washers and secure it. .
Repeat the same on the other side, then clamp down the flat bar and drill a 3/8” hole through the flat bar and the angle. Do this on both sides. Line up the front of the trailer even with the 10 Mil 1.25 X 75 bolts on both side that you are installing.
Step 11. Remove the coverings on the sides of the cycle under the rear seat. You will see above the shock a piece of metal with a rubber washer in it.
Cut 2 pieces of flat bar long enough to reach from the rubber washer to the side of the trailer.
Cut 2 pieces of flat bar 1 ½ “ long and drill a 3/8” hole in them. Weld the flat bar with the hole to the longer piece.
Now cut 2 pieces of 1 ¼ “ angle and notch both ends about 1 ½ “ down going the opposite side of the angle. On one end drill a 3/8” hole and then using the 3/8” X 1” bolts connect the angle and the flat bar to the flange with the rubber washer. Keep the rubber washer in place.
You will have figure the length of the angle you want and where you want to bolt in down to the trailer behind the rear wheel.
You will have to notch out an area on the side panels where the angle and the flat bar attaches to the rubber washer. You will have to look at this and estimate how much to cut out. You will also have to cut off about 1 ½ of the square area with the tip on it, on the inside of the side panels. You will see this as you look at the inside of the panels. Once you have this done you can bolt them back in place.
Step 12. You are ready to put the tool box in place and secure it. Before I cut the tail gate I placed the tool box in place and figured how tall to make it so that it would meet the bottom of the drawer in the tool box. You can secure it any way that seems good to you.
Step 13. It is time for you to wire the lights for safety reasons. Also you will need to connect the license and safety inspection if you have them to the rear of the trike. It is no longer a trailer, but a trike on the cycle. You are ready to test drive.
You may notice that the front wheel may shake while hitting bumps at low speed. This is normal. When you go over 25 – 30 everything reacts the way you would expect. You will need to practice turning all over again. You do not lean to make turns, but you turn the handle bars in the direction that you want to turn.
REMEMBER TO SLOW DOWN ON ALL TURNS.
Step 14. Go for a ride and enjoy yourself and be very careful on all your turns. Have a great day.
NOTICE: I am furnishing this information at no cost to you. I do not assume any liability for damage that may occur due to converting your scooter into a trike.
This information is given freely for the individual to use. You must use your own discretion as to whether you what to use it or not.
Happy motoring and may God bless you and yours.
Chet Smith
P.S. After you have ridden your trike for a 100 miles or so, re-check the bolts to make sure that they are still tight.
Also I would appreciate it if you would drop me a line and let me know what you think of the manual and if you are going to convert yours. Send me some pictures of your conversion.
Now for Some Personal Thoughts
I had one person write me back and said that after seeing what I had done he was glad that he had purchased a Dawson Trike Conversion Unit. He said that with the installation the cost was around $6,000.00. I can applaud him for his choice of products, however when the dust is all settled, I will be traveling down the road at the same rate of speed and still have over 4 to $5,000.00 in my bank. He may have the glitter on the trike, but I have the glitter in the bank.
This unit may not be for everyone, but for many who do no have the means to purchase the commercial Trike Conversion Units, this self built unit does everything the others do and saves you money at the same time. You make the choice, pay the commercial businesses, or build you own and keep the difference. The choice is yours!
ALL FOTOS
art 1: What You Will Need
Four pieces of steel channel ½ inch by 2” by 36”. The one on the left is actually two pieces of 1” angle iron welded together because I could only find 3 pieces of 2” channel in town. All of them were bought from Tractor Supply Co. (about $15 each).
Optional – several pieces of ½ inch by 2 inch by 3 feet steel channel. These will be used to bolster the strength of the four 2” pieces in certain places such as the axle mounting plates. Of course, this is up to you. (You grind down the legs a little and weld them on the other side of the 2” pieces).
Two half torsion axles (adjustable), 425 lbs capacity. I bought the lightest capacity they had because I didn’t want the suspension to end up being to stiff. I bought them online from Southwest Wheel in Dallas. (Dang, I should have had Earl run by there to pick them up). The two of them cost $225. You might be able to get them locally from a trailer dealer a little cheaper. I think Northern Tool also sells them.
Two 4” by 8” wheels and tires from Southwest Wheel. About $25 each. Also sold by Harbor Freight and other, including Tractor Supply. Just make sure that the wheels are matched to your axles (in my case, four bolt on a 4” mounting circle).
Two Fenders from Tractor Supply, about $15 each. These were rather thin plastic. I didn’t want the bigger or heavier metal ones. Sure wish they had them in fiberglass. Hope they can be painted, cause they have a slick finish and I don’t like white.
Three pieces of ¼ inch by 4” by 12” steel plate. One piece will be used to make four corner gussets and 1 will be used as mounting plates for the axles. You probably won’t need the other piece, but it’s always good to have a spare. About $18 each at Lowes. I thought that my 14” cut-off saw would zip through that ¼ inch steel plate, but no go. I ended up using one of my favorite toys, the angle grinder.
Two brackets from Lowes, about $3or $4 each. These will be cut in two pieces, as shown. The part with the two holes will be used as a mounting bracket at the front of the trike frame to the center stand.
A four foot piece of ¾ inch square tubing to connect the rear of the trike frame to the upper part of the scooter frame. About $3 or $4 each.
Approximately 4 feet of flat steel 3/16” X 1”. This will be used to fabricate the upper mounting bracket to the frame in the rear and to make the lower mounting bracket that attaches to the down tube. You will also need four 5/16” U-Bolts. Replace the thin U-Bolt brackets with stronger ones fabricated from 3/16” X ½” or ¾” wide flat steel.
One piece of flat steel approximately 1.25 inches wide and 3/16” thick. Bend the ends to the correct angle (to be determined later) to mount the rear support brackets to the frame. The parts will be approximately 2” on one side and 3 or 4” on the other. As shown later, the long leg will have slots milled in them to provide some adjustment up or down for the frame at the rear.
You will also need various hardware such as bolts, nuts, washers, paint,etc.
This ends Part 1. The next part is Fabrication of the Parts.
Part 2: Fabricating the Parts.
Cut each part of the frame (steel channel) so that you have 45 degree corners. Grind a relief into the corner edges so that they can be welded. Cut the two brackets so that you have two pieces that are 90 degrees. These are the mounting bracket for the center stand.
Measure the front channel for the holes for the center stand mounting bracket.. Remember what the carpenters all say, “Measure twice, cut once.” This will determine how straight the frame fits on the scooter and you don’t want a crooked frame, do you? Wouldn’t be good. Line up the brackets and drill the necessary holes. Determine what the top hole size in the brackets will be based on your center stand bolt size. On my scoot, the center stand mounts with a lock nut which is welded to the frame. If it is cross-threaded, you might have to drill it out or grind off the nut.
At this point, you might want to attach the mount brackets and give them a trial fitting before welding the frame.
Take one of the 12” steel plates and cut out four 4” triangles to be used as a gusset at the four corners of the frame. Cutting ¼” steel plate is very difficult if you don’t have a professional machine shop. You might want to have it done by a professional. I originally thought that my 14” cut-off saw would do it, but I was wrong. I ended up using my trusty 4 ½ inch angle grinder.
Cut off two pieces of the smaller steel channel to the appropriate length for the upper frame mounting bracket. Cut off two pieces of the 3/16” X 1” flat steel to the appropriate length. Drill four holes in each piece and bend at 90 degrees as shown. The two holes in the short leg will be used to puddle weld it to the steel channel, not for bolts. Cut the ¾’ square tubing into two pieces, about 2 feet long each. Using the bent bracket as a guide, mark and drill the holes for the bolts in the square tubing.
Weld the bent brackets to the steel channel and grind off the rough spots. As you can see, I did a lot of grinding since my welding is not so good. At this point you might want to paint the upper frame mount brackets and down tubes.
This might be a good time to make some stronger brackets for the U-bolts that are going to hold the upper frame mount to the scooter frame. I used some 3/16” X ½” wide flat steel I had on hand. As you can see, the original bracket is kind of wimpy. You might want to paint them too.
We are now ready to weld the frame together and mount the corner gussets. I would recommend clamping the frame down and using a square to get it straight. After welding the frame, take the corner gussets and drill four holes for some ¼” or 5/16” bolts (your choice). Clamp the gussets to the frame and drill the holes for the bolts. After bolting the gussets to the frame, you can now weld them to the frame. This may not be necessary, but I believe in redundant redundancy. Grind off and smooth out those welds and any other areas that need it.
Also, it would be a good time to mount the axle plates to the frame. Notice that the axle plate is a little wider than the axle mount, but is the same length as the axle. Before you weld the plate, you should clamp the plate to the axle and determine the place of the mounting holes. In my case the axles each had six holes of 5/16”. After I determined the placement (I wanted at least two of the bolts to go through the frame, axle plate and axle mount), I drilled the six holes in the axle plate. It is easier to do this in a drill press than when it is on the frame. If you look closely, you will see that one of the bolt holes is 5/16” (the rear one) and five of them are 3/8” (although all the mounting bolts are 5/16”.) This is so that the rear bolt acts as a pivot and there is enough slop in there to allow some movement if necessary to align the wheels.
To determine the placement, I clamped one of the axles with a wheel installed to the frame when I was trial fitting it. I tried to line the wheel on the frame up with the rear wheel of the scooter. Just eyeball it - you don’t have to be absolutely accurate. Be sure that the frame and axle clear the muffler and CVT cover. Notice in the pictures that I welded in the bottom of the right and left frame a piece of the channel to add a little extra strength where the axle plates will mount. You will have to grind down each side a little bit to get it to sit level in the frame. You can then weld it in.
Using the placement determined above, place the axle plate on the frame and lightly clamp it down. Square up the plate to the frame. This is a somewhat critical step. If you get them crooked, the wheel alignment will be off and cause problems with handling. When you are certain of the alignment, tighten down the clamp and tack weld the axle plate to the frame in several places. Recheck the alignment and drill the two center holes through the frame. Remember, the rear one is 5/16” and the front one is 3/8”. You can now finish welding the axle plate to the frame and clean up the welds.
I decided at this point to go ahead and paint the frame and parts, including the axles and spindles. I decided to leave the wheels white because I was too lazy to mask them off and paint them. I had a little trouble with painting those plastic fenders. Not having a lot of experience with plastic, I assumed you had to prime it like metal, so I did. After this I bought some plastic paint and applied it. Didn’t stick so good and wasn’t as shiny as I like. After it dried, I painted them with regular shiny metal paint. They looked a lot better. After I had painted them with the plastic paint, I noticed that the can said “Direct to Plastic” which I think means no primer. Oh well, as my late mother-in-law used to say, “When all else fails, read the instructions.” Somewhere around this time you will need to fabricate some mounting brackets for the fenders and paint them. I used 3/16” aluminum flats 1.5” wide because it is easy to work with and paints up nice.
Part III: Putting it All Together
Install the rear mounts to the scooter where the shocks mount to the frame. Note that the only modification I had to make to my scooter was to grind out a little relief for one the U-bolts. It was only about ½” (shown by the arrow.) Don’t tighten them up too much at this point, since they will have to be adjusted. Make sure they clear the muffler and the CVT cover. I had to bend the right one a little bit, but no problem.
Now it is time to mount the frame to the scooter and make any necessary adjustments. With my motorcycle jack, the scooter was a little heavier in the rear, so I had to use a concrete block to weigh the front end down. You may also need to use a bottle jack or scissor jack under the engine. Not sure how that would work with the Linhai engine. Just be sure to use a piece of wood between the jack and scooter. (No, the water is from a shower that morning.)
Now the tricky part is setting the preload. The more weight the trike wheels carry, the stiffer the ride will be. I didn’t want the ride to be real harsh. The method I used was to put a 1 X 6 board under each trike wheel and let the scoot down so that all the weight was on the ground. Then tighten up the adjustment bracket at the rear. Notice that the brackets have a slot milled in each bracket for up and down adjustments. You might have to experiment to find the right setting. After some experimenting, I found that the preload was too light and the scooter leaned too much. I placed the 1” X 6” board under the rear wheel and lowered the wheels so they just touched the ground and there was some weight on them. This seems to work out best for me.
Note that there is plenty of room to work on the scooter even with the frame installed. I put the CVT cover on after installing the frame. There is plenty of room to change the oil and coolant.
The little visitor likes to live under my scooter cover. Whenever I remove it, he comes out to give me a dirty look. Well, as long as he eats all those nasty bugs, I guess I’ll let him stay.
Final step is the hard part – putting everything back together without any leftover parts. Hope you enjoyed reading about the project. If you decide to give it a try, I encourage you to do so. I guarantee that it is not as difficult as I probably made it out to be. If you have a cheap welder, some common hand and power tools and a little mechanical ability, you can do it. For an older fellow (like me) or a physically challenged person, the result is a good thing.
Here are a few pictures of the finished project (including my new Givi Windscreen).
With the new Givi Windscreen):
I’ve been driving it around the neighborhood, only 30 or 35 mph trying to get a feel for the differences. There definitely is a difference steering with the handlebars. You have to be very careful on corners and curves. It will definitely lean to the outside. On rough roads, it rides a little harder than I expected, but on good roads, it is very smooth. Overall it is a ride I can live with!
Now, what’s my next project? I sure liked JR’s saddle bags project. How do you think they would look on a trike? Also, I took off the butt bumper on the seat and it is in my workshop, possibly to put on a homemade driver’s backrest. Haven’t made a decision on that yet.
Read more: http://scootdawg.proboards.com/thread/23163?ixzz2oyKPl6xT=undefined#ixzz2p4tcyqpc