TRIKE MY 83 XVZ12TK

[larrydr]

Started disassemble my 83 to make it into a trike ...Have had many guys telling me what to do ...None of the people  have ever had a 83 Venture  and turned it into a trike ..Many of the trike owners out here all talk about wheel base , but no one here has ever built their own ... Have heard about trikes role over in tight turn ..Would like to hear from some one who has a 83 trike conversion and their thoughts wheel base and some changes that might help  ..Trike builders here will not say anything and that they only build them one way ..

[cowpuc]

19 minutes ago, larrydr said:

Started disassemble my 83 to make it into a trike ...Have had many guys telling me what to do ...None of the people  have ever had a 83 Venture  and turned it into a trike ..Many of the trike owners out here all talk about wheel base , but no one here has ever built their own ... Have heard about trikes role over in tight turn ..Would like to hear from some one who has a 83 trike conversion and their thoughts wheel base and some changes that might help  ..Trike builders here will not say anything and that they only build them one way ..

Larry are you going two in the front or two in the back?

[RDawson]

@Dragon Riderhad a 1st gen trike, maybe he could answer it . Last I knew Hannigan’s had one. 

[skydoc_17]

Hey Larry,

There are basically two types of rear wheel trike kits for the First Gens. I have personally installed two of the older style Motor Trike kits that were the "Training Wheel" type kits. Your stock rear wheel provides the power and the rear wheel braking, and the two add on wheels were "out rigger" wheels. The install required the removal of the two side luggage bags, and the entire kit was "bolt on" and pretty easily removed. On the second install of this kit, I installed an FJR 1300 swing arm, drive shaft, and final drive which elongated the wheelbase by approx. 3 inches. This made for better handling, and gave the passenger more "leg room". The stock seat pan and upholstery had to be slightly modified, and I used an MKII seat pan with custom upholstery which helped a lot. The rest of the kit was bolt on like the first kit.

The second type of trike kit is the Hannigan style where the rear wheel is completely removed, and a independent "Floating" car rear end is installed. Because of the Fire at the Hannigan Factory, the molds for the fiberglass parts were destroyed, and I have not seen an offering on the Hannigan web site for the First Gens. (BUT it has been a while since I have checked) The Hannigan kit was NEVER offered as a kit to be installed by the end user because there was some pretty advanced Welding/Fabrication that needed to be done to the frame and the connection points to the rear differential. Also the Hannigan Kit was NOT removable, and once installed, would be there for the life of the bike. 

The points I am trying to make here Larry are because of the advanced age of the First Gens. in general, and especially the MKI First Gens. There are very few if any options available for a direct "Bolt On" kit for your bike. You would need some "MAD" Fabrication Skills just to get the mechanical "Hard Parts" attached to your bike, plus considerable fiberglass molding skills to "Skin" the mechanical parts installed. 

Here is a listing for a 1986 MKII Venture with the Voyager Trike Kit installed:

 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2861311144175612/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A2683a5f3-f003-4646-837e-dbb9c230ef74

The nice thing about the Voyager Kit is you get to keep your side bags! It might be worth it to purchase this bike, and bolt the kit on your 83' VR with minimal fab work to be done. You also get the fenders, axles and tow bumper with this kit. Here again, this is the "Training Wheel" type kit, NOT the Independent full rear end type.

I hope this info doesn't discourage you Larry, and depending on your skill level, picking up a used bike with the kit on it might make the most sense for you labor and money wise.

If you have other questions, please feel free to PM me, and as always, Best of Luck with this Project!!

Earl

[larrydr]

7 hours ago, cowpuc said:

Larry are you going two in the front or two in the back?

I was thinking of going with 2 in the back  , because that would leave me with more of 2 wheel feel while riding ..Some of the guys here are talking about independent suspension , although the solid differential  would be a simpler build ..There is metal bender near by who tells that they can easily build me a aluminum body .. I was thinking of using a GM Chevite  or Ford Pinto differential  ...Like in any build there are probably going to be several things coming up that will  require some extra input

[larrydr]

13 hours ago, skydoc_17 said:

Hey Larry,

There are basically two types of rear wheel trike kits for the First Gens. I have personally installed two of the older style Motor Trike kits that were the "Training Wheel" type kits. Your stock rear wheel provides the power and the rear wheel braking, and the two add on wheels were "out rigger" wheels. The install required the removal of the two side luggage bags, and the entire kit was "bolt on" and pretty easily removed. On the second install of this kit, I installed an FJR 1300 swing arm, drive shaft, and final drive which elongated the wheelbase by approx. 3 inches. This made for better handling, and gave the passenger more "leg room". The stock seat pan and upholstery had to be slightly modified, and I used an MKII seat pan with custom upholstery which helped a lot. The rest of the kit was bolt on like the first kit.

The second type of trike kit is the Hannigan style where the rear wheel is completely removed, and a independent "Floating" car rear end is installed. Because of the Fire at the Hannigan Factory, the molds for the fiberglass parts were destroyed, and I have not seen an offering on the Hannigan web site for the First Gens. (BUT it has been a while since I have checked) The Hannigan kit was NEVER offered as a kit to be installed by the end user because there was some pretty advanced Welding/Fabrication that needed to be done to the frame and the connection points to the rear differential. Also the Hannigan Kit was NOT removable, and once installed, would be there for the life of the bike. 

The points I am trying to make here Larry are because of the advanced age of the First Gens. in general, and especially the MKI First Gens. There are very few if any options available for a direct "Bolt On" kit for your bike. You would need some "MAD" Fabrication Skills just to get the mechanical "Hard Parts" attached to your bike, plus considerable fiberglass molding skills to "Skin" the mechanical parts installed. 

Here is a listing for a 1986 MKII Venture with the Voyager Trike Kit installed:

 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2861311144175612/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A2683a5f3-f003-4646-837e-dbb9c230ef74

The nice thing about the Voyager Kit is you get to keep your side bags! It might be worth it to purchase this bike, and bolt the kit on your 83' VR with minimal fab work to be done. You also get the fenders, axles and tow bumper with this kit. Here again, this is the "Training Wheel" type kit, NOT the Independent full rear end type.

I hope this info doesn't discourage you Larry, and depending on your skill level, picking up a used bike with the kit on it might make the most sense for you labor and money wise.

If you have other questions, please feel free to PM me, and as always, Best of Luck with this Project!!

Earl

I would build it myself , I have welded steam and  , air compressor  tanks, uni body car chassis , truck frames , aluminum  compressor tanks , W 31 grade aircraft tubing  and have passed inspection on all ....I am retired and time does not matter  ...I buy all material at a reduced cost , and I would estimate my total material cost at about $1000.00 ..The only thing that I am undecided abut is to build a solid rear axle unit or independent rear suspension .....

[cowpuc]

11 hours ago, larrydr said:

I was thinking of going with 2 in the back  , because that would leave me with more of 2 wheel feel while riding ..Some of the guys here are talking about independent suspension , although the solid differential  would be a simpler build ..There is metal bender near by who tells that they can easily build me a aluminum body .. I was thinking of using a GM Chevite  or Ford Pinto differential  ...Like in any build there are probably going to be several things coming up that will  require some extra input

 

50 minutes ago, larrydr said:

I would build it myself , I have welded steam and  , air compressor  tanks, uni body car chassis , truck frames , aluminum  compressor tanks , W 31 grade aircraft tubing  and have passed inspection on all ....I am retired and time does not matter  ...I buy all material at a reduced cost , and I would estimate my total material cost at about $1000.00 ..The only thing that I am undecided abut is to build a solid rear axle unit or independent rear suspension .....

That's what I was reading into your post, that you were talking a DYI job,, sounds like fun. I am including a couple of vids of the only trike I ever built. Did a bunch of ground up chops and different things but this is as close to a full trike build I ever did. This build was around a Dyna kit my buddy bought. This kit was belt drive and I got a hunch that your biggest issue is going to have to do with developing a swing arm to replace the swing arm on the MK1 that houses the drive shaft and mount for the rear shock, that is unless you go full independent rear suspention,, that would get pretty detailed in geometry and fabbing too. I use to attend the Sturgis rally yearly back when I was building chops just to sit around and yap with other builders,, sharing ideas and all that stuff. There was a time when Triking became became popular, back before Hannigan and others started mass producing them. I know there were a couple aftermarket companies that sold DIY assemblies of shaft drive independent set ups that were fairly complicated in structure. Seems like back then a full assembly to do what I/we are doing in the vid only for a shaft drive and independent suspention set up could be had for around $2500. When we did the build in the vid I think my buddy paid close to that for the Chinese straight axle setup so I am sure a similar DIY independent kit would be wayyyy more than $2500 now, if one even still exist. I wonder if a junk yard somewhere may have a corvette rear end,, they were independent/shaft drive,, hmmmm, might save some big $$ and enormous amount of time if you could find one.. Sounds like a fun project,, I wish you all the best and look forward to some pics and read time following you on this adVenture Larry.. Puc

 

[skydoc_17]

45 minutes ago, larrydr said:

I would build it myself , I have welded steam and  , air compressor  tanks, uni body car chassis , truck frames , aluminum  compressor tanks , W 31 grade aircraft tubing  and have passed inspection on all ....I am retired and time does not matter  ...I buy all material at a reduced cost , and I would estimate my total material cost at about $1000.00 ..The only thing that I am undecided abut is to build a solid rear axle unit or independent rear suspension .....

That's an excellent skill set for a build like you intend to do. If I remember correctly Larry, The Hannigan Kit used the Third Gen. Ford Thunderbird Independent Rear because the Diff. Housing was in the correct location, (If you ran it upside down) it was narrow enough to fit under the rear of the bike without poking out to far, and it came stock with Disc Brakes. 

Earl

[cowpuc]

44 minutes ago, skydoc_17 said:

That's an excellent skill set for a build like you intend to do. If I remember correctly Larry, The Hannigan Kit used the Third Gen. Ford Thunderbird Independent Rear because the Diff. Housing was in the correct location, (If you ran it upside down) it was narrow enough to fit under the rear of the bike without poking out to far, and it came stock with Disc Brakes. 

Earl

EXCELLENT THOUGHT EARL!!! 

[larrydr]

6 hours ago, skydoc_17 said:

That's an excellent skill set for a build like you intend to do. If I remember correctly Larry, The Hannigan Kit used the Third Gen. Ford Thunderbird Independent Rear because the Diff. Housing was in the correct location, (If you ran it upside down) it was narrow enough to fit under the rear of the bike without poking out to far, and it came stock with Disc Brakes. 

Earl

What are  your thoughts on extending the wheel base about 10 inches ?

 

[Carbon_One]

Larry good luck on your proposed build. I had a 05 RSV I converted myself using a Tri-Wing kit. I also had a 09 Hannigan triked conversion. The Tri-Wing used a solid axle system while the Hannigan uses an independent axle. The Hannigan has a longer wheelbase as well as being wider which will provide a better ride for both rider & passenger. The Hannigan was a safer trike due to those features IMO. Personally, if it was me with your skills I'd build an independent axle system. You won't regret it.

Larry

[skydoc_17]

Hey Larry,

The only experience I can relate to you would be when I used a Corvair rear Diff. on a bike build many years ago. The wheel base of the bike was so short that I was constantly replacing the spider gears in the Diff. due to the difference in the radius the inner and outer tires swung during turns. I have never tried using a WIDE rear housing on a bike build and tried to keep the width down to a minimum. Wheel spacers could be used to give you some of the wide stance you are looking for on a narrower rear end. Just a thought.

Earl