Trike Project

A while back I saw a picture of a really cool three wheeled vehicle on the internet.  As I looked at it I said to myself, "I could make one of those."  I was bored and needed a project to occupy myself so it began to happen.

I started by going out and buying a 1000cc Kawasaki motorcycle.  I found it online at a motorcycle shop across town.

I had never ridden one before so I had to get it delivered.

I didn't even have a motorcycle license yet but remedied that by taking a course.  A trike is classified as a motorcycle so I had to get that taken care of anyway.

I started by striping the front wheel from the cycle and built the chassis to connect to a Volkswgon Beetle Front end.

The best thing about this set up is the difficult part of the engineering is already done.  The front and back suspensions already exist. 

All I had to do was connect them together.

The next step was to build the body.

I chose tubular steel that I was able to bend myself.

I followed the design I saw in the picture on the internet but did it my own way.

When I do something I enjoy starting with a basic overall plan and then engineering on the fly.  It keeps my brain active.

 After the body frame was complete I covered the frame with a woven wire cloth to form the surfaces.

A few layers of fiberglass was then put on top of that and finished off with a Bondo skin that I could work smooth.

I almost designed the cockpit to fit one seat but decided it would be a great way to pick up women so I opted for two.

Headlinghts, Mirrors, turn signals and marker lights were easily found on the internet.

I used pre-formed trailer fenders and modified them to fit perfectly.

A nice coat of yellow paint finishes it off.

It took about three years of spare-time work to build this machine. 

I actually enjoyed building it more than driving it. 

It is totally street-legal.

Solar Power Project

Always having been interested in solar power, I decided it was time to spend a little money and time on a do-it-yourself installation.  Sure I could PAY someone to install it and all that but then I wouldn't be enjoying the best part. 

In the beginning I bought one 250 Watt panel and a cheap Chinese grid-tied inverter off of eBay. I used an old clothesline pole and a couple of clamps to mount it.  A simple extension cord plugged it into the wall.  Using a Kill-A-Watt meter I was able to see the power being fed into the house.  It wasn't a whole lot so I bought another panel and two higher quality micro-inverters.

 

Solar Tracker

 The clothesline pole couldn't hold two panels so I sunk a metal fence-post into the ground and designed and welded together a tracking system that follows the path of the sun during the day for maximum power generation.

Still, solar is like candy, more is better.

I bought four more 240 watt panels to put up onto the roof.  Each with it's own micro-inverter.

To mount the panels I would need some rails.  You can't just go to the store and buy rails so I decided to make my own.  Using parts from the electrical section at Home Depot and a little welding, I put together an excellent system.

Rail feet

Panel Rails mounted on roof

The feet of the rails slip right under the shingles and are screwed down for a watertight seal.

Four 250 Watt panels

Next the panels are installed and the wires connected to the inverters then down a trunk line to the breaker box.

The chart above shows the power generated.  The smaller bars indicate the 2 KWh per day generated by the two original panels.  With the four new roof panels added, power jumps up to 8 KWh each day.   It is quite satisfying to watch the power meter turn backwards during the day knowing all the power you are currently using in the house is being provided by the sun.

This has been a very enjoyable project and I wish I had unlimited funds and roof space to become completely self sustaining.