Three wheeler Cabin Scooter Design

[fuoriserie]

ceebmoj said:

I think there where some on ebay a bit back. It looked like a business that had gone bump importing them.

link to long dead auction and a discussion on LCB

Edited by ceebmoj on Tuesday 22 July 21:59

Thanks for the link and info....

[agcmidas]

I saw some of those in Prague last summer:



They certainly were not very powerful. That photo was taken just after it had stalled was struggling to get up the, not very steep hill. It seemed to be making heavy work of the cobbles.
When I got to the bottom of the hill it was parked there, whilst they were trying out another one.



It wasn't clear whether they were testing the trikes in Prague, demonstrating them, or charging for rides.
If you ever visit Prague keep an eye out for the stretched versions of Marlin Roadsters and Pilgrim Bulldogs being used to give tourists "Cabrio tours". Perhaps I should start another thread - kit cars seen on holiday!

It looks like the trikes are now back on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Type-R-Road-Legal-Revers...

[Sat351]

They say it's fitted with 250cc! Top speed 120kmh - Its heavier than the Eco-Exo and that has a 400cc

Also has some massive wheels and tyres, which won't help, but it has some cracking good looks,

[Steffan]

Sat351 said:

They say it's fitted with 250cc! Top speed 120kmh - Its heavier than the Eco-Exo and that has a 400cc

Also has some massive wheels and tyres, which won't help, but it has some cracking good looks,

Regrettably the hype may very well be the best part of the product. It needs careful assessment but currently I think the promises of performance require empiracle confirmation. Looks a very tight and limited machine to me.

[qdos]

There's a fair few clues in the videos that suggest it's one of the poor quality Chinese items that we all dread. Just little things like floppy wheel arches. Upside down steering wheels. Master ignition switch used as a hazard warning lights switch. Totally useless badly installed spoilers. Far too many bits of bent steel tubes in the chassis that could only be put together by someone being paid $10 a month to make it economically viable. Plus all those exposed screw heads that fix the body panels to the chassis. Not to mention the dreadful sound of the engines that just seem to struggle to even tick over.

With regards the "full EEC Approval", well I'd take a good serious look at this and what exactly was 'certified' as often these certificates are so far fetched they beggar belief.

I'd walk away from these myself, a sure fire recipe for disaster in my opinion but good luck to anyone who buys one.

Edited by qdos on Wednesday 23 July 22:55

[Steffan]

qdos said:

There's a fair few clues in the videos that suggest it's one of the poor quality Chinese items that we all dread. Just little things like floppy wheel arches. Upside down steering wheels. Master ignition switch used as a hazard warning lights switch. Totally useless badly installed spoilers. Far too many bits of bent steel tubes in the chassis that could only be put together by someone being paid $10 a month to make it economically viable. Plus all those exposed screw heads that fix the body panels to the chassis. Not to mention the dreadful sound of the engines that just seem to struggle to even tick over.

With regards the "full EEC Approval", well I'd take a good serious look at this and what exactly was 'certified' as often these certificates are so far fetched they beggar belief.

I'd walk away from these myself, a sure fire recipe for disaster in my opinion but good luck to anyone who buys one.

Edited by qdos on Wednesday 23 July 22:55

I must agree with Qdos on this. Qdos is himself an expert on kit cars and three wheellers being well into the kit car manufacturing business. The Deronda and Midas are but two of his strengths. Also a very knowledgeable and helpful man personally and he was kind enough to effect a personal introduction to me to the Rayvolution kit car which I am going to look at this summer.

There are clear signs on this product of less then ideal standards which do not bode well. Upon occasion I have queried the "full EEC Approval" personally on such cars, though not this particular one, and I have invariably had no real answer to my questions. I would certainly look at the cars, because experience is always good, but I am personally doubtful. As Qdos says there are clearly many questions to raise.

[VxDuncan]

Those things are readily available cheap on Alibaba / aliexpress. Factory in China will only see them in quantities of 2+ (hence why they come up on ebay occasionally unregistered).

[Steffan]

VxDuncan said:

Those things are readily available cheap on Alibaba / aliexpress. Factory in China will only see them in quantities of 2+ (hence why they come up on ebay occasionally unregistered).

Interesting if somewhat challenging Array of dozens of different types of three wheelers a very few of which just might possibly be worth a look. Most of the models are whooly inappropriate in a country where the rain falleth much. As Qdos commented earlier I am very doubtful of the quality of these units and I an highly doubtful that any could be used OTR in the UK without IVA which would be almost certain to raise items requiring changes. Probably real conundrums to solve adequately.

The paucity of these in the UK OTR given the extent of the Alibaba listings does beg the question why are so few buying these vehicles and using them in the UK. Probably because achieving registration would be a real nightmare if in fact such transport can be made safe for use in the UK.

Anyone on PH kknow of anyone who has actually got one of these creations (I use that term advisedly) registered on the road in the UK and can give us some comment? I cannot easily believe the bland statements from the manufacturers in China that all their products are approved OTR. Personally I remain highly doubtful.

[qdos]

Moving on....

Something I've been following and which I'm sure will be a lot more worthy of interest is MEV's EVtrike which has a further mention in the latest Complete Kit Car magazine. Still a bit early days yet but it's looking very much the sort of thing I've had a strong interested in as a cabin scooter, it's along similar lines to what I've been doing off an on for a while. I'm sure Stuart will make a good job of it too.

Hopefully I'll get to see it at Donington I'd hoped to see it sooner

[fuoriserie]

KDIcarmad said:

Can an body add to the imformation on this



This is the Feora, created in Los Angeles (USA) in about 1982 by Chuck Ophorst. Powered by a 175cc Honda engine the vehicle had a fibre glass body that resembls a 1950’s aeroplane. Access to the vehicle, as can be seen is via a lift up canopy door. A top speed of 92mph was claimed, I believed that the vehicle never went into production due to high costs.

Does anyone know more? I like the design and would like to see it in the fibre glass. I hope someone knows more!

The other night I was looking at the Feora specifications, top speed 92mph with 175cc is very impressive and was wondering what could be achieved with 2014 technology ? maybe it's time to get back on a new design project for 2015....

[edvb1]

Hi I thought I would join this discussion.

My Eco Exo R has over 850 trouble free miles and is a joy to drive. It is small, reliable and pretty light weight at 572 LBS for the 2005 Burgman 400 pushing it.

It is my go to vehicle for rides in the country or grocery shopping.

This is my mini Ariel Atom and no way would I want to change anything from where it is now. ( Well maybe the carbon seat and custom rear LED lighting for the turn, brake, running and license plate lamps to finish it off.)

But I do keep an eye on the weather when taking it out.

The performance would suffer greatly if it was turned into a enclosed vehicle with the added weight needed for a enclosed body. This is for the Eco Exo R frame as it is now.

I also had a lot of people ask me if it could be enclosed and I reply with I take my other vehicle if rain is imminent.

But like many here I really would like to see a vehicle like the Fiora updated as a Kit vehicle.

The look of a streamlined enclose vehicle that is functional and dependable that could be built for under 20K US would have a following in todays world.

The problem in the US is the regulations that change from state to state so Polaris came out with the Slingshot to address these problems. It had to follow Type 1 regulations for all 50 states so they ended up with what you have now. Type 2 regulations are much tougher to pass including a max of 1500LBS so that is why they choose this route.
Wear your rain gear when things get wet, but properly prepared it will be a fun machine for the price. It is water proof in design.

A low cost and smaller Ecomobile is what I would like to see being designed. It gives the best of both worlds and would be a blast to drive.

But an updated Fiora would not be a bad choice either.

Edward

Edited by edvb1 on Saturday 16th August 23:49

[fuoriserie]

edvb1 said:

Hi I thought I would join this discussion.

My Eco Exo R has over 850 trouble free miles and is a joy to drive. It is small, reliable and pretty light weight at 572 LBS for the 2005 Burgman 400 pushing it.

It is my go to vehicle for rides in the country or grocery shopping.

This is my mini Ariel Atom and no way would I want to change anything from where it is now. ( Well maybe the carbon seat and custom rear LED lighting for the turn, brake, running and license plate lamps to finish it off.)

But I do keep an eye on the weather when taking it out.

The performance would suffer greatly if it was turned into a enclosed vehicle with the added weight needed for a enclosed body. This is for the Eco Exo R frame as it is now.

I also had a lot of people ask me if it could be enclosed and I reply with I take my other vehicle if rain is imminent.

But like many here I really would like to see a vehicle like the Fiora updated as a Kit vehicle.

The look of a streamlined enclose vehicle that is functional and dependable that could be built for under 20K US would have a following in todays world.

The problem in the US is the regulations that change from state to state so Polaris came out with the Slingshot to address these problems. It had to follow Type 1 regulations for all 50 states so they ended up with what you have now. Type 2 regulations are much tougher to pass including a max of 1500LBS so that is why they choose this route.
Wear your rain gear when things get wet, but properly prepared it will be a fun machine for the price. It is water proof in design.

A low cost and smaller Ecomobile is what I would like to see being designed. It gives the best of both worlds and would be a blast to drive.

But an updated Fiora would not be a bad choice either.

Edward

Edited by edvb1 on Saturday 16th August 23:49

Hi Edward, thank you for your feedback.

I used the Feora as an example of an Aero Cabin Scooter Concept because the specifics were impressive for such a small capacity engine( 175cc).

I agree with you that the price would have to be lowcost( or try to) and maybe to lower the cost of the bodywork a mix of GRP and cloth might work....( maybe something like the Velorex : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velorex)


The California Commuter is also very interesting...:

http://www.canosoarus.com/03CalifCommuter/CalCom01...


Doing my research at the moment....but who knows what the future holds....

Edited by fuoriserie on Sunday 17th August 09:53

[Hunky Dory]

Sorry to crash this thread, but wasn't there another three wheeler thread that was more general knocking around? I'm sure I recall reading it from time to time, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I was sure it was in the kit car section....?

[Steffan]

Hunky Dory said:

Sorry to crash this thread, but wasn't there another three wheeler thread that was more general knocking around? I'm sure I recall reading it from time to time, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I was sure it was in the kit car section....?

Possibly

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Any good? There are various others

[Steffan]

Steffan said:

Hunky Dory said:

Sorry to crash this thread, but wasn't there another three wheeler thread that was more general knocking around? I'm sure I recall reading it from time to time, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I was sure it was in the kit car section....?

Possibly

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Any good? There are various others

Or could it be:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Good luck with the search

[fuoriserie]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150cc-GY6-157QMI-Automat...

Interesting engine for a scooter based three wheeler...

[Steffan]

fuoriserie said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150cc-GY6-157QMI-Automat...

Interesting engine for a scooter based three wheeler...

Indeed it is. Any idea what the all up cost would be? Engines have improved dramatically post the Oil crisis and given an ultralight vehicle this might just be adequate. I am in Italy currently but back in the UK at Christmas for an operation (again) and I will keep this in mind and check I out once I am back OTR. Got to be worth a look and careful consideration esp with a Coventry supplier all I need to do now is find a serviceable Berkeley which has a decent tub and off ŵe go again on the next project. There seems to me to be a reasonable chanc of success because this engine must be lighter than the old heavy 1950's engines used by Berkeley originally. Way to go possibly? Need to see the actual engine running and operating well enough first. Good find well done fuoriserie! Coming from Italy (as i kow you do'), I do admire the constant perusing in depth of this genre which you clearly must be doing a great dal ofan order to pick up these gems. Well done indeed.

[fuoriserie]

Steffan said:

Indeed it is. Any idea what the all up cost would be? Engines have improved dramatically post the Oil crisis and given an ultralight vehicle this might just be adequate. I am in Italy currently but back in the UK at Christmas for an operation (again) and I will keep this in mind and check I out once I am back OTR. Got to be worth a look and careful consideration esp with a Coventry supplier all I need to do now is find a serviceable Berkeley which has a decent tub and off we go again on the next project. There seems to me to be a reasonable chanc of success because this engine must be lighter than the old heavy 1950's engines used by Berkeley originally. Way to go possibly? Need to see the actual engine running and operating well enough first. Good find well done fuoriserie! Coming from Italy (as i kow you do'), I do admire the constant perusing in depth of this genre which you clearly must be doing a great dal ofan order to pick up these gems. Well done indeed.

Thank you Steffan....,....I've just decided what my next new project is going to be and a similar engine might work for my needs but maybe a 150 or 250cc would even be better as both would have slightly more power and work better and a light chassis and bodywork might do the trick...and a fire storming speed of 60mph might be achievable.....

Prices vary, but haven't bought one yet...
I've been doing quite a lot of research on threewheelers and quadricycles and decided that my future project is going to be in this niche.

Money is tight for everyone and believe that it will be for the next 3-5yrs, especially for a lot of kitcar enthusiasts and really think that a return to a more affordable, fun and inexpensive threewheeler might be interesting....maybe.


Cheers
Italo

Edited by fuoriserie on Saturday 25th October 14:59

[CanAm]

Not a cabin scooter, but I fancy a modern take on this:-

[Gemaeden]

fuoriserie said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150cc-GY6-157QMI-Automat...

Interesting engine for a scooter based three wheeler...

If reverse is not speed limited (and durable enough) it looks like just what I need for my rear (not mid) engined ultra narrow tadpole trike project. Thanks Italo