Just because it's got a mot it doesn't Make it safe

markg0vbr

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Over recent years the number of trikes have been growing, partly because wives think they are "safer than them dangerous two wheel bikes":rob.

the problem is the number of bad ones are increasing as unscrupulous people are cashing in, I am sad to say not all back garden dabblers.
i have seen some shocking things get past the mot including some that have had rear swing arm pivots brake, drive shafts come flying off, brake calliper fall off, mudguards tumbling down the motorway, one was even over taken by one of his back wheels as it came off, to name but a few

then the handling:blast you should be able to ride faster than 20mph with out fighting the thing, some basic things to remember are.

the drive shaft should be almost straight, not at the limits of what the universal joint will take.
the rear axle should be centred.
you should not have to be built like a gorilla to turn the trike.
head shake/ death wobble is not normal and they all don't do that.
if the thing has got a steering damper fitted i would be asking questions.

trkes are fun :bounce1 but people who have never ridden one should try and get some one who has to go and look at what your getting.
 
Couldn't agree more mate.

The amount of shite trikes I've seen at rallies is shocking.
Without fail owned by off the counter 'badass brothers of the third wheel' types.

Bits of shitty bendy bracketry,odd bolts incorrectly installed,and as you mentioned,once you look at drive lines and their angles it's a wonder the things got there at all,never mind passed any MOT test.

That's probably why most are daubed with gallons of matt black paint and camo netting.
To hide the piece of shite from knowledgeable eyes. :D
 
Seen a few made locally, most of them looked fairly tatty and unfinished, but 2 stick in my mind , owners paid really big money for the trikes and on the surface they looked quite well finished.

Couple of months later and I saw the bikes and the welds on the rear frame extensions had started to crack (or what appeared to be yhe welds). mate of mine who was a fabricator and had a bike shop did a bit of digging and no it wasn't the welds cracking but the very artistically applied filler used to hide the barely adequate pigeon shit welding , which included holes blown in the frame rails.
 
The finish don't bothere me, the rear fraim pivot point Made with mild steel eyelet bolts. One snapped when he ran the wheel up on a curb to park.
He is having a rebuild and axle shortened to make the drive shaft line up, he got the trike very cheap and now I know why.
 


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