Can you still get trike conversion kits for bikes? How hard are they to make?

[VenomRS4]

Ive heard and seen many different things on dirtbikes being converted to trikes with kits that were available in the 80s. Who made these kits? Why dont I ever see them for sale anywhere? Ive only seen a couple...and they wre in junk yards!

How difficult are those kits to make? If someone were to produce a good number of them again, do you think they would sell?

Just an idea.

[Nightbiker07]

they arent produced anymore cause of the ban on all things trike.
you could fab one up though. just get a bike, get a quad rear end, and modify the swinger to mount to the bike.
VOILA! a trike!
then you wont have to chop up existing trike parts, youd be chopping up quad parts!

[NINJA]

Ok, it's not near as simple as you think it is. Read other posts in this forum. If it were so easy, half the people on here would have 07 trikes like Derrick's.

[cr480r]

How difficult are those kits to make? If someone were to produce a good number of them again, do you think they would sell?

I think a conversion kit would be rather simple to build, but I dont think they would sell... Not at a price making them worthwhile to build... Most people that would want a converted bike would just build it themselves... The trouble with converting a bike is that the frame geometry is much different than that of a production 3-wheeler... The geometry differences usually result in a machine with a raked out front end, but custom tripples could somewhat remedy that issue... Another problem is that even with a custom subframe a taller seat hight and/or little ground clearance usually results... And most dirtbikes kick-start towards the rear leaving very few fender options... There are exceptions, but most bike-framed trikes IMO are usually best suited for drag/dune hillshooter use... That is why they are usually KX or CR500's...


Ok, it's not near as simple as you think it is. Read other posts in this forum. If it were so easy, half the people on here would have 07 trikes like Derrick's.

Trikes like Derricks are more than just a bike conversion...

[3Wheelers4Life]

i posted this earlier, heres the thread if you want to see. http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=69196

[Nightbiker07]

i actually think it would be alot simpler to convert a quad to a trike than a bike to a trike. on a quad, just chop the entire front end, rework the frame to get it like the front of a frame on a bike, and mount a set of bike forks to it. no pain in the ass suspension to re invent, just some much simpler fab work on the frame.

obviously, this wont work on a utility quad that is 4wd........

[cr480r]

i actually think it would be alot simpler to convert a quad to a trike than a bike to a trike. on a quad, just chop the entire front end, rework the frame to get it like the front of a frame on a bike, and mount a set of bike forks to it. no pain in the ass suspension to re invent, just some much simpler fab work on the frame.

To convert a quad you would need a jig... tons of welding... a new gas tank... new radiators.. and there would be no VIN #'s after converting the frame... It would not make for a very friendly "kit"... IMO a set of tripple clamps,a front hub and caliper bracket, a custom swingarm(no re-engineering... just copy the bike), and a new bolt-on subframe would be much easier to package and ship compared to whats needed to convert a quad... And far more affordable...

[McDerry]

To convert a quad you would need a jig... tons of welding... a new gas tank... new radiators.. and there would be no VIN #'s after converting the frame... It would not make for a very friendly "kit"... IMO a set of tripple clamps,a front hub and caliper bracket, a custom swingarm(no re-engineering... just copy the bike), and a new bolt-on subframe would be much easier to package and ship compared to whats needed to convert a quad... And far more affordable...

You could retain most quads gastanks, radiators and vin number.

I personally havent seen many vins on a quad on the steering neck, there normally on the lower frame tube under the motor.

In reality you'd have a self centering self jigging bracket. I could picture a machined tube to accept bearings sliding through the steering shaft hole, with a triangular brace with a collar that slides over the botom and ties back into the lower frame.

For the front suspension you'd basicly have a axle a hub and a set of tripples with the kit. The person themselves would have to hunt down the corresponding shocks from the corresponding high production dirtbike. Little CRs are pretty popular.

You'd retain the quad vin, the quad frame, but with a single front wheel.

YOu'd have a lower cog then the Dirtbike, and a muhc more robust suspension.

especially if you used a older trx frame. Hell the early 250trx is the same frame as a trike up front, just has some extra metal welded to it. You can even see the trike lines in it.

[cr480r]

You could retain most quads gastanks, radiators and vin number.

I personally havent seen many vins on a quad on the steering neck, there normally on the lower frame tube under the motor.

In reality you'd have a self centering self jigging bracket. I could picture a machined tube to accept bearings sliding through the steering shaft hole, with a triangular brace with a collar that slides over the botom and ties back into the lower frame.

For the front suspension you'd basicly have a axle a hub and a set of tripples with the kit. The person themselves would have to hunt down the corresponding shocks from the corresponding high production dirtbike. Little CRs are pretty popular.

You'd retain the quad vin, the quad frame, but with a single front wheel.

YOu'd have a lower cog then the Dirtbike, and a muhc more robust suspension.

especially if you used a older trx frame. Hell the early 250trx is the same frame as a trike up front, just has some extra metal welded to it. You can even see the trike lines in it.

Would you actually cut up a TRX250R to make a 250R 3-wheeler?:wondering ... As for the VIN #'s... I was thinking of a TRX 450... I would really like to see what a conversion would look like if it retained the stock 4 wheeler gas tank and radiator...:lol: