Whilst i had the engine on the jig i decided to play with some exhaust tubing and mock up the frame just so i can get a visual idea of what was going to work or not. As a result it allowed me to get a feeling for the general dimensions and shape
After building a concept frame from exhaust tube i sat on the PC for several nights and started to draw up a scale version of the new thoughts that were bouncing around in my head. From making a scale version of it on the PC i can chop and change things when i change my mind but it also allows me to measure up all the tubing and give me a good idea of how much tubing i will have to buy when i get to that stage. PS: the above CAD drawings are not the final design and does not include things like gussets etc
Now that the motor is sitting on the frame jig perfectly straight i have started to make up the the actual frame using 1 1/4 inch mild steel tubing with a wall thickness of 3.2mm. I am using a 12 tonne pipe bender and it’s working a treat. The actual frame design is constantly getting tweaked as i go along and has already changed in design from the above CAD concept. Clicking this picture will open a larger picture of a side view of the the partial frame and i have photoshopped a couple of extra’s to the picture just to outline what direction i’m going with it. (The two black dots in the enlarged photo are bolts holes for the top suspension arms)
Heres a shot looking from the front of the trike, certainly work in progress but i’m constantly chipping away at it.
Well today is another day so i got back into it after work. It’s getting progressively harder to find the energy after working in 30+ degree Celcius heat all day ( and in overalls) and then come home after a full days work and whilst it’s still 30+C in the shade get outside and work in direct sunlight, but hey, i could think of worse things to complain about hehe. Anyway started to add some smaller 1inch piping to the firewall area tonight so that its triangulated and strong, downside is that the more strength i put here the more i block air flow to the radiator but i’ll deal with that later if it’s a issue.
As you can see i’ve started to get a good basic shape to the rear section of the frame now, other than gussets and a couple of smaller bars to go over the top of the motor the overall design is coming together nicely. If i was to make a recomendation to other builders at this stage then that would be to buy a knotcher for shaping out the ends of the pipe so that they fit nicely over the mating pipe, cause using a angle grinder to knotch them manually gets fairly annoying after while.
