My trike history, by Baddon

[Baddon]

first trike ride.jpg

Had to look up how to post photos so hope this works.

Went on holiday about 20 years ago and saw trikes all over Lanzarote, thought they were sooooo cool so tried to hire one.

This lead me to meet a very large German lady who was not impressed by a small lad from N.Ireland trying to hire one of her trikes. She told me they were very difficult to ride and she would show me, then let me try and if she was not impressed would not hire me a trike. (at the then rate of about £100 a day from am to PM. you thought she was doing me a favour)
Anyway, let see if I can get the photo to upload.

Well short story long, I loved it, so this started my love of all things three

[Baddon]

So on coming home I had a notion that some day I would get my own trike. Well life and money had other ideas (so did my wife.....)

Anyway the research and dreaming continued for many years and my dream was to get a Rewaco HS5 (the 3 seater)
BUT reality and my not so full wallet meant I had to look for more economical solutions.

So on searching extensively I found a small builder in Huddersfield called B & I Engineering. Some phone calls later and a very good year at work lead me to have some money for a change.. So off I headed on a ferry to meet Tony the guy who built the trikes at B & I.
They are no Rewaco, BUT as soon as he started the trike up and I heard the rumble I was sold on them. I ordered a 3 seater in standard trim. ( Budget constraints!!!)

I had the trike for 6 years and covered over 26K miles. I did rather extensive upgrades while I had it. Almost every year I modded it to try and get the trike I really wanted....still a Rewaco.

So the first major upgrade was to fit a fatter front wheel and tire, this would not fit in the stock forks so a new wider front end, triple trees and bigger forks and longer light bar were all added. the longer light bar also gave me room to add 2 speakers encased in lightshells and I added a stero with remote and 2 more speakers to the body as well.

Later upgrades were the the gearbox ( a higher ratio from a Super Beetle to stop the engine screaming at the higher speeds and to make 1st an actual usable gear rather than just for wheelies) The numerous mods to the engine, from a 1600 single carb to a 1641 twin with lots of extras.

Then I came to the realization that if I stopped spending money on the B & I in a few years I may be able to upgrade to my Rewaco....at this time Rewaco had brough out the RF1....OMG what a trike, mid engined so doing away with the loose front end on most beetle trikes. Also a modern engine so no more going out for a trike ride to be let down when trike would not start. MMMMM. Problem was the price..OUCH. And whats with the 115HP...my beetle had about 30-40 and was good enough...If only they would put a smaller cheaper engine in it. Also no 3 seater...pity

I actually rang and spoke to a guy in the tech department in Rewaco (Herman) and suggested this very thing. He laughed and told me to watch this space........ First they released the LT versions in both 2 and 3 seater then a 1100 70 HP version. Finally what I was really after the ST (1100) in 3 seater.

Hmmm, now I just had to wait a few more years till I could afford a second hand one.

[Baddon]

So my search was on for an Rewaco RF1, ST3 1100 at sensible money.

The 1100 was NEVER sold by the UK dealers as Rewaco would not tell them what engines they were using and with no knowledge of the engine and its reliability or parts availability they would not take them on. So if i wanted a budget Rewaco I was going to have to go to Germany myself.

After many nights on the internet I found one at a price that I could JUST about afford. The dealer was from the far side of Germany near Poland for feck sake......the dealer also did not speak English and I sure a sh1t dont speak German. So a lot of google translate emails back and forward and a deal was done and the dealer was prepard for what I considered a sensible fee to deliver it to Amsterdam for me.....

So my trike was up for sale and very shortly it headed to Scotland to its new owner and I was off to Holland to pick up my new long dreamed of Rewaco. The dealer picked me up at Skippol airport and drove me and trike (in trailer) to the DFDS port for the ferry back to South Shields, England. A tiny test ride in Holland was in no way enough to get the feel for the trike so I was really looking forward to the ride across England and Scotland to get the Ferry to N.Ireland.

Well let me tell you after riding the B & I with its typical home build traits
light front end
crap gearing
slow acceleration
low top end with high revs (noisy)
low speed speed steering speed wobble
uncomfortable seat and not ideal riding position

The RF1 was a revelation, its sooooo easy to ride, the handling is sublime. It may have been cold and wet but I so enjoyed that first ride as the RF1 really was all I had hoped it would be. So I introduce my RF1 ST3 1100

[jinjachin]

Good write up and nice trike nice colour too .Was it much hassle to import . Did you find out what engine they use

[Baddon]

Well let me tell you the RF1 is nothing short of stunning.

I covered 12K miles in 11 months with this red RF1.

It did have a problem though....the handling is SOOOOOOOOOOO good it begs for more power, especially if like me you like a decent fast run.

So the search was on for a 1600 version. In the mean time I kept racking up the miles with trips to Killarney in Ireland (3K miles in a week.....), Into the Valley rally, day trips to Scotland, and to Applecross for the famous pass of the Cattle in Scotland along with many more runs. The trike was practically welded to my butt.

[Baddon]

Applecross, stunning ride there, and the place itself. Well worth a visit. Been there twice now and will be there again.

[Baddon]

Well back to the the search for a 1600 RF1.

With the exchange rate at near an all time high the price of trikes in Germany was in fact reducing for us buying in £, so the gap from my 1100 to a 1600 was less than it was a year before.

Well a bit of internet work again and another trip to Holland and my new to me RF1 ST3 1600 in blue was on its way to my garage.

Here is my current ride. LOVE it. 85mph in 3rd gear with 2 more gears to go... TOP end - no idea as I just wont go that hard. I once went to pass a Porsche Boxster S from a standing start and he was not best pleased and tried his best to stop me....lol, the RF1 was a match until I decided my licence was more important than winning a race. Porker raced on to well over a ton and I still had a huge grin on my face. The only notable downside to the 1100 version was the heavier engine makes the suspension harder and ride a little stiffer. BUT the added power is soooooooooooooo worth it.

[Baddon]

Well as you can see the Blue 1600 has done a few miles as well, over 10K to date. LOVE IT

Weekends to Scotland (about 3 now I think)
Back to Applecross
Storming the Castle and so many other trips its to difficult to remember.

[Baddon]

And to the latest chapter.

Good lady is a biker BUT cant get out much with little ones, I had mentioned the idea of a trike for her but she was not so keen. BUT her bike did 400miles in the last year and she then mentioned to me that if she had a trike that was safe for the little lady (just turned 3) we could all go out, her with little one and me with the two boys.

So the hunt was on again. A Boom fun 500 was decided upon after test riding to check it was not to weedy, it wasn't for what we wanted it for, it was ideal to learn to ride a trike with the distraction of a 3 year old added into mix as no gears to think off while getting used to riding in the middle of the lane and not cutting corners like on a bike.

Hence the other thread about the gearbox. But for here, some pics of the Fun 500. I will add more as we get out on it. Its just passed MOT and we have all the new gear to keep the kids warm. So watch this space.

[Baddon]

Good write up and nice trike nice colour too .Was it much hassle to import . Did you find out what engine they use

I understand its the same engine as in a Daewoo for the Asia market. They are bullet proof apparently.

As for the getting it home.
Problem one - finding the trike (google search, or www.mobile.de are best) there are some dealers who have good sites for specific trikes, BUT you need to know exactly what you want.
Problem two - doing a deal especially if you dont speak German and they dont speak English
Problem three - getting the trike home. IF you intend to ride it home you need to get a set of export plates. In Germany the plate belongs to the trike owner, not the vehicle, as such when you buy a trike it will NOT have plates on it. A set of ZZ plates is the way to get a trike out of Germany and let you ride if for a bit when you get it home (ONLY to get it legal sorted). I have not used this but know plenty who have, The issue with them is you cant get them till you register for a set, in person and then you cant get them till the next working day. This means an overnight stay.

I had both of mine trailered to the DFDS ferry terminal in Rotterdam where I then rode it onto the boat. Then it needs to be transported home till you get it registered into the UK. Thats not to difficult while we are still in Europe, not sure what Brit Ex will do to the process. You must have a COC ( Certificate Of Conformity) & a receipt from the vendor, as this will let you register it and TAX it. the fee is not much from memory its under £100. Paperwork was ok but I needed a bit of help which was fine when there was a TAX office in Belfast and I could call in and see a person to process/help me. With it all centralized to Whales, not sure how that would work now. You will also need to MOT it even if its not 4 years old.

BUT the savings are massive compared to the UK prices or even the like of the Trike Guy who does all the work and needs to be compensated for it. It does depend on the exchange rate at the time as well. Hope this has helped. If you need to know anything else let me know.