Trikes are converted  that have a single front wheel  and a wide rear axle  that is similar to that of a car .  And motorcycle enthusiasts are  going ape for them. If you want to give one a try, you can buy one that’s ready to ride, buy one of the good used trikes for sale  or you can choose to build your own trike if you’re sure that  you have the necessary tools and a moderate amount of mechanical skill .  

Before you start tearing down your motorcycle to convert it , you should know that many before you have found  building a trike can be more than they could handle  and ended up throwing up their hands  or taking the less difficult route of converting an old Volkswagon car into a trike.  This method has certain benefits  as far as performance is concerned as well as it’s a way  of recycling an old automobile  that would have otherwise wound up in a salvage yard .  You get a custom VW trike  and do a little something to save the environment at the same time!

TRIKE BUILDING PARTS, TOOLS and EQUIPMENT

To build your own trike , you have to have a motorcycle, tools, a welder and metal working machines  and at times, an extra set of hands.  Equipment common to a  welding and/or machine shop is necessary  to the building process and once you have the trike put together ,  it’s going to need a paint job for it to look its best if you added fenders.  

Here is the short list  of tools, parts and equipment that you will need to build a trike in addition to the usual crescent wrenches and drivers  found in most toolboxes.

A welder , welding supplies and welding equipment  

Two Floor Jacks

A metal lathe

Sheet metal and Sheet metal stock

A set of  trailer wheels and tires

If you want your trike to have  fenders you will need a paint booth, paint and painting supplies.

STEP 1.  

Position  your two wheeled motorcycle  on the floor jacks , loosen the nuts on the sides of the rear axle.  Slide the rear tire towards the front of the bike  while sliding the chain off of the  sprocket letting  you to remove  the wheel off the  swing arm.

Now’s the time to make a decision on how wide you want your trike .  You can make your axle as fat or as skinny  as you want it but standard width is approximately  38 ½ from drum to drum.  Although I’ve heard of widths up to  45 ½ and as narrow as 35 inches let’s assume that you want to build a trike that is half as wide as its total length. 

STEP 2.

Determine  how long the rear axle should be according to these specifications  and then subtract the length of the axle that is in place  from that number.  Divide this figure  by two and you’ll have the measurement of the axle that you will be welding to each side of the existing rear axle . 

Use the metal lathe to turn some of your metal stock  to make it the same  thickness of the  existing rear axle.  Weld your turned extensions  to each end of the existing axle being absolutely sure they are square . 

STEP 3.

You are now ready to start welding the wheel hubs onto  the ends of your modified axle and to put the new axle in place on the swing arm.  Snug up the nuts and replace the chain back  on the sprocket.  Mount your  trailer wheels and tires onto the ends of the extended axle and tighten the  lug nuts.   

At this point in the building project , you have the option of adding fenders (which which you will probably want to paint ) or just jumping on  and proving to your biker friends that you know a thing or two about how to build a trike motorcycle.

WARNING

Motorcycle mechanic wanna be’s  might misread the title of this article as “How to Build a Trike in Three Easy Steps” because well…I condensed the instructions into three steps that may actually be easy to experienced motorcycle mechanics.  But the truth is that building a trike  takes more than a little welding and metal working skill.  For instance, if the axle is not square  your trike is going to shake like crazy on the road creating a very dangerous situation that could cause a horrible motorcycle wreck  with possible casualties and that’s just one of number of other things that can happen if you mess up .   

If you have the least little doubt  that you possess the necessary skills, do yourself ( and me ) a favor and shop the motorcycle classifieds  for a good used trike for sale or ask an experienced friend to help you learn how to build a trike before before you hurt yourself .