Click on image above for larger view, with all the modifications
described below, including engine and horn sounds

Being an apprentice on low wages I didn't go the usual teenager and motorbike route, just had a push bike and I was getting to the age (already there really) when mid life crisis kicks in.

I'd had a hankering for a trike since watching Billy Conolly triking around OZ and I didn't need a bike license either. Not sure how the wife would take it though – well I knew really “If you think you're getting me on that thing you've got another thing coming”- well I wasn't thinking that actually.

After an extensive search of Ebay I finally found what seemed a nice looking trike, a Suzuki VS800 Intruder, 1997 model with a Ford Capri 3000 back axle. I went to have a look at it, had a pillion ride and bought it as a “Buy Now”, hired a trailer and installed it in the barn ready for a thorough check over.

First off, I found an oil leak in the nearside hub – well how do I deal with that ? Back to the Internet - I knew it was a Ford Capri back axle, so started from there. First of all I had to get the half shaft out. It seems all that holds the half shaft in are four small bolts and a bearing retaining plate, blimey !!! Knowing the importance of these 8mm. bolts I replaced them all, together with the spring washers - some of the bolts were short and only penetrated half way through the back plate.

Well that was the easy bit, then there was talk of slide hammers – what on earth's a slide hammer. Well, seems most people improvise or make one. I had a piece of 3” x 2” x 24” long heavy angle, so I drilled two holes in one end to match the diagonals of the wheel nuts, bolted the angle on to the hub and gently tapped the angle as close to the hub as possible with a bricklayers lump hammer, whilst keeping a firm grip on the other end of the angle iron and hey presto, very slowly, off it came. By this time I'd learned quite a bit about hubs and bearings and there was something not quite right - the bearing retaining ring was loose !!!

There was also brake fluid leaking from the banjo bolt, which had, together with the oil, contaminated the brake pads. On closer inspection it was found that the banjo bolt washers had been reused and that was the reason for the leak. Well one consolation, bleeding the brakes was a lot easier than a car - you can do it single-handed.

So now we needed new bearings and brake pads. Further search of the Internet came up with a Quinton Hazel bearing kit QWB151C for a Capri Mk 11 3ltr. and Lockheed Delphi brake pads, LP507 for the LC3165 callipers. These callipers are used on the Ford Granada, Scorpio and Sierra.

A trip to my Landrover expert soon had the old bearing off and a new one pressed on.

The next job was to fit the new brake pads – problem – they're too thick. Back to the Internet and eventually an Email to Delphi. They said the brake cylinders I had were for 10 mm. Discs – I had 12 mm. Seems I missed the “pig in a poke” caveat here - well at least I'm going through a useful learning curve. Back to the Internet for new discs. I discover the correct ones by sending a dimensioned drawing to the supplier – they are 10 mm. discs, BD197S for a Ford Fiesta.

Well, there was still a problem – the brakes didn't work properly. Closer inspection found the Delphi cylinders catching on the bracket holding them on to the axle, preventing them from “floating” freely. This required careful filing of the brackets to both hubs to allow clearance for the cylinders to move freely (you can just see where I needed to file, in the top right of the retaining ring picture – the small grey triangle).

This is a page showing the rear brake master cylinder, using the original cable to operate the piston, instead of the more direct and positive way of using the brake pedal linkages to depress the plunger. This page also shows the modifications I found necessary to counteract the eccentric pull of the brake cable. Further details showing the addition of the Forward Contols can also be seen on this page.

After all this I thought I'd better check the other half shaft, but everything here was OK, except, the studs to this hub were short, only penetrating half way through the wheel nuts - an opportune time to replace these while I had the shaft out.

The bloke I bought the trike from said he'd changed the oil filter and oil, so I thought I'd change the spark plugs and air filters. When I removed the old air filter there was a hole through the side – on closer inspection this was due to the bolt holding the left hand frame cover. It would appear that the threads had worn on the female part of the retainer and a longer bolt had just been pushed in, straight through the air filter. The next thought is how much damage has been done to the cylinder by using unfiltered air and how long has it been going on ? I replaced the bolt with a Rawlnut – this is a rubber expansion fixing and bolt and is just as good as the original.

A test ride and everything seems to work OK – except that the brake lights operate the indicators – they were wired up wrongly. That was an easy job to put right. There are four rear indicators, two in the normal bike position and two on the mudguards. The two on the mudguards use brake light bulbs with the two wires connected together, I suppose because the bulb holders are of the two terminal type. No problem, I just disconnected the 5W terminal to bring the indicators back to 21W.

This trike had passed its MOT last October, 2007 ???

That thought now brings me to the next item or should I say items – hazard warning lights and rear fog light. Yes they are required, even if some people and this trike got away without them at the last MOT.

First I needed to find out the MOT requirement for these.

Looking on the Internet I found the MOT Manual. The criteria here is:-

1. The hazard lights should operate with the engine switched off, e.g. via a fuse direct from the battery.
2. They should have a “tell tale” light or audible signal.
3. The vehicle must have side repeaters. A quote from the above web site states:-

“Lamps incorporating a side repeater are marked either with an 'E' mark in a circle or an 'e' mark in a rectangle above which is a number 5. Some vehicles are fitted with a wraparound lens with no European approval markings. These can be tested by standing approximately 1000mm to the side of the vehicles rear bumper with indicator on. If amber light can be seen coming through the front lens (not a reflection) this is acceptable.”

Although the lenses were E marked I tried the above test and the lenses complied.

Interestingly hazard lights are not required on vehicles registered before the 1st. April 1986, although if fitted must operate and if the “tell tale” is a light it must be a “flashing” light - there is no mention of a “flashing” “tell tale” for vehicles registered after this date on the web site quoted above.

Now for the fog light.

Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 1796. The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.

1. Must be red and visible from a “reasonable distance” ?. (there is no requirement for physical size, wattage, or intensity, although these are
usually 21W if a bulb).
2. They must be fitted either in the centre or on the off side of centre (if a single light).
3. They must be fitted a minimum of 250 mm. and maximum of 1000 mm. above the ground and not more than 5 deg. from the vertical.
4. They must operate independently of and separated from the brake light by a minimum of 100 mm.

The following is a note from the aforementioned MOT web site.

“Note: A rear fog lamp is permitted to operate independently of headlamp, position lamp or ignition system”

I played safe and wired it to the dipped headlamp feed.

Now for the practical stuff – hazard lights.

I found a circuit suggested by Jackie on the BTWUK forum and added a buzzer and SPNO relay. As I had four rear and two front indicators I needed to change the hazard relay to a six-way type. The buzzer and 1N4001S diode was suggested by Chris Gibbs on the Haynes forum.

I found a place for the hazard relay under the seat above one of the air cleaners. The other two relays were housed in the cissy bar cavity as shown later.

The next item was a switch, or should I say switches, as I wanted to group the hazard and fog light switches together on the handlebars.

I couldn't find a suitable double handlebar switch so decided to design my own.

I needed a switch housing, two switches and a means of attaching them to the handlebars.

The switch housing was a Hammond Manufacturing , 52.5mm x 38mm x 31mm die cast box, obtainable from Maplin, together with two 20A, three terminal switches, one amber for the hazards and one red for the fog light. These fit exactly into the box with no room for the “spade end” connectors, so the wires were soldered to the terminals.

The cable between the switches and the relay was a length of CA1F4/50 1.0mm 4 Core PVC (8 mm. OD), £1.13 per metre from TLC, Enfield.

The “+” supply was soldered to both “+” terminals of the switches and supplied from a spare fuse on the fuse block. The switched supply for the hazards was connected to the coil of a 40A, SPNO relay also from Maplin.

The switched supply from this relay is connected between the 49(+) terminal of the hazard relay and the “+” of the battery, via a 15A inline fuse in order to satisfy the 10.5A load of the six indicator lights.

The 4 core cable was sleeved in a length of Goodridge 600-06 hose from Merlin Motorsports (UK) and fed beneath the petrol tank to the relays under the seat and in the cissy bar cavity, normally used as a small tool box.

A hole was drilled in the end of the box, right at the top. The hole was then made into a slot so that the two switches, together with the cable could be withdrawn without desoldering the terminals. Before soldering the switches, a grommet, together with appropriate sizes of heat shrink tubing were placed over the Goodridge sleeving and pushed well out of the way of the soldering heat. The switches were then fixed in position, retaining rings tightened and heat shrink tubing applied.

The clamp holding the switch box is from Leader Motorcycles (USA) and is the clamp half of a Sat Nav bracket, purchased separately. The top of the die cast switch box is drilled and a nut and bolt with a filed down bolt head (to avoid the switches) used to fix the top to the bracket. The bolt threads and bracket/box top surfaces are “locked”with an impact adhesive.

As there was a weak point where the cable entered the switch box I needed some way of preventing the cable from flexing here. To this end the Motion Pro double cable clamp shown in the picture was ideal.

The fog light is an LED type I found on Ebay, advertised for a Mazda MX5/Eunos and as you can see is not much larger than the reflector. In order for the light to "beam" horizontally I used the same spacer as the one behind the reflector. I bolted this through the back of the cissy bar infill with a countersunk bolt and stuck the fog light to the spacer with impact adhesive.

As there was only one central reflector this did not comply with the regulations applying to a trike. Back to Ebay where I found a pair of self adhesive reflectors (85 mm. x 30 mm.). These I fitted to the rear axle to comply with the regulations, (within 400 mm. from the outer edge of the vehicle and not more than 500 mm. apart, with a minimum of 250 mm. from the ground to the bottom of the reflector).

There was just one other modification I needed to do.

The grips on this trike are particularly smooth, making it necessary to maintain a firm grip on the throttle, even with rubber palmed gloves.

I looked at various methods of maintaining a more relaxed grip on the throttle and settled on the BrakeAway throttle control.

It's a bit pricey, especially as it can only be purchased from the USA.

As the brake lever was the wide Kuryakyn type I also needed the 5C18 cam riser.

Fitting the control was relatively easy and you can download all the instructions before you buy it.

When correctly adjusted I found the cruise control very easy to operate. Whilst holding the throttle the engage button is pushed to “lock” the throttle. To disengage, a “touch” on the handbrake or disengage lever releases the throttle to resume normal throttle control, so it's really fail-safe.

The next job on the agenda was to fit Forward Controls.

Having a 33" inner seam I needed the longest distance forward I could get and opted for Highway Hawk, Tech Glides 493-600 (28cm. forward). Now here was the problem - they were no longer in production. After an extensive search of the internet it appeared that bikercom.com might have some, although they were in the USA. A quick Email established they had 20 in stock (13 June 09), so I snapped a set up, free delivery too (they were shipped from Alicante in Spain) - good job, they were all gone in a week.

The forwards came without any instructions - just an "exploded" diagram of the components. I had already studied this from a downloaded copy from the Internet, so first I needed to remove the foot rest bracket, brake cable, brake light switch and kick stand switch.

The first job then was to remove the split pin and cotter pin holding the end of the brake cable and brake light switch. In order to get at this it was necessary to remove the cotter pin and split pin holding the brake pedal to brake rod link. This done I could then remove the eight Allenhead bolts holding the foot rest bracket. This was done very carefully as the kick stand switch was still attached. I then removed the switch - it was attached with two screws.

This completed I was anxious to get the forwards fixed - patience prevailed however, as there was still more work to do. There was some rust, albeit only surface rust, around the brackets that I would attach the forwards to. I scraped away the loose paint and rust as much as I could with a wire brush and sharp pointer, bearing in mind it was a difficult place to get at, then painted it liberally with Kurust. I then masked the area with masking tape and sprayed it with two coats of primer, followed by three coats of the finished colour. When this had fully dried and hardened I applied a liberal coat of Waxoyl. This I was careful to spray in the unseen areas I may have missed with the Kurust and paint.

Now to offer up the forwards, starting with the brake side - whoops! they don't seem to fit. The lug on the frame is too high. After seeing a photo on the Intruder Alert forum by Frank Ramsden, I soon realised the diagram was wrong and the fixing was not to the frame lug,
but to the engine bolt lower down.

I then tried the other side and the same problem was apparent - it was the lower of the three fixings in the frame lug that was correct.
In order to access this top fixing I had to swing the exhaust out of the way by removing the two exhaust pipe clamp bolts and slackening the muffler connector clamp. This done I was then able to fix the frame mounting plate with the three fixings provided. Before doing this I removed the kick stand block, as it wasn't required for the trike.

On reassembling the exhaust I found the Allenhead bolt head was touching the exhaust - nothing I could do about this, just hope it doesn't cause a problem.

When assembling and fixing the foot peg I found there were a number of "paper thin" shim washers, used to give more or less free sideways play to the gear shift lever. These should be removed as required and kept in a safe place for future use - I removed one of these to reduce the sideways play.

Next I would fit component number 33 on the diagram, the mounting part for the shift bar. This was far too tight for the existing splined shaft and I spent a good half hour needle filing the splines on the new part for a sliding fit. I note from reading the Intruder Alert forum other people have also had this trouble.

The shift bar components were then assembled and connected to the shift lever and the splined mounting part. The diagram shows two M6 Cap nuts fixing the ball joints - these should not be used as the male thread of the ball joint is too long - I have heard of people stripping the threads of the ball joint and I suspect it is due to this reason. A spring washer and ordinary nut could be used as there is enough length, although I favour a Nyloc nut.

The wiring diagram shows the side stand switch earthed to allow the Intruder to start, so I removed the switch and pluged the male and female "bullet" connectors together, effectively bypassing the switch.

I now moved on to the brake side. First I removed the existing bolt where the frame mounting plate would be fixed. I then offered up the mounting plate and fitted the new supplied 145 mm. bolt, together with a washer and 34 mm. spacer. There was a problem, the bolt was about 8 mm. too long. Cutting 8 mm. off brought the bolt to the same length from the end of the spacer as the original bolt. I then fitted the two bolts no's 22 to the underside of the frame, tightened the top bolt and all was OK.

The new cable doesn't come with a chrome tube as the route would now be alongside the lower frame away from the exhaust. In my case I would also have to cut the outer cable and eventually the inner to fit my brake cylinder setup as shown Here

I also needed to lengthen the wires to the brake light switch as the switch has now moved adjacent to the brake pedal. To do this I cut the wires at the plug and socket end, slid some heat shrink tubing over and soldered the two new lengths of wire between, shrunk the tubing over the joins and job done.

I then tried to fit the brake light switch spring - the installation diagram said "use original part". The spring was only about 25 mm. long and I calculated it required a spring about 70 mm. long. Using the same number of turns and diameter of both the spring and the wire I designed a spring that I could use.

If you can find a similar spring all well and good - I couldn't and the cheapest quote to supply one was £32, so I extended the existing spring with a length of 18 SWG (1.25 mm.) stainless steel wire from the Scientific Wire Company.

Well that was the Tech Glides installed and I was looking forward to testing them out. Sitting astride the trike and placing the feet on the pegs they didn't seem very firm, especially when applying the foot brake. I had already been forewarned of this from an article in the Intruder Alert forum by High Desert Intruder. I liked his convenient way of tackling the problem and you get nice mirror finished components too.

Thinking about this I wondered how I could make the Tech Glides even more rigid and came up with the double threaded stud shown in the adjacent diagram. The threaded section of the stud replaces the number 10 bolt shown on the installation diagram. Note that the diagram says it is a 70 mm. bolt - this is incorrect. The thread is a standard M12 1.75 mm. pitch.

I obtained a number of quotes for the supply of the stiffener and I think it was thought the trike was being prepared for a moon landing. I finally settled for my local blacksmith who supplied it together with the nuts for £30 and it was manufactured in less than a day. It's not polished and that does seem to put the cost through the roof. A little metal polish, a lot of elbow grease and it doesn't look too bad.

It's prudent to assemble the Tech Glides first without the stiffener as there may be some variation to the 185 mm. dimension.

In order to fit the stiffener it required considerable dismantling, including swinging the exhaust out of the way again.

I disconnected the shift bar then removed the left hand side controls.

I then removed the brake springs and the number 10 bolt from the right hand side and screwed the stiffener in its place, not forgetting the washer (I left off the spring washer).

Finally I reassembled the the left hand side and adjusted the position of the footrests before tightening up the back nuts.

This done I needed to check if I could access the radiator filler cap. I removed the top two Allen bolts and slackened the bottom two and the radiator cover just tilts forward enough to remove the cap.

Some of latest mods are the addition of an indicator warning buzzer and an alarm/immobiliser. The alarm/immobiliser is a very clever device and leaves the trike immobilised if the device is tampered with or even vandalised. The indicator warning operates after 18 seconds as a warning if you have left your indicator on and is adjustable with up to 20 seconds delay. The immobiliser/alarm is a Cyclone V2 from Motor Bike Alarm

Among other additions to the trike is a Tom Tom Rider V 2 sat nav. This is fixed to the handlebar using the BASIC ECADDY DELUXE KIT from Leader Motorcycles. The handlebar clamp is the same as the one holding the hazard and fog light switch box, with the addition of a holding plate. The holding plate holes were in the same position as the Rider Bike Dock although these needed to be drilled out to 5 mm. to suite the threaded fixings in the dock. For the fixings I used M5 x 12 mm. Socket Head Cap Screws, supplied by Westfield Fasteners

As the threaded holes in the Rider Dock have only 6 mm. of thread I used Loctite to hopefully secure the screws, although I will be checking the tightness frequently.

The charging cable to the Rider dock was routed under the petrol tank and connected directly to the 10 amp. auxiliary terminal on the fuse block. This allows the sat nav to be charged without the ignition being switched on.

Incidentaly I didn't feel the need for the Ultra Tilt and I think the bracket looks neater without it.

As the image on the left shows I have now added a pair of spotlights, together with a suitable bracket. These are Highway Hawk Tech Glide 68-105 with a 685-200 spotlight bracket supplied by Julian Soper Motorcycles.

I have also added a front mud flap as can be seen by clicking on the image at the top of the page. This will help to protect the radiator from stones and mud.

A further addition is a Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual Tone Air Horn shown on the right. This is reputed to be the loudest on the market at 139 dB (115db at 2 mtrs).

It took some time to find a suitable position for the horn as it is approximately 115 mm x 100 mm. x 80 mm and the compressor is attached to the horn. I eventually found a suitable position by removing the rear chrome brake cover. I then made a stainless steel extension bracket, suitably polished, fixed to the redundant top fixing of the brake cover. This was then braced with a 6 mm. stainless steel threaded stud, fixed at the bottom end to the fixing for the original rear brake cable - I have since covered this studding with black heat shrink tubing to make it less obtrusive.

The image below shows how this was achieved.

The electrical wiring was comaratively simple. The horn is supplied with a 30 amp relay, essential as the horn draws up to 18 amps.

I fixed the relay under the old rear mudguard of the trike and used 8 amp wire for the low current circuits from the existing horn to the relay. I left the existing horn in place and connected the + and - from here back to the relay, tying the sleeved wires back to the frame with electrical cable ties.

I used 20 amp wire between both conections from the horn to the relay and horn to earth and the 20 amp fused connection to the battery.

It's worth noting that the horn button is on the negative line from the horn on the Intruder and this alternative is also shown on the wiring diagram supplied with the horn.

Links to component web sites.

Die cast box: Maplin (box)
Switch box clamp: Leader Motorcycles
Buzzer: Maplin (buzzer)
Diodes: Maplin (diodes)
SPNO Relays: Maplin (relays)
Switches: Maplin (switches) As an alternative a lower rated switch may be used as the relay coils only draw approx. 150mA.
Hazard flasher unit: Nagares 6 x 21W Flasher relay or any other 6 x 21W flasher relay
Cable clamp: Off Road Only Email and ask for Motion Pro Part #11-0044
Fog light: Mazda MX5/Eunos from Ebay. MX5/Eunos Fog Light (seen on Ebay on 14/11/2009 - no longer available at this site)
Reflectors (self adhesive) Reflectors (seen on Ebay on 15/1/2011)
Cruise control: BrakeAway products
Cruise control supplier: Cruiser Customising, suppliers of BrakeAway products (type “brakeaway” in search, from their website)
Kurust: Kurust rust proofing
Waxoyl: Waxoyl rust proofing
Scientific Wire Company: Stainless steel wire
Cyclone V2 Motor Bike Alarm

Cable clamps are supplied in various sizes, to suite particular diameters of handlebar and readers should check the ones quoted above are suitable for their particular purpose and order accordingly.

The author is not responsible for the application of the above details to any other trike and are for guidance only. The details in this article are those that were applicable to this particular trike and may not apply in all instances. Readers should satisfy themselves that they apply in their particular case.

Email me here if you have any questions, or if you just feel like a rag chew.

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