anyone interested in old cars as well as bikes ?

[rdsmudge]

This is my modern classic. Built like a Panzer Tank and just as thirsty.

[murdo]

Can anyone enlighten me please as to why 3 wheel cars? were so popular in the UK. Rare to see any on roads in Aus.

[bikerbob]

If my memory serves me I think that years ago they were in the same classification as a motorcycle combination and if they were under 8cwt in weight they could be driven on a motorcycle licence.

[wetdog]

i think your right , three wheelers where cheap to insure , buy and run also could be driven on a m/c licence (with no reverse at first) and they where fast , with two wheels at the front handeld well (one at the front disaster)

[twolitre]

If you study stability and wheel arrangement scientifically you will fint that a single FRONT wheel is inherently more stable. Unless of course you are daft enough to slam the brakes on on a sharp corner.
Three wheelers below 8cwt could be driven on a motorbike licence, making them an easy transition from motorcycling to covered motoring without a car test. But not if fitted with reverse gear I believe. Though Siba Dynastart which ran the a 2 stroke engine avoided that that.
Jim.

[murdo]

I read an article last night about a bloke on the Queensland Gold Coast making 3 wheeler type vehicles using Honda VTR 1000cc V twin engines with the bike engine/frame fitted to the rear of the two seat cabin. With the two front wheel arrangement and the driver/passenger weight centre behind the front axel line he was able to do 'donuts' in it easily with out any chance of tipping over. I have yet to see anybody do that with a single front wheel unit, even the VW powered trikes.

[wetdog]

anyone who thinks one wheel at the front is more stable than two has never driven a reliant , i dont care what science says

[bikerbob]

My late father in the late fifties changed from a motorcycle combination to a Bond minicar it had 3. 8"wheels one in front and 2 at the rear was powered by a Villiers 250cc single engine over the front wheel. It had electric start but if that failed you could lift the bonnet up put your foot in and kick it over on the kickstart, it also had 3 forward gears and a reverse which was not a gear but was electrical it turned the engine backwards. With this method you could drive with a motorcycle licence. He did not have it for very long as it was always breaking down it would constantly keep shearing the woodfruff key on the mainshaft along with the brakes constantly seizing up.

[twolitre]

anyone who thinks one wheel at the front is more stable than two has never driven a reliant , i dont care what science says

You are blaming wheel configuration when you should be considering  the centre of gravity dictated by engine position. Put the single wheel AND the engine at the back and handling can become frightening.
I had a smart looking three wheeler, I believe was called a Coronet ( though I may be wrong - it was over 50 years ago) with Anzani 3 cylinder engine at the rear. Almost new.
Yes I am that old and there were lots of 3 wheelers still being produced. of which I have driven many!
The Coronet looked fantastic and had a fair turn of speed, but using the speed on a corner was a different matter. "Sucking eggs" seems to fit here and to me science is more reliable than beliefs.
I can also vouch that a Reliant Robin is perhaps more stable on the water than on the road!

Yes that is me with a Robin!

Jim

[twolitre]

Just had a further thought.

Consider a child's pedal cycle (tricycle). Why are they always single wheel at the front and the riders seat well back?
The reason is simple. IT IS THE MOST STABLE AND SAFEST CONFIGURATION with 3 wheels! Adding a heavy load (engine?) over or in front of the front wheel produces a vast stability change.
Of course keeping the C of G low will help whatever configuration.
Jim.

[Rex]

They used to race Morgans at Brooklands etc and many still are being raced around the world. They can be slung into a corner so fast that the single back wheel breaks away, but the same thing done with anything in the Reliant/Bond wheel configuration would have it performing a barrel roll down the track. The positioning of the engine is a red herring.
The child's tricycle is single front wheel because it's simpler ie cheaper to produce that way, although thinking back to the larger-wheeled chain-driven (as opposed to pedals on the front wheel) trikes kids had years ago it was easy to lift the inner rear wheel. Safety wasn't a priority, but costs where.

[twolitre]

If you sling an engine BETWEEN a pair of wheels it is more difficult to turn it over, front or back. Keep it low and it gets more difficult. That sums up a Morgan! With admittedly startling cornering ability.

The Reliant has the engine at the "wrong end" for best stability of the wheel arrangement and the Cof G is much higher for passenger comfort, but all that just compromises the INHERENT STABILITY of the best wheel arrangement.
A Reliant with a rear engine between the two rear wheels and lower seating with less ground clearance would have proved a much more stable design.

Oh and the first Reliant I ever drove was an aluminium bodied open top two seater produced before the Robins etc. It was lighter, very nippy and a lot of fun to drive. It never felt in danger of turning over and I wanted one! Could not afford it though! 

[wetdog]

i had a reliant van handling was very poor , and the leaf spring snapped going round balla lakes which went thro the floor and lifted my seat up , i had to drive back with front and rear wheel steering as it let the axel go , very interesting , three wheeled honda things are now ban for road use , i have a morgan and it does handle quite well (at the speed i drive which is slow) i dont know who thinks one wheel at the front is a good idea as all the people i know who have experience of this arrangment think its sh*t , what next a man on the moon

[wetdog]

some interesting reading here reguards 3 wheel arrangment http://cll.qc.ca/Professeurs/Mecanique/ethierp/3-wheels/3w-clas.htm

[murdo]

Some time back in the 1980's when 3 wheel farm bikes were about, the 'powers that rule' banned all farm workers from using them because of the number of people being killed or injured. So you could use the two wheeled bike (fall over anywhere), four wheel vehicle (land rover, utility, etc) or horse (unpredictable hay burners). Now that we have the four wheeled 'Quad bike', those same powers want to put roll bars on them to "save" people. What about some rider training???