Subaru Trike??

[Doc M]

I keep hearing rumors of a mythical beast, and feel like I'm chasing a dang unicorn.

Now to get serious, (I don't do that very often) I'm still in the parts collection stages of building a Subi Trike for my elderly father to ride along with us a bit longer. Between scar tissue from back surgeries and now type 2 diabetes he has very little feeling left in his feet, and his days of even holding up a 2 wheeler have come and gone.

The mythical beast I refer to is a Goldwing trike with a Subaru engine and automatic transmission, all mounted in place of the stock wing engine. I've talked to several who saw the guys build thread somewhere but I can't seem to find it. So if you know where that build thread exists please lead the way as I really want to explore what and how he did things. I can figure it out on my own, but seeing someone else's similar project never hurts a thing and can sometimes be quite helpful.

As for the build I am doing, I will use a Suzuki Cavalcade as I have several for parts and the Cavalcade had all the bells and whistles like cruise control and a comfortable ride to begin with, along with a hydraulic clutch master cylinder that I will utilize for the rear brakes, most likely with a slave. Plan is to mount a Subaru engine in place of the stock engine, fuel tank will need to be relocated as it's where the Subi transmission needs to sit, leaving the rear axle and suspension to sort out.

What I have so far on a donor car is a 98 Legacy AWD with a bad crank so I'm still shopping (with only a couple hundred currently in the budget) but have enough to start And yes, I will be taking lots of pics and doing my own build thread, this one is on a low (almost no existent) budget so especially when it first hits the road it won't be pretty, but the goal for this one is to get his knees in the breeze and to heck with how it looks.

Any thoughts or ideas appreciated and if you have a link to that mythical build thread on the Subi Goldwing please share it.

 

[stacebg]

looks like a good fit... i looked at a similar thing a while back... compare to a wing you foot moves back about 2 inches to clear the heads....
my plan was the block where the axles come out of the front dif....and i had some clutch discs made to lock up the clutch that powers the rear wheels.... then i was going to put in a super short drive shaft... i see no reason it wont work

g luck

 

[stacebg]

wonder if you can get it registered last i knew tx wouldnt register a home built

 

[Doc M]

wonder if you can get it registered last i knew tx wouldnt register a home built

Not worried about it, the Cavalcade I'm using is already titled in my name so getting tags won't be an issue, and any wise a$$ cop that figures out it's not stock probably wouldn't take a ride out from under an old vet for fear I would make him a laughing stock in a court room. And if it should come down to a court battle I welcome the challenge with open arms.

I'm even thinking on going one step further and buying a donor Subaru with a clear title so I can put it in my name as well. That way all the numbers come back in my name, would be awful difficult to find a jury to convict on anything with all that in place.

Seriously, that's a law that needs to be challenged, and will be sooner or later.

- - - Updated - - -

looks like a good fit... i looked at a similar thing a while back... compare to a wing you foot moves back about 2 inches to clear the heads....
my plan was the block where the axles come out of the front dif....and i had some clutch discs made to lock up the clutch that powers the rear wheels.... then i was going to put in a super short drive shaft... i see no reason it wont work

g luck

Yup, if I go with the Subaru Independent rear axle assembly the drive shaft would be nothing more than a very short coupling. As for the front axles stubs, I believe they can just sit and spin, but I may block them off anyway.

 

[stacebg]

Not worried about it, the Cavalcade I'm using is already titled in my name so getting tags won't be an issue, and any wise a$$ cop that figures out it's not stock probably wouldn't take a ride out from under an old vet for fear I would make him a laughing stock in a court room. And if it should come down to a court battle I welcome the challenge with open arms.

I'm even thinking on going one step further and buying a donor Subaru with a clear title so I can put it in my name as well. That way all the numbers come back in my name, would be awful difficult to find a jury to convict on anything with all that in place.

Seriously, that's a law that needs to be challenged, and will be sooner or later.

- - - Updated - - -



Yup, if I go with the Subaru Independent rear axle assembly the drive shaft would be nothing more than a very short coupling. As for the front axles stubs, I believe they can just sit and spin, but I may block them off anyway.

may want to see what others have found with the reg thing... ..i would opt for 2 universals... even if you rigid mount every thing the will be some misalignment and would want to go with factory rubber mount any how

 

[Doc M]

I am interested to see what others have found with the registration issue, but at this time I'm not finding anything challenging the new law in the local law library. I'm also going to do some custom machine work on the valve covers so instead of it saying Subaru on each side of the engine it will just be a rectangular inset, and maybe find a reflector the right size for that inset or something. If I'm lucky I'll find a Suzuki logo that will fit in there, but my point is if it doesn't say Subaru in big embossed letters it will be less likely to attract the wrong attention. And having an ex brother-in-law who owns a machine shop never hurt anyone either.

As for the drive shaft, if it ends up too short for 2 universals I'll set it up with a lovejoy coupling, and it will all be mounted hopefully with stock Subaru mounts. Of course with a lovejoy coupling I would need to connect the transmission body with the rear differential housing

 

[stacebg]

i hate to see anyone go through a bunch of time and $ and not be able to get registration..
and trying to "disguise"probably wont work
1 discussion is here
http://www.triketalk.com/forum/search.php?searchid=466770

post a question in the general questions section
surely many will chime in

 

[Doc M]

Yea I know, but keep in mind this thing probably won't see 1000 miles a year, maybe 1 trip a month to eat dinner and a couple of trips down to Port Lavaca to camp out for the weekend. My father hasn't been an avid rider for the last few decades and I seriously doubt that will change. I know I'm running a risk just registering it as a Cavalcade, but one I am willing to take as this is the only way he will ever ride again unless someone wants to give him a Can-Am Spyder. With his puny SSI check and what I make on a few odd jobs anymore we simply can't afford the payments on a Can-Am.

On a side note, he did fall in love with a Can-Am I was servicing for a customer, and there's a kit available for integrating the rear brake with the front brake which would make it perfect for him "IF" we could afford one.

 

[peteg59]

Some serious advice is don't take on the project, in Texas.
Texas is not your friend when it comes to registering a "hybrid", meaning motorcycle >car> truck fabricated combo.

Lots of previous discussion on here about this exact topic somewhere.
Save your money for a used vintage Goldwing trike, or another motorcycle engined trike & you'll be facing less DMV headaches in Texas.
Ya can't fight city hall and come out winning on this, unfortunately, or so it seems...:AGGHH:

 

[Doc M]

Oh but I LIVE for battles like this!! The state of Taxes,,,,,,,errr I mean Texas has grossly overstepped on many new laws and regulations, and even though I am a devout pro lifer I'm laughing my arse off over the Supreme court ruling today on Taxes abortion law HB2. We have too many yankees and nazifornian's holding public office that need to be ousted (hung from the nearest tree) and get things back on proper track in this state.

 

[Doc M]

Talked to a couple of local VW trike owners in the last couple of days, it was a battle for them but they finally did get to register their trikes. One had to install a seat belt for whatever reason but if that's what it takes,,,,,,,,,,, LoL

I've also started in on the State including my local rep, the governors office on disability and D.A.R.S. so I've been busy. I got a reply from the governors office on disability who call the situation "Intriguing", and the dialog is still ongoing.

Please keep in mind I am fighting this from a disability standpoint and as a "Quality of Life" issue, so if your able bodied and just want a trike, any answers I get may not necessarily apply to your situation, but I will keep this thread updated as I get more info. If a loophole exists I'll find it, and if not I'll keep going until one does exist.

 

[stacebg]

keep us posted

 

[loosenut]

Just my 2 cents

I don't know about installing a subraru in a bike. But I've had some experience with a 91, 95, and 97 awd legacies. They are basically fwd with rear output shaft controlled by the ecm through a clutch pack. By using the wheel speed sensors to detect the car turning the ecm will then cycle the clutch to eliminate axle wrap up. There should be a fuse in the underhood fusebox marked awd. You can pull that to disable the awd , and allows the car to be driven as a fwd. Using the front drive and plugging the rear output would be one option to consider. Also this transmission does not tolerate any restrictions in the cooler lines. It will take out the planetary due to lack of lubrication. Some cars(mainly postal) had a inline filter from the factory. Good luck

 

[stacebg]

Talked to a couple of local VW trike owners in the last couple of days, it was a battle for them but they finally did get to register their trikes. One had to install a seat belt for whatever reason but if that's what it takes,,,,,,,,,,, LoL

I've also started in on the State including my local rep, the governors office on disability and D.A.R.S. so I've been busy. I got a reply from the governors office on disability who call the situation "Intriguing", and the dialog is still ongoing.

Please keep in mind I am fighting this from a disability standpoint and as a "Quality of Life" issue, so if your able bodied and just want a trike, any answers I get may not necessarily apply to your situation, but I will keep this thread updated as I get more info. If a loophole exists I'll find it, and if not I'll keep going until one does exist.

how is this project coming??

 

[joek99]

Home built trike

My Corvair trike is titled in Maine as a home built as it was in New Hampshire where I bought it. The only trouble I had was insurance coverage but Progressive didn't bat an eye and cost was the same as my Goldwing insurance from a previous insurance company. Is titling home built a problem?

 

[Gorilla]

My Corvair trike is titled in Maine as a home built as it was in New Hampshire where I bought it. The only trouble I had was insurance coverage but Progressive didn't bat an eye and cost was the same as my Goldwing insurance from a previous insurance company. Is titling home built a problem?

Doesn't sound like it for your build. If you had no problem getting a title and got reasonable insurance then you are good to go.

 

[diver]

Im still running my junk in NH on custom motorcycle title from Florida.. DMV in concord says im ok . They told me as long as it will pass inspection they are fine with it. 4 years now and all ok.. heck if i had to dig up all the paperwork for building my junk I would be in deep shiet for a new build

 

[peteg59]

My Corvair trike is titled in Maine as a home built as it was in New Hampshire where I bought it. The only trouble I had was insurance coverage but Progressive didn't bat an eye and cost was the same as my Goldwing insurance from a previous insurance company. Is titling home built a problem?

Luckily, Maine allows home built vehicles, as does NH. We are fortunate there as some states don't allow home builds to be registered for road use. (Ask a Texan, for example)

As far as titling, don't know how Maine looks at that. NH doesn't require titles for anything older than year 2000.
What did Maine call it on your title, a Corvair or?