California law states that 3 wheeled vehicles must have covering for
each wheel. The wheels we had been using were just an old spare set C had lying
around, but he had some rims he never used he donated to the project. The wider
the wheels the more stable the ride, and the boys wanted to make sure I was
safe. However, the new rims were 10” wide and 15” tall. We were going to need
some big fenders. VW bug fenders were out because they would require too many
points to mount to the frame. Motorcycle fenders that size are hard to find and
ridiculously expensive. Instead we used a local vendor and got trailer fenders.
I took the rims C was donating and had tires mounted on them.
Traditional bugs use 165/80-15 tires. These new tires were 275/60-15. You can see
the size difference in the picture.
You can see how fierce the new tire looks on the frame
Of course, the first step was to get a layer of primer on the fender
since we live near the coast and it is autumn.
Next C welded some solid 5/8 rod to the underside for the points that
would attach to the frame
I trimmed the fenders with tape and sprayed the underside with
undercoating to protect from road debris and dampen down the noise a bit. Then
we did a mock up of the mounting for the tires.
C tack welded the fenders on and then we removed the hoop that mounted
them to the frame so he could weld the underside. With the fenders off you can
see the undercoating on them. That is why they are black.
Finally with all 3 fenders mounted the visual idea of the trike is
actually starting to become a reality.
Of course, with it being autumn, and me having a day job, a lot of our
work ends up happening at night.
