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Some nice panel work here Robin, a friend of mine at work has just made himself an English Wheel for forming petrol tanks and panels for the motorbikes he builds, we made him the top roller and he purchased a set of bottom rollers from the net and incorporated an old lathe tail stock to adjust the bottom roller, it works a treat, maybe one would have helped you out on your panel shaping, they don't leave hammer marks in the material.
This is looking superb.............it will be really nice to see it on the road.
How far from IVA are you realistically?
Mike
Thanks Mike.
Middle of next year I hope if I don't pontificate (fart arround) too much...
It actually requires an MSVA (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval) test as it qualifies as a heavy trike. Much less onerous, although it still has the infamous radius test, and far cheaper :-)
Fitted the wheels this weekend. Not quite so simple as it sounds as the wheels and hubs are combined. The wheels are made by Pembleton by machining down the 2cv hubs. Makes for a very low unsprung weight which should contribute towards the handling. Riding a bit high at the moment....
Fitted the wheels this weekend. Not quite so simple as it sounds as the wheels and hubs are combined. The wheels are made by Pembleton by machining down the 2cv hubs. Makes for a very low unsprung weight which should contribute towards the handling. Riding a bit high at the moment....
I am trying to do something clever to support the mudguards as they rotate. They are very light being made of aluminium - much lighter than the Marlin. Even so I want to design out the bouncing up and down I get on the Marlin.
So I have been doing some experimentation trying to find the rotation centre by extending the line of the king pin up to the top of the tyre..
Having considered a few options for the wing stays I finally decided to make my own. I wanted a design that was light and stiff. didn't require any welding (in my experience welding is nearly always the weak spot of any wing stay), was easlily adjustable and didn't cost a fortune.
After a lot of head scratching I came up with this. It fulfills most of he requirements! There is a tiny amount of "woibble", but far less than the Marlin and it cost less than a tenner!
It's very old but the bed and leadscrew are both in good order. I have to fettle it a bit before it becomes operational - it needs a mounting divised for the motor and countershaft both of which were fixed to the wall of workshop of the previous owner. Once it is up and going I plan a rolling restoration to get it back to its former glory.
It's very old but the bed and leadscrew are both in good order. I have to fettle it a bit before it becomes operational - it needs a mounting divised for the motor and countershaft both of which were fixed to the wall of workshop of the previous owner. Once it is up and going I plan a rolling restoration to get it back to its former glory.
Cheers, Robin
That looks a little beauty - I keep wishing I could find a small one like that.
Big envy!
DSCF2068 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
DSCF2062 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
DSCF2073 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
DSCF2072 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
Sounds great - well done 
