GHLLG met up with me last week near Norwich in a very pleasant hostelry and the following day we headed off to Triking in Hingham. If you are expecting a Porsche type glossy glass-filled showroom then you are going to be disappointed, but if you are interested in engineering either as a profession, or in our case as rank amateurs, then you will find a Triking visit a very enjoyable experience.

It starts with a jig-built chassis (epoxy-coated) and you can see the Lotus influence with the central backbone similar to an Elan (Tony Divey, the originator of Triking was a designer with Lotus):

The front-end of the chassis has been altered from Divey's design to a space frame with the engine/gearbox also acting as a stressed member, as it does in the Moto Guzzi bike.

Whilst most of the metal work is done in-house, the bodies (and engines) are bought in:

This is a low-mileage engine out of a Motor Guzzi California, which has torque characteristics that suit the car.


The bike running gear is also used at the back (the wheels/tyres on this car are not the finished articles):




THe turned dashboards, steering wheels (not the leather) etc, are all done in-house:


The upholstery is all done by a local craftsman to customers requirements:

NB: Please ignore the ugly seat belt mountings (and the mirrors) which are fitted for SVA requirements only.


Alan explains the operation of the reverse gearbox to Gerwyn:


We were both really impressed with the engineering of the Triking, which has evolved considerably over its lifetime and is really a credit to the original designer and also to Alan who has honed the design to ensure reliability and ease of assembly.

It is not really fair to show this, but it is chassis number 1 after nearly 40-years of trialling and abuse. It really needs a bit of TLC, but Alan is too busy dealing with current orders for cars and parts. One of these days he'll get round to it - the cobblers shoe syndrome methinks!



We left after several hours with a view to looking at the car purchase budget and for discussions with higher authorities back home...

Triking Sportscars Website and photos of owners cars: Triking Owners Club Gallery



Brian

Thanks for sharing that Brian.
The TriKing has a definite Mog feeling to it now.
Must see if I can find a 70's road test in MCM...

A reverse gear? I thought that was the main reason for carrying a navigator

Cheers,

Graham,

I think the reason he goes for reverse gear is that it is more maintenance free than a navigator!

On a serious note, those 'Nova' boxes are a tremedous bit of kit. I've seen a couple on bike- engined ( usually Hayabusa) cars with sequential gearboxes and they really do perform.

Allan Layzell himself made the point about the Nova advert where they claim the box allows a car to go as fast in reverse as in any forward gear

Regards,
G

PS A huge vote of thanks to Brian's GPS- we'd never have found the place otherwise!

I must say it's very evocative Graham, I've always fancied a 3-wheeler.


Even if it did entail driving through a cabbage patch Gerwyn!

Great to hear they are still in business.

One of these days.................

Ah, but at least we knew it was the RIGHT cabbage patch Brian!

Cabbage patch?

Not sure I should ask!

The box does sound interesting.
And, should I be marshalling the August School - I now know who to look out for!

Cheers,

Graham,
Re:cabbage patch- no, best not

Re: grey haired old b*ggger in the pic- that's my( much) older brother!

Regards- and perhaps see you in August
G

That's not cabbage patch, its the A11

Asbo,
Re the A11. Although I get over to Cambridge fairly regularly, I hadn't used the A11 for quite a few years. Just love that bit in the middle where it suddenly becomes single carriageway!