Once the axles and axle tubes were in place and the transmission was mounted we were ready to move the trike closer to being a rolling chassis.
The next step was to put on the axle boot. I bought a newer modification which is a split boot. This allows one to put on the boot after the axle is in the transmission. In this picture the boot clamp has been twisted to allow you to see how the screws and nuts hold the two pieces of the boot together.
However, I loosened the clamp closest to the wheel to rotate the boot into a smooth position. That way when the vehicle is at rest there is no additional stress on the boot so it will last longer. In the picture below you can see the boot is straight. At this point the axle is mounted and bolted to the frame.
Next a series of bearings and gaskets are added so we can begin to mount the brake system.
In a previous post I mentioned we are converting the trike from a traditional bug drum brake system to a more modern disc brake system for extra safety.
With the brake mounts in place we can install the wheel mounts.
Here is a rear view of the trike with the wheel mounts on.
After the wheel mounts are in place we bolt on the disc braking system.
Finally, the shock absorbers are mounted after the brakes are on.
At this point we could put the tires on the hubs and mount the wheels on the frame, but since we are not ready to roll the frame we thought it would be easier to leave on the shop table without the tires in place.
Visually it is starting to look closer to complete. We still need to install a clutch and a motor. We need to get some seats and frame up some body shell to mount the seats upon. The front end is ready to install but we still need to get handle bar risers to mount on the front end and some handle bars. However, we have finally caught up with all the purchased parts and have completed installing everything I hoped to do by Easter.
