Is it time for an alternative motorcycle donor?

[elder]

Hello everyone,

I am looking at building a tR1ke and have been surprised by the price of the Yamaha R1 donor. There does not seem to be much around for a lot less than £3000 that doesn't have a dubious background. I am sure that this is a lot more than 12 months ago. I very much doubt that I could recover even half of that selling parts.

I have also noticed that some other bike are a much better deal. In particular I would suggest the Triumph three cylinder bikes. Whilst I am no expert there does appear to be a very heavy parts commonality between different models, there are lots for sale, and they are pretty bulletproof. They also sound lovely.

My previous experience of Yamaha - a RD500 - suggests that parts availability might well become an issue as well. Again the Triumph hopefully wins because of numbers and it being a British company with spares based here.

Is there any interest in offering a different base donor? I realise that I can pay for anything but I am hoping that someone else might be thinking along the same lines......................... ? 

[edwinwl]

Theoretical any motorbike engine can be fitted.

I considered a bmw k1100 engine. Cheap and bullit proof engines and no chain.

Ask people of rtr.

[Deleted]

My choice would be Honda SP1 V-Twin 1000cc :-)

[elder]

There is a problem with both the SP1 and the K100. They are both long powertrains which might well cause problems.

I would also have the same concerns about the Honda as the Yamaha regarding price and numbers.

[hightower]

Zx10-r compact powerful nearly 200 bhp and what I've bought to put in my rocket.

[Deleted]

From what I understand. It's all down to R&D. I did ask Paul about another engine. He said it came down to costs of making something else work. I didn't want to invest more money. As it is, and this is only the second straight 4 engine I have owned. It seems fine, cruises at low revs in top gear. Seems to fit the job very well. My personal choice would be V-Twin because I only normally ride a big twin.

[elder]

I am not surprised that it is about the cost of providing an alternative but eventually it has to happen & I just wondered if now was considered to be the time.

I think that the three of us have proved that you can't please all the people all the time!

[slugshot]

This is something that I have looked at doing next winter, the latest motors have plenty of top end power but the gear ratios are very track orientated with a ridiculously high 1st gear.

So 200hp is very tempting but you won't get all that power until 80_90mph in first gear.
Wheel spin will also be a big problem as well, and pulling away without stalling with that tall 1st gear would take a lot of practice.

I like the Triumph motor though, a lower 1st and plenty of torque with a nice 3cyl sound.
If the rear bulkhead was left off a V twin would fit easily providing everything lined up.
There are plenty of TL 1000 motors out there as well.

The problem is though...what would it be called, it wouldn't be a tR1ke

[elder]

If I was developing a new model commercially I would want a good steady long term source of donors. I am not sure how often BMW & Triumph change anything significant but the Japanese seem to make major changes much more frequently.

How many of the parts required on a 2014 BMW or Triumph are interchangeable with a 1995? I bet a lot more than with a Japanese bike.

Personally I still like the Triumph idea.

As to the name. Well we have a TRIumph TRIke. Personally I could happily market TRIke.

[erik]

If I'd reconsider a new build I'd really like to convert the Atomic to a trike. The bonnet looks much more to date and the wide windscreen should be a great item.

Last summer I met a guy who has a Triumph Daytone with 150k kilometers on it. At 100K he opened the engine and it looked great. he knew he'll never sell that bike for good money and decided to keep on driving. Just regular service and occasionally new batts. The engine sounded pretty neat IMO.

Fixing poins of Ducati engines haven't been changed on air cooled engines from Ppantah till 900SSie of which I am 100% sure off. The Monster S4 or ST4 watercooled engines have lots of low torque and low exhaust. The swingarm pivots in the engine cases and shock linkage right on top of the cilinder head on the frame. All hardware is bolted tot he airbox (including batterie) and the loom is build around it which makes is literally a drop in power plant with exeption of light wiring, dash and switches which would be simple extending only.
The Monster famely is made from 1992 or so and build in bulk and come very cheap 2nd hand with low milage. I wouldn't even reconsider to sell the not needed parts.

If you really want a great engine I'd suggest do have a search for anything but chain driven. Very limmited choices but an Buell or MT01 might be an idea?

The 900ss or monster engines may be great in the Eco-exo trike if it gets re engeneered with tR1ke wishbones+hubs. seems like a great single seater and a cheapalternative to a Rayvolution

[paulas]

Hi Guys,

I've been following this forum as a guest for about a year now and finally took the plunge. I currently have a Sylva J15 with a 1.4 Zetec SE making 105bhp. It weighs 550ish KGS and is lively, fun and fairly easy to get out of shape, especially in cold damp weather.

I really would love to build a tR1ke next time but 150bhp, 325kgs and wheelspin in the first 4 gears scares me silly!

The Morgan three wheeler has 82bhp and about 180 ft lb of torque and is apparently a hoot to drive!

I have spoken to Paul at RTR and they are quite happy to build a chassis for any engine but at a price - fair enough.

I've been looking at either the Yamaha TDM 850/900 twin with about 90bhp and priced around £1500 - £2000, or a bit more off the wall, a Yamaha Raptor 700 single cylinder quad. I reckon they would sound amazing, be fun to drive and less likely to bite you when you got it wrong.

Any thoughts?

Paul

[Deleted]

Nah, forget that, you want the full experience of horror of facing the wrong way on acceleration :-) I did this early on (Making out I meant to do it, and rapidly buggering off down the road I just came up) :-)

I think you might find the Raptor under powered. Not sure about the TDM V-Twin, what about a VTR Firestorm engine? 105 or 108 BHP I think, a monster of a 1000CC V-Twin, and pretty cheap nowadays?

My Firestorm achieved an easy 150 MPH right past a Vascar Police bike on the A64 back when I was a bit daft in the head, it had loads more to give :-)

[slugshot]

I really don't see the point building a tR1ke with a 700 single engine, the yam TDM-TRX 850 was a good enough bike and powerful enough as a bike, but don't forget the tR1ke will be a lot heavier.

If you like the idea of a nippy little trike like the morgan but wince at the ridiculous price they want for one, why not look at the eco-exo with a 400cc single motor, its very light, about 1/2 the weight of the morgan and likely to be plenty of fun at a fraction of the cost.

Or build a tR1ke with the R1 motor and just remember...the throttle works both ways and it won't bite if you don't poke it too hard.

[paulh]

Never done that in the tr1ke Nick, but did it a few times in the vauxhall monaro vxr 500. Great fun car, the traction control would work after you were already facing the wrong way.

[wonderbadger]

My last bike was a triumph Sprint with the 1050cc lump, often wondered if it would make a good donor, it's a cracking engine with a great soundtrack, lots of popping and burbling on overrun and a more fruity engine note than the 4 pot Japanese machines. Ok so not as throaty as a twin but a nice compromise between torque and power.