G.R.I.M.
G.R.I.M. has now been sold.
Once upon a
time I purchased a Russian built sidecar outfit.
This wonderful contraption was built along "industrial"
lines. Thick wall tubing, sheet steel sidecar and the most
abysmal engine and gearbox ever designed. Apparently they
now have some kind of quality control at the Russian factory, but
when I bought mine, it was the equivalent of a horizontally
opposed land mine. You knew it would explode, but you didn't
know when.
I ran this
machine in its original form, but I always had that sneaky
feeling that the "Soviet Slug" would one day expire in
a big way.
The addition of white squares did nothing to improve the reliability of Grim, but at least it gave me something to laugh at when it did break down.
Thinking I had the answer to Russia's engineering problems, I
bought and fitted a B.M.W. R-80 engine. This gave me
an increase in power, reliability and c.c.
The Russian
gearbox however, didn't like having it's space invaded by a
German engine. The poor clutch was the victim of this
battle 'twixt engine and 'box. Between them, they managed
to rip the splines out of the clutch plate. Now at a cost
of about £40 a time, this was getting silly. I had some
new clutch centres machined up, fitted them to the existing
clutch plate and re-assembled the whole plot. Three
thousand miles later the splines stripped out again.
I know when I'm
defeated, so I fitted a B.M.W. gearbox. This meant that I
had lost reverse gear but gained an extra forward one.
Unfortunately,
the prop shaft on a B.M.W. 'box exits straight in line with the
Russian swing arm pivot. OH BUGGER !
This called for serious measures. I locked myself in the
garage armed only with a hacksaw and an angle grinder.
Following a
brief struggle, the poor Russian combo lay in two halves, it's
arse end had been cut off. That'll teach it !
The next part
of this diabolical plot involved making a new rear frame section
and fitting a car rear axle. This was done for the grand
sum of £9. To get the gear ratio correct, a set of larger
wheels were needed. Citroen 2cv wheels were about right.
Fifteen inch diameter and nice cheap tyres. A pity they're
three stud fixing whereas the axle was four stud. One set
of adapter plates were rustled up and fitted. The result:-A nifty
little trike that cost next to nothing, and is great fun to ride.
Of course, nothing of mine would be complete without the lupine theme, so there it is, resplendent on the front mudguard.
Or should I say "there it was".
The Cossack front end is no more.
GRIM has now undergone a 'front
end' transplant, using the forks off a Honda CX 500 Eurosport.
This has certainly made a great difference when it comes to
stopping.
Enough.
Get me back home.
NOW if you don't
mind.