Ben Stone finds great enjoyment in designing and creating a DIY Drift Trike. His greatest pleasure comes both from tackling them as well as using the result. Have you ever experienced that rush of adrenaline when accelerating too quickly into a turn, only for your back wheels to slip out of control? Drift trikes offer you a similar adrenaline rush without risk.
How to Build a Drift Trike
Have you experienced what it feels like to accelerate too quickly into a turn on an unsafe road, only for your back wheels to skid out from under you and drift? If this describes what it's like for you, a drift trike may provide the adrenaline rush without the danger.
A drift trike is a tricycle with specially-made plastic rear wheels designed to swivel when the rider turns, sliding back and forth when turning corners. Suitable for riding on both paved roads and smooth surfaces like grass, it allows riders to practice their skills down steep hillsides.
Drifting involves intentionally positioning yourself so it appears like the trike is skidding out of control, then using counter-steering to gain back control of its rear wheels before the turn is completed. Drifting requires practice and can be dangerous without proper knowledge or equipment.
Though drift trikes can be purchased commercially, building one yourself can often be cheaper and more enjoyable. Building your own can also help you learn welding or metalworking techniques as you navigate plans online or purchase kits that include all necessary parts - plans can often be found for free while kits may cost as little as $100 depending on their level of complexity.
Those looking to turn their drift trike motorized will require an electric scooter or e-bike engine capable of providing enough power. You can purchase an economical engine at Harbor Freight for around $100; or for something with more punch, pay $500 more for something with motorization that will allow faster travel.
If you plan on riding your drift trike on public streets, you must check local laws to be legal in doing so. Depending on where you reside, an exhaust system and other compliance may be required to operate your trike legally.
Parts
If you've always dreamt of trying your hand at drift triking, creating your motorized drift trike can be the ideal way to do so. YouTuber Cut Weld Build offers this time-lapse video showing the process of building one using a 212cc Predator engine. He begins by dismantling and welding together sections of the main frame before final assembly takes place and testing and tweaking can begin.
Drifting is a type of driving whereby drivers intentionally cause the rear wheels to lose traction to slip and slide around turns. While originally popularized with cars, nowadays tricycles and other forms of vehicles have also become popular vehicles for drifting.
To achieve a controlled drift, the steering must be adjusted to mirror the angle of the rear wheels. Beware of oversteering as this may cause your trike to spin out of control - instead keep a tight steering radius to maintain drift.
A quality drift trike also requires high-quality wide tires capable of handling the torque produced by its motor, along with tire sleeves to improve traction and extend their lifespan. Most tire sleeves are made from PVC and come in multiple sizes to suit different wheel diameters.
As is true for any vehicle, drift trikes require a powerful electric motor to function effectively. A 212cc Predator engine is an excellent way to provide enough power to get up steep hills quickly while moving quickly along. A battery pack must also provide enough juice for this motor.
Once all the major parts have been assembled, it's time to test out and adjust the drift trike. After conducting several trials, our host demonstrated his expert drifting techniques before explaining some of the more challenging components of this project.
Though it might appear complicated to build your motorized drift trike, the steps are relatively straightforward. If you invest some effort and time, the rewards can be great!
Building the Frame
Drift trikes are tricycles equipped with specially designed rear wheels designed to allow riders to lose traction and drift through turns. Commonly found on paved roads or other suitable surfaces, some people opt for gas-powered drift trikes while others may construct their DIY versions using standard bike frames and small motors.
Building your DIY drift trike often involves adapting an old children's bike frame for fitting the engine, battery, and other components. This method enables people to customize their trikes to their tastes while at the same time providing a cost-effective way of getting into drifting trikes.
Although using an inexpensive push-bike style brake on the front wheel of a drift trike may appear like a smart idea, this could lead to serious complications. Drift trikes are extremely fast and have the potential to flip over if too much pressure is applied when turning. Furthermore, without rear brakes available it may become challenging to manage.
Many people make the mistake of thinking a bigger motor is better for their DIY drift trike. While higher horsepower engines produce more torque, they may also generate heat and over-tighten engine bearings, leading to an engine crankshaft bend that not only reduces power generation capabilities but may also cause irreparable damage to other parts of the trike.
One way to tackle this problem is by opting for a smaller motor for your drift trike. While this might reduce horsepower overall, it will make the engine easier to manage and prevent overheating, not to mention making controlling it simpler while less strain is put on bearings.
Purchase of a ready-made kit is another viable method for building a DIY drift trike, as these often include all of the parts and tools necessary for getting started. They're an ideal option for novice welders or anyone without extensive DIY experience who may struggle with welding projects; kits like this can often be found online at various price points.
Riding
Building your drift trike is exciting and challenging all at the same time! Once assembled, however, comes the real test - drifting it successfully is no simple task; watching videos of people drifting their trikes shows just that. Drifting involves initiating rear wheel loss of traction while maintaining control of front wheels without losing direction and then counter-steering as necessary around corners and other obstacles while traveling at speeds that approach legal limits for cars.
Drifting requires extensive practice, as evidenced by all the crashes and flips you see during videos online. To reduce the risk of accidents during drifting sessions, reinforce your rear axle as this will take the brunt of pressure during drifting sessions. Also, remember to wear a helmet! It is one of the most crucial safety measures even if just going for a ride around your neighborhood.
If you're serious about drifting, building a custom drift trike could help improve your technique and maximize enjoyment from this hobby. Plus, with such an apparatus at your disposal, you could ride anywhere without violating laws against motorized gravity vehicles!
As you ride a drift trike, your goal should be rapid acceleration followed by breaking off at exactly the right moment - which requires a short gear ratio that provides the optimal combination of acceleration and top speed.
Additionally, you should ensure the front wheel is pointing slightly left of your direction of motion. Otherwise, the force generated by your rear wheels could overwhelm your steering and cause you to lose control. Although it might seem counterintuitive, this is the only way you will achieve consistent drift with your trike.