eBay Find of the Day: unusual Kawasaki-powered Sportcycle

 Autoblog http://atu.ca/6b81

..From VW-powered trikes to ZX14-engined specials, the
three-wheeled platform has seen its fair share of
development over the years. One such machine, called the
Sportcycle, offers a new twist on the three-wheel platform
[eBay autction page: http://atu.ca/Kawasaki  ]. It's powered
by a Kawasaki ZRX, as in a whole Kawasaki ZRX motorcycle
and not just its engine. The entire Kawasaki motorcycle on
which the Sportcycle is based has been left completely
intact, minus the front wheel and fork. Those have been
replaced by the driver's seat and a full front axle
sporting two wheels. It's absolutely brilliant in a crazy,
maniacal kinda way. One benefit to this peculiar platform
is that a second passenger could still ride on the bike's
stock seat if you removed that absurd rear wing. The
Sportcycle is currently on eBay Motors with a Buy-It-Now
price of a little under $15,000, which is about what you'd
pay for similar trikes like the the Tri-Magnum and XR3 from
Riley Enterprises and the Can Am Spyder, which can also be
had brand-new for about 15 grand...

 

It's not all that new, I have seen a few other conversions that link a
whole motorcycle with an open wheeled front end.

The resulting contraption is rather longish and doesn't corner like
a four wheeled GP car because the narrow single rear tire doesn't have
enough grip.

 
When you learn to hang out the rear end of a tail heavy vehicle tell
someone that cares. Oh and yes I can...give me a valk and I can PROVE
you wrong. Then again you are only write when you use wiki and much of
that data is suspect.

 
Any performance car fan knows that the fastest vehicles on a race
track are mid-engined.

Nancy James, an *airline flight attendant* still holds the SCCA D
Sports Racer
lap record of 01:19.873 @ 112 mph, set on the Big Track at Willow
Springs.

The little sports racer was powered by a Yamaha FZR1000 engine...


Oh, isn't that cute. I'm supposed to *give* a loser the means to prove
me wrong.

Shit.

 
Nice try and it is a nice first effort. But it's crap because the
fronts are TOO FAR APART. Better to use the front end of an original
VW as a metric for track width. Now me, I'd probally source the upper
and lower control arm from a parts catalog, something with adjustable
camber. The head stock ideally should be about even with the drivers
ears. For a body rocell and CF are the best way to go.

But what do I know I've just gamed it out in my head since the late
70's. Never had a need to layout a jig and build it.
--
Keith