Organic Engines SUV trike

[Mark Rehder]

I wish to solicit the opinion of those that own or have ridden this OE
design.

I built a close clone a few years back, and while I love the carrying
capacity (I'm car-free and work as a drummer, so lots of stuff to move),
I have never been entirely happy with the handling due to the mid-ship
pivot. Most roads up here all have varying degrees of crown that make
the front end want to tilt into the curb. And on some roads I can work
up a real sweat just keeping the trike straight, as it takes some upper
body effort to track properly.

Also, after making sharp turns I found it hard to bring the front end
back to centre, and eventually added some innertube bungees to help with
this (which indicates an inherent design flaw somewhere). I'm not
suggesting Dan's design is flawed, as it may just be the way it came out
for me. But I heard from another fellow that has the same issues with
his clone, so it'd be great to hear from those that have a "factory"
model, and hear their impressions.

I think part of my problem may be due to the weight of the front end (I
used rectangular tube mild steel instead of Dan's round cro-mo), and my
long legs result in a long boom, and my 200 lbs. on top of it all. I
looked at the HPM Tri-Hauler, and while its seat stays fixed and the
legs pivot with the boom, I'm concerned about the durability of the
underseat headset design.

This issue is enough of a problem for me that I'm seriously considering
re-doing the whole front half into a twist-chain FWD...

Thx.
Mark

http:drumbent.com/trike.html




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Post by Mark Rehder
I
looked at the HPM Tri-Hauler, and while its seat stays fixed and the
legs pivot with the boom, I'm concerned about the durability of the
underseat headset design.

My first TH went for years doing occasional duty, sometimes up to 400
lbs and once up to 800 lbs, and the headset never gave me problems. The
first thing to go under overloading is the spokes.

Post by Mark Rehder
This issue is enough of a problem for me that I'm seriously considering
re-doing the whole front half into a twist-chain FWD...

You might try the TH design. You need to hop your butt around in the
seat a bit to reposition your hips for making turns, but that is easy
enough if you set up your handlebars agreeably.