Vulcan 900 Trike Build

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

Thanks everyone.
WW, yes the axle has a limited slip differential not just straight through axle. I have ridden the 900 twice for a total of less than 20 miles. It is a really smooth machine and the torque at almost any speed is strong and smooth. The center of gravity is low and it was easy to handle. I really enjoyed my little trip through the Chickamauga battlefield. The added weight of the kit with all the stuff is about 250 lbs net. (You loose some weight from removing the OE swingarm and rear tire assembly. So, basically it should be the equivalent of having a large second rider on board but I thin this bike can handle it with no problem. The 900 is rated at about 45 mpg normally, so I'm hoping to get about 40 mpg when it is converted to the trike.
My painter recommended that I put it all together, drill all the holes, and try everything out to make sure it was how I wanted it and then take the body off and bring it to him to paint, so that is my plan. It's a little more work that way but I think he's given me good advice, especially since I haven't done this before.
This may look like a lot so far, but I really didn't do a lot other than unpack stuff at this point. I realize that I am still recovering from my wreck and although I can now stand and walk slowly without a cane I am by no means fast, nor can I pick up anything heavy and walk with it. So, this may take a while, but that's okay. I'm just happy that I am able to do it at all.

I have been back at work for less than 2 weeks and I'm required to be in the wheelchair at work for another 3 weeks, then 4 weeks walking but no lifting. Nice to be earning a paycheck once again.

Hey, I finally finished all the classes I was taking in the Spring when I had my wreck and ended with 3 A's and 1 C, Yea! I have one final left to take for the one class I took this Summer and then 2 classes this Fall and I should graduate in December. I will be so glad to be finished with school.

A limited slip diff, nifty and probably a good idea overall. I like the painters advice, basically he is wanting you to prefit and iron the kinks out instead of munching his paint job.
Congrats on the good marks and continuing education program.

[burkbuilds]

I spent about 5 hours earlier this week on two evenings working on stripping the items off the bike. I removed the seat and the backrest and saddle bags.


Next I put the bike up on a lift I bought at Harbor Freight. With my limited range of motion getting up and down this lift was pretty much essential for me.



Next I removed the tail lights and license plate assembly and the rear fender.



I was hoping to leave the exhaust pipes alone, but I just couldn't get to all the swing arm bolts with it in place so off the pipes came.





Now I was able to get the rear tire assembly out.





Here is how it looks from the back with the wheel out of the way.


I took the brake caliper off and just secured it to the frame for the time being to get it out of the way.


On the drivers side I needed to move the radiator overflow bottle to gain access to the swing arm bolts.

Next I got the mono shock absorber out

Finally I was able to remove the bolts holding the swing arm assembly in place and pull it out.


Here is a pic of the bike from the back without the swing arm in place

The new swingarm needed the shock mount assembly from the one I pulled out of the bike, so I removed it from the bike swing arm and installed it on the trike kit swing arm.



Once I had the swingarm out on the ground next to the trike kit, I realized the trike kit company just bought a swingarm for a Kawasaki Vulcan 900, cut two parts of the frame off it and welded it to the Trike Kit Axle Assembly with some thick plate steel. Pretty smart way of doing this actually.

[Water Warrior 2]

WOW !!!! That is an awesome amount of work you have done so far. The beauty of doing a new bike is no rust, mud, slime or screwed up fittings. I used to undress my new dirt bikes years ago to see what was under the plastic but you Sir have gone way beyond anything I ever did. BB, you did an amazing start in only a few hours and I am more than impressed.

A suggestion though. For my peace of mind. Please please please cover the tank with a couple fluffy towels to protect the finish. Tools and shiny paint will eventually get attracted to each other. It is a Universal Law. :oops: :poorbaby:

[mole2]

Very good progress there BB. I really like that jack from Harbor Freight - much better than the one I bought from them.

[alantf]

Lovely job. One question, though. How do you get a belt drive fitted to the diff. without taking the axle, & diff. covers, off the swingarm?

[jonathan180iq]

This is a gorgeous thread.
Mechanic porn

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by jonathan180iq

This is a gorgeous thread.
Mechanic porn

And fondling the new parts is a requirement. We get to watch and it is not considered bad. Life is good. :2tup:

[burkbuilds]

Hi Alantf, I actually got that all put together last night in about two hours and I have pics, but I'm tired and ready to crash tonight, so I'll try to post tomorrow.

I came home from dinner tonight to find that we had a flash flood in the area and my shop got about 8" of water in it, so I've spent the last several hours trying to clean and dry out everything. Got about 5 or 6 fans running now trying to get all the dampness out of the nooks and crannies and hopefully I will be able to work on the bike the rest of the weekend. A ditch up the road was clogged up causing the water to go up and over the road bed and down my neighbors driveway across my back yard and straight through my garage door and into my shop. Bummer. This has happened before. I think it's time to build a 12" high dam across my property line.

[Maggie]

Wow, so great to see all the pics. It's like seeing an xray to learn what's really under the flesh. Thanks BB. I'm too chicken to really take things apart, so I really appreciate the visual.

[PimpS]

Yiha! Way to go BB!