Building a 3-Wheel Motorcycle: The Engine

When building a 3-wheel motorcycle, or a motorcycle trike, there are some components that you want to pay special attention to. The frame, the fork, the rear axle, transmission, and the engine are all important parts that need to be not only powerful enough, but also positioned correctly.

3-Wheel Motorcycle Building

Building your own motorcycle trike is not as hard as one might think. You do need to have some mechanical knowledge of motorcycles, but if you have a frame, some metal working tools, and ingenuity, then building the 3-wheel motorcycle is basically a time consuming project. Many people have successfully built their own3-wheel motorcycle in their garage and ride them without problem.

Motorcycle Engine

One of the biggest considerations when building a 3-wheel motorcycle is the engine that you will use. If you already have a motorcycle that you want to use, chances are you can use the same engine. However, there might be some issues you have to look at before making that decision.

Size of Engine

The size of your engine is going to be the biggest consideration to make as far as building your motorcycle trike. The engine is the powerhouse behind moving your motorcycle and giving it the power it needs to move through traffic. If you have an undersized engine, then your trike will not be able to haul the weight of the bike and flow in traffic. The added weight of the heavy-duty axle, larger rear body, and bigger tires, are going to require at least a 1200cc engine. This might seem like it is too big for what you want, but anything less than that will only underpower the 3-wheel motorcycle

Placement of Engine

Again, when building a 3-wheel motorcycle, there are some considerations that are not in the typical motorcycle build. Where the engine goes is going to determine the overall balance of the trike. This balance is needed to not only keep the front of the bike on the ground, but also to give a smoother ride. The larger the engine, the closer to the front it will have to be. This means special consideration of the exhaust as it runs down the length of the bike.

Maintenance of Engine

There are several maintenance duties that must be performed on your motorcycle engine to keep it operating efficiently. Much like a car engine, the oil must be changed, spark plugs changed, air filters cleaned and other adjustments are needed to keep the power flowing to the rear wheels. Easy access to these things will make these tasks much easier. When choosing an engine, or building your frame, keep in mind where these components are located so you can work around them.

Chrome Engine

Nothing looks better than a shiny, chrome engine sitting in the middle of a 3-wheel motorcycle. Before you place the engine into the frame, look into getting it chromed so that it will give it a flash as it rides down the road. You can have this done by a professional, or try the process yourself.