O.K, here’s where it all started.

I think I was about 20 and blasting around on my RG500 and there it was. The guy in the next lockup had just cut the back-end off an XS1100 Yam and was grafting on a Reliant axle -three wheels instead of two. I was hooked, but didn’t have the nerve to go for it as most of my mates had road race bikes. So fast forward by 20 years and two boys, Kyle and Liam, and a fantastic wife. I was working offshore when I got an email from my brother Blair. He’d seen a trike on Ebay and it was just what I wanted. It had all the looks- long forks, thick slab yokes, big “QuickBob” petrol tank, sprung seat, low to the ground and short frame. So a quick phone call and I was on my way to Fife to buy it. The deal was done and they even trailered it up to Aberdeen for me.
Now there were a few things that I wanted to do to the trike- first was to change the handle-bars as they were 42” wide and I’m short! So a set of pull-back bars where fitted and most of the wiring was hidden inside them, all done by my Dad. Then there was the old Suzuki GS850 engine. It was smoking, so that came out and my good friend George Mclean replaced the rings, seals and a few other bits and pieces. If I told you all the stuff he did we’d be here all day. Once the engine had been overhauled, a new propshaft was made to hook it up to the Ford Escort axle. The hardest part of the upgrade was the brakes as they were drums and if you pressed the pedal they just made a scuffing noise. Back on the ‘net I discovered we could do a disc brake conversion. A set of Ford Escort mark 3 discs and some Ford Sierra callipers and a pair of one-off mounting brackets were soon heading my way. Now to get the discs on, you have to turn down the half-shafts. So we get them on and …nope, still no brakes. A lot more master cylinders later and we had some brakes from a Land Rover. They gave me the best braking to date but I still wasn’t happy with them. By now the wife was starting to get fed up with all the master cylinders I’d got for the trike, but then a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. George had been on the ‘net and found a website –“Manky Monkey Motors” and they seemed to have some of the answers I needed. Many thanks to all on the Manky Monkey Motors forum for their help and suggestions, especially Triker Pete who’s info on pedal leverage got the brakes working a whole lot better.
I’d just like to thank my friend George and my brother Blair for all their work on the trike. All I did was shout orders down the phone from offshore. Most of all though, the wife Donna for putting up with it all.
All that hard work finally paid off when the trike took first prize, (a big sword), at the Saints and Sinners MCC rally.

- Ally