400cc+ auto

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I am seriously considering building a trike scooter suitable for touring, two up, and was wondering about a suitable engine/gearbox. The present scooter/moped system of using the engine/transmission unit as the swinging arm is extremely poor since it totally ignores all conventional wisdom about unsprung weight. I am therefore looking for an engine/gearbox from a conventional m/c but one where the gearbox is auto (I have a funny intermittent ankle problem). It should be a minimum of 400cc but not a great monstrous multicylinder mammoth. I am afraid that my knowledge of power unit availability is limited and so I was hoping that some of the wise BCF members might have some suggestions as to what was "out there" and what sort of price a chap might have to pay.
Any information gladly received.
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"Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else."

[Kickstart]

Hi

Only ones I can think of are quite old. Moto Guzzi Convert (large V twin) and the automatic version of the Honda 400 Superdream (they also did an automatic version of the CB750 in the USA). However the newest one would be close to 25 years old.

I would suspect that your best solution might be a more modern engine and then fit it with a race style push button gearbox, but this is likely to provide a fairly harsh gear change and also shorten the gearbox life (although if you used the clutch these problems would be reduced).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

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[Dom_]

There was a 700cc V Twin Kawasaki quad in the other day at work. It had a grip on the left hand bar with a button on it, press the button and then select what you want either D, N or R. Seemed pretty nippy too, wheelied as soon as you touched the throttle!! It was also brand new.

Hope this helps

heres a link: https://www.kawasaki.co.uk/product.asp?Id=B63FF39331&Sub=4

[Kickstart]

[Robin]

If the ankle is a big problem I'd suggest going for one of the more powerful bike engines from a shaft drive model and fitting a Klicktronic gear change. Smaller bike engines in trikes don't work too well as they will be hauling more weight about and power can be lost in the different gearing you might use and driving a diff and axle.

You might even be able to get help with the conversion from NABD if you qualify, worth giving them a ring as they have a wealth of experience in this sort of thing.

www.nabd.org.uk

[Tarmacsurfer]

Cat, I'm sure you've already tried various methods to cope with the ankle issue, but just in case...
My left ankle is somewhat weak, most of the smaller bones in that foot are fused. This basically means any repetetive flexion starts to tear the ligaments and seriously irritate the joint, I get around this by using a decent pair of bike boots with built up armour on the heel (Sidi Vert 2 at the moment). When changing traditionally gets too painful I just start using the heel to hook the gearbox up.

Other than that, if you're looking at triking (particularly building your own) then surely a hand based gear shift mod is an option and so avoid the issue all together?
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I'm immortal. Well, so far.

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[Big Pete]

It sounds like you need a jockey shift, one variant of which has the a lever that sticks up beside the tank with a normal clutch lever at the top. To shift you grab the lever, squeezing the clutch as you do so, lever forward to go down the box, lever back to go up the box (depending upon how the linkages are set.) release the clutch lever when shifted. If you go down this route make sure the trike doesnt have a huge rake angle because the low speed cornering will be very hard to control with one hand. If you stick with fairly conservative front end geometry you should be fine, its deff worth talking to NABD and also woth looking at 100% biker site (they have a lot of trike riders) and Trikes R us. I would avoid the auto bikes, they are rae (for a reason) and hard to get parts for, you would be better served with something like a GT 750 kwak motor (shaftie) or similar. I would also stick to a shaft drive donor bike, You can use a chain, but its a considerable extra amount of work and the differential ends up being exposed to crap and the weather.
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

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