My life with Python trikes Mk1 , Mk1.5 , Mk2 ?

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I have just posted details of what I am using on my eLecTricks thread. You may be able to modify it. The front mount is pictured, the rear isn't, yet, as it hasn't been finalised. What the top seat connection point will consist of is two telescoping tubes: Outer pieces will be hinged from the seat, spaced equally each side of centre. The inner, or bottom telescoping parts will be attached to a bracket lower than the height of seat attachment - either side of your top of seat support, if you like. Their lower ends will be attached at a pivot point. The telescoping tubes will be fixed in position with two pins, allowing multi-positions for seat rake angle adjustment.

Remove the pins, and the seat just lifts right out.
 
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I have just posted details of what I am using on my eLecTricks thread.
Remove the pins, and the seat just lifts right out.
Thanks for this , I have some reservations about the seat mount and being held purely by your bottom ?

It looks to be very narrow and it is amazing how much shuffling and off centre activity there is mounting and dismounting ? I would be afraid of the whole think twisting on the rear mounts ?
 
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Since I know where the seat needs to be and have no interest in ' adjustment ' I think the easiest solution is to use the existing seat sub-frame and drill the mounting holes higher so they go through the middle of the main frame instead of under it ?

I can put some anti-crush tubes in the frame and use 8mm QR's to hold the seat [ I am told they are available ]

It may then be possible to remove the rear one and slacken the front one and it will tip forward , if the front lip of the seat is to close to the frame for that I can remove the front one and take the seat off ?
 

SirJoey

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My cozy little nook in the corner!
This is really coming along nicely, Paul!

Did you already have previous woodworking experience & skills,
or are you now in uncharted territory, so to speak? Either way, nice work! (y)

***
 
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This is really coming along nicely, Paul!


Thanks , except for the fact I can't fit or remove it :(


Did you already have previous woodworking experience & skills,
I have done some [ and buried some :rolleyes:] neither count as woodworking experience & skills !

Either way, nice work! (y)
Due to soft focus and clever camera angles I assure you...
 
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Ok I need to make the seat & frame either tilt forward as a unit OR be easily removable ?



I have the above seat mount frame because the seat is a plastic moulding and in my view not rigid enough to be mounted directly from it's 2 mount points [ it maybe but I don't want to crack them proving it isn't ! ]

This shows the 2 sets of tabs I welded to the seat mount frame and clamped it over the frame like below



So I need the whole frame and seat to either :-

a) have some form of Q/R at the back [ left in picture ] and a pivot at the front [ right in picture ]

or

b) have a Q/R mount at both ends for it's quick removal ?

or

c) something else ?

So tried a quick and dirty fix.

I tried raising the seat mount frame and drilling directly through the main frame inline with the mounting tab holes and seeing if I could get it to pivot on the existing mounting tabs and their front bolt ? then just use a Q/R for the rear mount..

That failed miserably as the holes in each pair of tabs turned out not to be inline from side to side which is ok when the mounting bolts go under the frame but not when they pass through the frame , of course the front was the worst one of the two I wanted it to pivot on..

all the best Paul
 
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Funny, virtually exactly what I am involved with at the moment. I'll show you mine if you show me your's.

Thought I would have my problem sorted today but have had a couple of holdups. Getting a bit more steel tomorrow morning. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
 
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Kevin

Hopefully you have less constraints than me , I am about to start with a blank sheet of paper as existing mount cannot be altered to meet new criteria without making it even heavier than it is [ already way to heavy ].

So on with thinking cap and out with the grinder , shame I drilled 4 holes in the main frame I no longer need DOH :mad:
 
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Stormbird: Your frame should now be lighter and I have a couple of similar excess-weight-removal things as well.

My modifications have been quite challenging as well. I ended up having to remove the top spreader from the seat frame and replace it with another that allows the seat to sit about 40mm closer to the rear wheel, also making for an easier and lighter fitting for the adjuster. The supporting telescoping tubes will now be placed much further apart and supported on bracing from the tow hitch that will form the centre of the cargo bay. For the first time, I should be able to sit in the seat, and work out where a couple of things in front of it need to be. The dashboard framing will be next, bracing it to the rear bulkhead frame.

I have had a couple of those two steps backward things lately but will soon be beyond where I had to backup and try some modifications.

It's all fun. (Repeat 10 times each evening before bed.)
 
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Ok after getting my head around starting afresh I have made the first parts :-



This is a mount that bolts under the seat picking up it's 2 x 6mm bolt holes that are 3.5" apart.

The bolts fit in the slots and it is deep & wide enough to get a spanner in :-



I started with 4 square parts , due to poor cutting [ it was very dark when I finished them ] only 2 were good enough to continue with , without major fettling. These I drilled the holes in and then cut 6" of 1" tubing and welded the parts together , some of the welds were even good !

Bolted to the nose of the seat :-



Whilst it looks bulky the seat itself curves up at that point and so in fact they end up level when the seat is in it's correct position ?



I will probably cut a 1/16" plate with 2 holes in it to slip over the bolts before they go through the seat base , a sort of ' lawyer ' plate to ensure the bolts do not slip out of the slots as the slots ended up shorter than I expected them.

Next up a saddle for the round tube to sit in and 2 clamps at either end using Q/R's should let the front tip forward.

The saddle may need to sit directly on the frame , and ideally be easily adjustable up and down the frame ? more thinking cap me thinks ...
 
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Paul: That should work. "There is always a way ..." the same as "There is always gold ..." The difficult part is in finding it.

With seats, it can be a compromise between what you want and what you can get or will be happy with - complete removal, rake adjustment, front of seat height, fore/aft adjustment, quick release or spanners (will have to carry them), etc. I want it all and I want it right now. My mother used to tell me that I often used "I want it right now" well before I can remember it. I have no idea if it ever worked.

Consider that you may want to make an adjustment after many rides or during a long ride. What may feel perfect on day one may not feel so perfect on day 362 and a small adjustment can make a huge comfort difference - until you get used to that and want to change it. Retrofitting it is much more difficult and messes up your nice paintwork.
 
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Consider that you may want to make an adjustment after many rides or during a long ride. What may feel perfect on day one may not feel so perfect on day 362 and a small adjustment can make a huge comfort difference - until you get used to that and want to change it. Retrofitting it is much more difficult and messes up your nice paintwork.
I have ridden my 2 trikes 1000's miles in the last 6+ years and know exactly where the seat needs to be in relation to the pivot , for the current front end that is .
I do keep making my seats adjustable however that is always for the mythical ' other person ' who may in the future own one of them instead of me ?

Although i did move the seat once for a short arsed southerner to ride it , all I really remember was the constant shouting behind me ' I can't steer it , I can't steer it ' actually achieving the feat of getting louder and sounding quieter as I pedaled away from him.

Talk about making a spectacle of yourself in public ...

 
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I have ridden my 2 trikes 1000's miles in the last 6+ years and know exactly where the seat needs to be in relation to the pivot , for the current front end that is .
I do keep making my seats adjustable however that is always for the mythical ' other person ' who may in the future own one of them instead of me ?

Although i did move the seat once for a short arsed southerner to ride it , all I really remember was the constant shouting behind me ' I can't steer it , I can't steer it ' actually achieving the feat of getting louder and sounding quieter as I pedaled away from him.

Talk about making a spectacle of yourself in public ...

Cruel, cruel man. May your backplates buckle and your wheels go out of true :)
 
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Well the gods and SWMBO were kind to me and I got an afternoon working on the front seat tipping support part 2 !



First one done and second lined up for hitting with the magic stick...

Tricky to weld as magnet in the way so initially I decided to do the 2 welds along the upper edge , did a 1/2" tack in the middle of each one then removed the magnet and put a 1/2" tack in both inside corners. After that I went back to the upper edges and finished those both off. Then alternating corners I did the 4 welds needed to have been all the way around.



They now need to be filed to clean them up and allow the first parts to fit inside snugly.
 
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That may not twist in the cup. It may get prevented from turning very far by the square tube you have attached the round section of tube to, as I think it will strike the edge of the cup and lift the tube out of the cup.
That's not how mine is arranged anyway.
 
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That may not twist in the cup. It may get prevented from turning very far by the square tube you have attached the round section of tube to, as I think it will strike the edge of the cup and lift the tube out of the cup.
It was a concern of mine that is why there is a plan B ?



If you look at the front of the seat it is angled upwards , that will angle the square part backwards so when it does tip forwards it will have it's full range of limited movement available [ unlike if the square tube was mounted on the seat vertical ? ]

Plan B which was Plan A till I came up with this contorted idea was actually to use 10mm x 10mm x 3mm angle iron instead of the square tube ? I was just concerned there was only 1 small weld holding it to the tube ?

That's not how mine is arranged anyway.
The pictures you sent do not show how your round tube is fastened to your seat ?
 
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That may not twist in the cup. It may get prevented from turning very far by the square tube you have attached the round section of tube to, as I think it will strike the edge of the cup and lift the tube out of the cup.
Sleeping on this of course it does not have to tilt ?

The rear needs to be free of the frame to allow fairing access , the front could just be lifted out of the saddle as there is little difference between undoing the front clamps for tilting and removing them completely ?

I think I just saw tilting as cool ! a bit of vanity on my part me thinks .....
 
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Paul, It's a simple fix to have full-tilt/rotation.
You just arrange for the tube component to be supported at the ends instead of the middle. Job done.
If you like I can remove the parts from my seat and take pictures out in the open?
 
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