Any independant rear suspension 3 Wheelers ??

[xxllmm4]

Hey everyone,

I have been doing some thinking and about suspension designs and was curious if anyone has ever made a independent rear end on a off road trike? I have seen a lot of newer 3 wheel bikes with the tilting front tires. I did a patent search and came up with a couple patents. It looks like The second patent would actually be pretty easy to make with chain drives. Also check out the filing date, Filing date: Apr 7, 1987 Issue date: Dec 19, 1989 If the idea would have worked it looks like too little too late.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=t4w5AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false and http://www.google.com/patents?id=lzwuAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

If you have any pics of any actually made I would love to see them :)

Thanks
Jordon

[tri again]

so are you describing like a rear end differential, with spider gears so the wheels can spin independently...
AND
say like 4 universal joints so everything can move where it wants to?

I've never seen a quad up close, or never cared to look at them since I be a trikefreak but

I am visualizing like a triumph tr6 with IRS.

am i in the ballpark of the concept?

[tri again]

where in oregon?

we might be neighbors, eh?

[xxllmm4]

In the patented http://www.google.com/patents?id=lzwuAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Figure 1 & 2 could be done with bearings gears and chains. No universal joints would be needed, and no diff. Fig 4 shows more of a quad rear end. I was actually thinking of something like this http://www.minibuggy.net/forum/projects-progress/12457-kx500-powered-micro-2-seater-4.html

I'm in Cornelius, between Hillsboro and Forest Grove how bout you?

Jordon

[leviblue]

like the TRX 700? I wouldn't be throwing it in a corner or even catching air with it. no way no how with me. It's a neat idea but not the safest idea for a trike. No stability but I'm probley wrong....

[tri again]

I only agree with the instability comment because the first time I rode a
full suspension trike, I rolled it IMMEDIATELY..

and this is after decades of riding honda trikes.

just wasn;t used to the suspension.

Same thing happened to a few friends when we got full suspension trikes.

Hardtails, you KNOW exactly where you are relative to the ground.

I have one set on full muuuush for crossing the pasture in 2nd gear and one set on full stiffness for
a little faster trail and dune riding.

Hardtails have a soft spot in my heart for when I was younger and liked to sliiiiide around corners.

My 87 big red is almost too cadillac but my poor back loves it. AND I always go slow..just a little faster than walking usually.

ummmm Veneta, west of Eugene.

Have tons of trike parts in the orchard, btw if you want some frames to experiment on.

[hillbilly 200x]

hey guys I know of a place were you could get all the stuff you neded to build this. I dont know if they are in the states but they are in Canada. Princess Auto was everthing you will need to build a custom rear end for your trikes I have been thinking about this for the pass three years or so and it will be very easy. They sell everthing bearing. 1'1/2" axle, universal joints bushing ect. The universal joints are made for farm use so they can take up to like 1000foot pounds of torke and one side can mated up to the axle the other side you will have to use box steat and that will alow it to move when the arms gove up and down. hope this help I would love to see some pic's of a independant rear suspension 3ww

[HuffieVA]

I've seen the MP3 scooters, the concept adapted to a trike would work as long as there was a way to modulate the rear suspention to force it to lean to the inside of a turn (like a bike) other wise it could potentially throw you to the outside of the corner, regardless it would be a different ride, more like a bike with training wheels than a trike as we currently know it...

[STLTrike]

Pretty kewl. It looks like the filling date on the first one was in 1982

Patent number: 4478305
Filing date: Sep 27, 1982
Issue date: Oct 23, 1984

[fabiodriven]

I keep seeing people ask this question on here and I really don't see why anybody would want IRS on a trike. The only thing keeping that machine stable is the rear axle. It just doesn't make sense to have IRS on a trike.

[Ironbnder]

The whole principle of turning a trike is that the inside tire has to lift and spin to allow the outside tire to rotate faster around the turn. An independent rear would have to have a limited slip function to work properly. It seems neat in thought but I want my solid axle with me in control.

[84atc200]

I would like to ride a trike with irs, i have been thinking about the independant rear suspension too.The rear shocks would have to be pretty stiff i'd imagine, because if you shifted your weight or went in a big rut it would lean over pretty bad. I rode a polaris outlaw and irs on a quad i like it ,it works well in my opinion.

[swampthang]

I hate the way a irs quad handles.:mad: I couldnt image how it would be on a trike prolly pretty scary. Way too much body roll for my liking on the atvs. It seems like a solid rear axle on a 4x4 atv is a thing of the past, I believe that the honda foreman is the last model you can find. The only advantage is a smoother ride at low speed and ground clearance.

[Grizzlypeg]

I think it would be counter-productive in terms of handling. You would be fighting the chassis roll on everything but straight on level ground. I wouldn't even want a differential. It would cut traction, and next thing you know, you'd be wanting limited slip. At least the handling of a trike is predictable.

[tri again]

I think it would be interesting for an 'extra' specialty trike, like running an extra long driveway/mail getter, dirt road specific like one with washboards,

but I would want a serious anti sway bar that goes from one side to the other....so when the compressed wheel goes up, it is tied to the other wheel that is trying to drop down.

it would modulate them and keep them more in check.

Kinda depends on how much time and $$ one has.

I personally have enough to do just keeping mine marginally functional.

I'd do it if you can get away with it.

It may motivate you to design something not even related to trikes and then you could be a millionairre with your OWN patent.

[inv3ctiv3]

You could run a sway bar and it would make it more stable.

[fabiodriven]

The sway bar is defeating the purpose of having IRS. You want IRS and then you're going to put a sway bar on it to keep it from doing what it's supposed to do. It's good for cars and quads. On a trike? No way.

[hang&rattle]

xxllmm4- So it would be stable if just riding sitting strait up and when ya lean, it would with you? Like some of the road trikes or independent rear suspension. It would also absorb a large rock or stump being able to raise one tire while other tire stays in contact with the earth. It'd handle & feel different than our current 3-wheelers, but actually keep more rubber on the road. I'd like the feel of that concept as well as the current ride. Good Idea. Oh, my mom & dad just moved from Hillsboro to Cornelius (to a retirement trailer court) a couple of Months ago, so I've been keeping my eyes open for riding buddies when me and the kids get over there to visit.

[250rAL]

You could run a sway bar and it would make it more stable.

It would be impossible to ride WITHOUT a swaybar. It would be like a bike that you couldn't lean. The swaybar would have to be so stiff that it would defeat the purpose of the IRS.

[Grizzlypeg]

If you want a better ride, why not simply minimize unsprung weight, instead of increasing it, and run long soft suspension? Doesn't a 3 wheeler alway have all 3 wheels in contact with the ground at low speeds, owing to the very design of 3 wheels? A tripod for instance, can never wobble. A 4 legged table must conform to the surface or else it rocks.

[Mr_RPM]

for the money u could just get a older 4x4 with irs and cruise over the bumps. i have seen some pretty cheap polaris sportman 500s out there if your looking for such a soft ride. my 1999 foreman 450 with solid axle rides nice to over the slow bumpy trails compared to any trike i have driven . IMO IRS doesn't ride that nice for the weight and crappier handling it gives. i rode a trx700xx and was really disappointed. id rather just have a bumpy ride and just stand over the bumps.

[hang&rattle]

I was thinking a concept of this:http://www.gizmag.com/go/6823/, only more simple, when I looked. It would be reversed of course, but it dosen't just fall over when sitting on it. It'd be a cool concept for a good builder to create. I'm not a schemeatic designer, or a good mechanic, but lots of folk on this site are and I believe it'd be a cool accomplishment. Some are not concerned with the long term money, it's the build that challenges them. The doubters are the fuel for success. TPC trikes didn't listen and I'm glad, neither did the designer of the Can-Am Spyder. After one got used to the feel of riding it, it'd be a blast. Same notion as a 3-wheeler rider likes the feel vs. a 4-wheeled atv. (any cycle is fun to ride!)

[fabiodriven]

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?118934-russian-made-3-wheeler

[loizl]

In the 80`s a italian company named italjet made 3wheelers with intepentent rear suspension. the ranger 125 for example. never seen one in person but there are a few pics of them on the net..

http://www.lanciaflavia.it/public_old_foto/4img-1241621299.jpg


they also made a 330cc 2-stroke with IRS

[darrel632]

3 wheel fully independent suspension double chain drive, lots of 'em in Russia packing stuff around never saw one on its side tough little beasts

[willrideanythin]

I run a 700XX as my primary ride. I love it. Air or corners isnt an issue with 4 wheels. In fact I have bee mulling over cutting the nose off it and mating it with a 250R frame I have. The power is nice and the wieght is the only draw back, Although slight.

[xxllmm4]

Thanks for the info everyone, and thanks for the pics!! I'll have to look into those factory made bikes. I would love to play around with the idea but dont really have the time or funds right now, I have too many projects on the bench right now. When i'm done with the fatcat 200s conversion I may have to take a look into this more closely. I would sure love to talk to someone that has rode one of thoes Italian jobs!

[leviblue]

I run a 700XX as my primary ride. I love it. Air or corners isnt an issue with 4 wheels. In fact I have bee mulling over cutting the nose off it and mating it with a 250R frame I have. The power is nice and the wieght is the only draw back, Although slight.

Last Jan at Summit I had the chance to sit down with Bill from TPC for a few hours in my hotel room and bend his ear on this subject. I had a chance to pu a 700 TRX and was thinking of doing this. Sure it can be done but there is no stilabilty in it for what I want to use it for, racing. That extra wheel up front makes a big diff on how it rides and lands. Lets put it like this have you ever blew a rear tire on your trike and take a corner hard on the flat side? Ever try landing on a flat rear after some big air? It's not easy or pretty.( I have a vid of me on a blow-out while landing) You need that solid axle it keeps you ballanced. I ride my buddy's 700 quite often and when corring hare you see and feel the ft tire biting and the same on uneven landings. Without that extra tire you loose alot. As I said I'm probley wrong as I often am but it's a neat idea. I'm surprised the older wiser members haven't "chimed in" on this.