Worcester Massachusetts Build

[smokinguitarplayer]

roger, I have a good buddy in Albany who I plan to visit in the next few months , maybe sooner .. looks like you are a couple of hours away from him ... perhaps I will visit and see your eco-exo in action and take a close up look ... would you be up for that?

[qdos]

Nov 5, 2015 0:03:36 GMT roger32849 said:

We are all sitting here waiting for Kelvin to tilt his hand enough to show us all the design that will lead the Eco-Exo into the future. We all built trikes (or are in the process). The forum activity is rather slow, not a lot of news to broadcast about the Eco-Exo. Fred is pressing ahead, Eddie and I have ridden ours for two seasons and we are all looking to you Kelvin to pave the way to the new design... either that, or we all buy an Elio.

If anybody has any questions about how safe, how strong, how reliable or how "anything" I would be more than happy to share my build experience... I can speak for Eddie as well we all will share..... Kelvin... LOL :-). I hope you realize you've been punked.... in good fun....

Roger
Worcester, Massachusetts

Sorry guys, I've been busy with several shows and the likes going on over here in England along with several other things. Not entirely sure what 'Being punked' means exactly in English but no worries. I did see that several of you had been chatting about the windscreen and shroud recently and was pondering about maybe making up a more substantial moulding as a simple add on with a housing for the instrumentation.

The new trike is still firmly under wraps and personally I think it's much more stylish than the Elio so I'm not worried by that but then I guess I'm bound to say that aren't I?

[roger32849]

Kelvin... being "punked" is simply being kidded. I know you are not going to tip your hand on your design. I wanted you to know that I am still interested in your efforts. As far as the Elio, it will probably cost 3 to 4 times more than the projected $6500.00 advertised price... that is if it gets built at all.

As far as the windshield bracket goes, it is a great idea. What about moulding fixtures for the 2003-2006 and 2007 to current speedo's. It would make the build seamless and would save a ton of engineering headaches.. Well for the owners.?

I can wait for the grand roll out and debut of the Eco-Exo. ?

Roger
Worcester, Massachusetts

[qdos]

Aha I thought it meant something like that, I've heard it used several times and figured I knew roughly what it meant but you know what it's like with slang I'm sure, there gets a point where you need to check you've got the right interpretation of it.

I'm up for any suggestions to help make the Eco-Exo easier to build and more versatile. I do however love how people put their own interpretations on their vehicles, it's one of the reasons I love Kit Cars so much. There's nothing more dull than a street full of BMWs. I'll be looking at the instrument binnacle shortly on the new trike, I've already roughed it out in 3D but will be refining it shortly.

[roger32849]

I was just looking around at the postings. The forum is quite inactive recently. There is no real news or changes happening here on my end, but thought I would at least see if anyone was around. I am just curious.... worldwide, how many Eco-Exo trikes have been sold? I thought from reading different postings here and there that the number was around 12 or 13. I count 6 here in the US, 4 in the UK and 3 on the Continent and one possibly in Australia.

Of the six here in the US, one is in Texas, one in Wisconsin, one in Pennsylvania and 2 in Colorado and mine in Massachusetts. No on has heard from the buyers in Colorado and the Texas buyer, Jim Cox has dropped off the scope. It seem Fred, Ed, and me are the only ones that correspond with Erik and the builders in the UK.

I find it a bit odd that people (builders) would invest their time, funds, and space to a project as interesting as this and neither offer nor accept technical guidance or seek camaraderie on the forum. We all have something to offer by sharing differing points of view. We all bought into a very unique kit vehicle. While participation on the forum isn't manditory, it would be very interesting to see how others completed their projects.

Last winter I completed part 1 of a 2 part facelift. Phase one was when I added the new instrument cluster, molded the cluster surround and incorperate my windscreen into the bonnet. I also inset my tail light into a shortened rear fender and added an actual dash plate on the curved bar just in front of the steering wheel. Part of the preliminary work was to add the new side cover and air scoop to aid in engine cooling.

There will be a bit more information on phase 2 as I get further prepared to start the project. Until then, I will be making some templates and getting the necessary materials to make it happen. There will naturally be pictures, and accompanying information. I figure by the end of the month I will be started. Until then, keep in touch everyone.

Roger
Worcester Massachusetts

[nigel]

Jan 9, 2016 19:17:37 GMT roger32849 said:

... I am just curious.... worldwide, how many Eco-Exo trikes have been sold?....

Interesting question and one that jointly Scott Scott  & Kelvin qdos are only really able to answer.

If unsure of the total maybe just a figure of how many Kelvin qdos has sold since taking over the project in December 2014?

nigel

[edvb]

I also would be interested what the total is now.

Since retired I am always searching the latest in reverse trikes and there is very little new. It will be interesting to see what Kelvin has come up with in his new design.

Edward

[davej98002]

Jan 12, 2016 16:28:14 GMT edvb said:

I also would be interested what the total is now.

Since retired I am always searching the latest in reverse trikes and there is very little new. It will be interesting to see what Kelvin has come up with in his new design.

Edward

Edward, I am waiting to see too. While there is nothing wrong with the current Eco-Exo, it is not RIGHT for me. I will hold off till I see. I am searching for another frame kit but $20,000 is not in my budget.

So how is retirement going?  I too gave up and retired Dec 1st, 2015 and DO NOT miss the 81 mile round trip commute!!! I have lots of time and could be sticking steel together but no good kits out there that I like.

[edvb]

Dave

Retirement is Great!!!

It will be hard to find a kit at your price point that will work. If you do it yourself you have a 50/50 chance it will work properly. Or you could sell all you scooters and get a used Slingshot:)

I talked to Stuart before redesigning the A-arms and really was biting the bullets hoping everything would turn out and the trike would be drivable when done.

Without a good base that would not of happened.

I think at the price point you are at realistically is going to very very hard to find something that will work well. Your hope would be to scourge the web and find a project you could complete. That is how I was able to build mine the way I wanted it to be.

Being retired it would be hard to build what I have now. Roger did his best to save and I am sure he has about 9K or more invested in his now.

Unless you have that kind of budget it will be extremely difficult to build something you can trust your life on driving at 55-65 MPH. If you do it in like a 2-3 year span it could be doable. But you need to find your match first.

The funny thing is that both Roger and I have had fantastic reliability on ours to the point we never worry too much about breaking down when we go on a trip. See what some Morgan 3 owners have to say about that on the talkMorgan.com website.

Edward

[roger32849]

I agree Ed. I am probably at the $9k price point right now. When I bought my kit, I had a bit of a nest egg built up to pay for my kit all at once, but Exomotive only wanted a partial down pament and the balance when it shipped. Truthfully It worked out better that way because it gave me a bit of money to pick up my donor scooter and allowed me time to add to my savings to pay the last payment. The kit and donor were just over $5k. I think my final figure was around $8k. There is a long list of parts, paint and Powder coating that took up the rest. If I built another one I could do it faster, but not for less money.

It sounds like a lot of time, effort and money, and it is. There is a huge "HOWEVER" in there, and that is: it is just plain fun to drive, it returns more enjoyment per driving time than most people could imagine. Owning one of these gets immediate attention and a crowd around you at bike shows. They walk straight past all the $50k custom bike builds and look at what I brought. Even the police give you a thumbs up. When ever you buy and put together one of these, you become an instant celebrity of sorts. It's a feel good ride and people do notice.

Dave, from all of your posts and conversations with other forum members, it is obvious you want "something" like a reverse trike or trike kit. The Eco-Exo-R is probably the lowest price and easiest to build. The next step up isn't going to be a little more, but a lot more.... probably twice the money. Get on the TR1KE forum and see what those puppies are going for as an example.

If it were me, I would find a way to make it happen. Nothing is out of reach if you really want to put the effort into going out there and getting what you want. Price is always a consideration, not a roadblock.

Good luck

Roger
Worcester, Massachusetts

[davej98002]

Kinda waiting for Kelvin to release the newest wiz-bang model. My luck I'd order a current model and the newest one will be what I really wanted.

[roger32849]

Dave. New is new but older is Tried and True. We are all hopeful of seeing what Kelvin has up his sleeve, or in the build barn as it were. Is it going to be whiz bang? I suppose it really depends on what your expectations are. To me a 2 seater would be great, but then the TR1KE could fill that biĺl, if that's all I was looking for, whiz bang to me is something innovative, different, stylish and in my garage. Hopefully the work has progressed on schedule and Kelvin is just knocking back a few waiting for the right time to unveil his new prototype Mk3 Eco-Exo.....

Fingers crossed everyone

Roger
Worcester, Massachusetts

[qdos]

Hi guys,

Sorry I've not been around for various reasons partly as I've had some IT troubles over the holiday periods and not had time to sort them out (I need to buy some new portable IT as what I was using quite successfully sadly got mislaid and subsequently damaged rendering it unusable. Word of advice to anyone with multiple devices do write down your username ans passwords and keep them on good old fashioned paper as they can be a real pain in the ass to try and remember when your device you usually use is broken)

Yes I've been busy and have rather a lot on my hands at the moment in workshop and barn as it happens, along with some great developments too but also a fair bit of delays from other things beyond anyone's control.

Ironically I too was wondering exactly how many Eco-Exo trikes there are out there as there do seem to be more than I had thought all be it not vast numbers. So I don't honestly know what the figures are actually. May seem a bit crazy but this is a cottage industry in all honesty as is the case with the majority of the UK kit Car scene.

I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place at the moment as I'm in that interim zone trying to get things set up for proper production of trikes, clearing out existing projects (from before the Eco-Exo) and developing the Eco-Exo with new models. Unfortunately there's been a couple of outside events that bring people to a halt which inevitably impact on plans but these are all really things that happen to everyone sooner or later no matter what walk of life you're in. I can promise you though that 2016 will see things that I hope and believe will excite existing owners/builders of the marque and I'm in no doubt will also excite people outside who have never even considered a trike before.

Dave as to weather or not you'd prefer the up coming new Eco Exo variant or the one you all love right now I can't really answer that and you'll just have to make your own mind up. I'm aiming to have a launch in May though I think at the moment it's not likely to be a fully finished display model but I'll let you have an exclusive preview so you can decide should you chose to make an order. Inevitably along the way during the development there's lots of great ideas that also pop up and will eventually see their way into yet further models and each one will have it's own fans.

I probably, really ought not be saying any of the above and should instead just keep my lips well and truly sealed until the great reveal of each development on the day it happens but I know you guys all have a passion for what you're building or indeed have built and I too share in that passion. So much so I bought the project and I'm burying more money into developing it further.

Right I best be getting back to the grindstone and carry on with all these things in the workshop.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years

Kelvin

[roger32849]

I have a lot on my hands as well. It seems it is the time of the year that old retired guys like me get the back burnered work started. I am in the design phase of work and will be at it for some time. It is odd, the designing part takes longer than the actual work. Go figure. I will be doing some routine maintenance to a Miata that I bought at the end of summer. I am replacing the timing belt and water pump. Not a difficult job, but with the cold weather it can be "tiring". My Victory trike has a new low miles (3,000 miles) engine intalled and has been completely serviced including a new drive belt. I replaced the blacked out exhaust heat shields with chrome. It looks very nice, and runs quite well. I temporarily donated the old engine to my local victory dealership for training. I will be getting it back this summer. They will use it to train their mechanics on complete engine overhaul including diagnosing a defective transmission on my donor engine. The engine part worked great, the transmission was in the beginning phase of failure.

I already cleaned up my machine shop, got to paint the floors and touch up the cabinets yet, but for the most part it is done. After I picked up all my tools, I came to the conclusion that I cannot fix anything without using every single tool in my cabinet. I need to get ahold of how I work and clean up my shop more often.

The Eco-Exo-R is in my garage beneath a cover. I placed furniture dollies under the tires to make it easier to move around. I will be replacing the tires as I said in an earlier post, so the dollies will come in handy when I do that. I also need to replace the broken engine kill switch. The tank is full and stabilizer installed. I pulled back the cover yesterday because I heard an odd sound coming from in front of the bonnet. As I pulled the cover back one headlight came on and I heard a soft snoring sound as the headlight dimmed and slowly went out. I covered her back up to allow her to sleep out the winter.

If you read this Kelvin, do you have any complete Eco-Exo-R trike kits ready to ship? Before I start the riding season in April, I thought I would ask. I get a LOT of interest from guys (when I take my trike out for a ride) looking to buy "something". It would be good to know if there is an availability, or a wait.


That's all for now...

Roger
Worcester, Massachusetts

[roger32849]

Hold on to your snow shovels everyone. It looks like we are in for a huge Nor'Easter this coming weekend. I will bring out my snow blower tomorrow and crank it up. Lucky thing it has an electric starter. For those of you not familiar with what a Nor'Easter is. It is a s**t load of snow and a lot of wind and blizzard conditions. The storm usually isn't as bad as the snow removal.

Kelvin, in your new design, incorperate a snow plow on the front and ship as many as you can make to Massachusetts...

Roger
Worcester, Massachusetts