Controls

How many times have I said "I'm back!"?

I seem to limp on with this project with little spurts of energy and enthusiasm every 6 months or so, and each time I do manage to get a bit of work done on the trike, I announce that "this is it!"

For this very reason, I've not mentioned anything about progress for a few weeks - just to see if its just another flash-in-the-pan of energy.

In truth, I have never lost the enthusiasm for this project.... I just seem to never have enough time.  However, the last couple of weeks have somehow gifted me some 'free' weekends (I say "free" because they come at the cost of my wife now moaning at me for being 'selfish'!  I agree with her - I am being proactively selfish, and if she is going to moan at me anyway, then the best place for me is in the garage!)

A few weeks ago Hugh came over to have a look at how things were progressing.  Over a cup of tea we debated the best position and layout for the foot pedals - I have decided to put the throttle on the handlebars, clutch on the left foot, rear brake on the the right foot, and front brake up with the throttle (there are many options, but this one felt best for me)

I desperately want to keep this machine as bare as possible, so the idea of foot rests and pegs doesn't appeal to me, even if they are practical, safe and comfortable (I am sure I will eat my words eventually, but the time being - its going to stay as simple as possible) 

Rightly or wrongly, I am utilising the original Reliant Robin foot pedals - I figured that I didn't need to reinvent the leverage ratios, and with a bit of bending and cutting & shutting, they would be perfectly acceptable to get me started.  To keep things tidy, I am keeping all the mechanics inboard of the frame..... but I do wonder if there will be a problem with some of it hanging low - is that an MOT/DVLA issue?  I am trying to keep everything above sump level.... but even so, thats pretty low!

Much to the horror of proper engineers (including TVOR) I am doing very little 'design' on this trike - I have loads of thumbnail sketches to facilitate my thinking of options, but I rarely use a measure, or make a prototype/cardboard mock up. Everything is made up on the go.  The upside to this approach is that I keep my focus on what 'feels' right, the downside is that I have had to throw away a fair amount of metal that I've welded up before realising that the idea wont work in practice - The bearing pins for the pedals is a case in point - that was a lot of wasted filing energy getting those original 1/4"discs made up, but hey ho! it was good exercise for me, and anyway I rather like the process of creating and making complicated brackets - its a shame people wont get to see the complexity of my design to hold the brake cylinder in place!

The original vehicle - Reliant Rialto GLS - was fitted with a duel master brake cylinder that mounts on an incline - its big, ugly and awkward.  So I bought a much simpler single cylinder that was advertised on ebay as a 'Reliant Brake/Clutch' cylinder.  I have fitted it, and yet have no idea if its suitable for the job.  I only need it to brake the 2 rear wheels, so I am sure it will be fine (*famous last words, as he ploughs helplessly across the busy crossroads junction*).  I have read some interesting articles about how difficult it can be to get the brakes right on a trike (so many variable to mess with), so I am preparing myself to have to experiment..... but I cant experiment until I have some practical data to work with.... so lets get it running and see what we've got.

The handbrake was another worry that I mulled over for a long time.  I wanted it to be unobtrusive, and rather fancied it at 90 degrees to the original with straight pull-rods to the rear brakes, but it was Hugh who helped me think this though and I have finally opted for using the original device on a newly make platform with very short cables - it doesn't look too bad and hopefully relatively easy to operate (i wont know until I have serviced the brakes, and even then I will need to get the cable professionally made up)

As much as I am loving doing this, I am aware that my original vision (of 'clean and simple') is slowly being compromised as I have to bolt on necessary accessories (pedals, brake handles, fuel tank, battery, electrics etc) - I have come to realise that the designers who are the real genius', are not those who make the sweeping line sketches of concepts, but those who can incorporate all the necessary mundane stuff with understated simplicity.

Next step - service the brakes, make some handlebars, think about fuel-tank and battery.  Once I have most of the bracketry tacked in the right place, I can strip the engine out, roll the frame over and weld up proper

By the way - if you are looking for special or odd sized nuts and bolts, in any manner of material, then I thoroughly recommend E.C. Pitcher in Walsall.  Thats were I got my shoulder screws for the pedal pivots