Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Bevel Box Threads...Got to love them.

Maybe. But, if they did, it was without lube in it as it is bone dry. But that doesn't mean they didn't do it! Sorry...I couldn't resist as I'm trying desperately to keep my sense of humor about all this.

Z

I am afraid the GL1800 rear drive will not fit without huge modifications of the M3W. I did close to 100.000miles on GL1800's and never had any problems with reliability. I did most of it on twisty mountain roads in attac mode. Torque and BHP of the Goldwing are both outperforming the S&S engine. Could not believe that Morgan is uncapable to provide todays technology to a newly designed 3Wheeler.

TA,

I'm very familiar with GL1800's and motorcycles in general....A cradle could be built to hold the swing-arm. The problem comes in with getting the prop shaft to line up. You could do an angled shaft like the Ace but that cuts in to passenger seating space. Or you could do a side-step but that further complicates things. I'm running Michelin Alpin Primacy Run-flat car tires on 3 of my 4 Wings with good results (get 25-30k miles per tire). A GL1800 swing-arm would require one of the saddle fuel tanks to be replaced with a smaller one but no big deal. Guess I could do the angled shaft and just make a luggage rack in place of a passenger seat...I prefer riding in the M3W without a passenger anyway.











Fortunately, I'm in a position to make mods...but have to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze first.



My current build project...1968 Bonneville.









I have a '69 I've got up to "roller" status which I will be building an engine for it next...maybe along side a Morgan mechanical project.



I have 7 Brit bikes (not counting the M3W "bike") and have been building them since the late 70's. Thought I had a knack for Brit iron but the Morgan is trying to prove me wrong. I'm not giving up.

When I knew I was getting a M3W, I had envisioned my biggest obstacle would be fabricating a trailer hitch for it or installing my electrical goodies...all that stuff fell to the wayside a week after taking delivery. Can't seem to bring myself to think about the extras until the basics are covered.

PS...I called the dealership about the bevel box being reconditioned...they never opened the box and just forwarded it to me. They asked that I send them pictures so they can forward them to Morgan. I expect a resolution on this about September as that seems to be the magical time frame when dealing with them.

I'm like Dan...I like working on stuff doing what I like to do and not what I have to do.

Z

Indeed ... and with your imagination, the plot thickens.

Just to add to the final drives on the GL1800, there are tons of trike conversions over here and the Goldwing is the #1 bike to convert.

Since many of these are being converted directly off the showroom floor, there are just as many "take off" rear swingarms complete as well as many final drives.

This is a final drive off a fairly new GL1800 that sold on eBay for $49.00.



Here is a complete swingarm that sold for $99.00. The place selling this had 3 to sell at that price and condition. Other pictures showed that the rotor still had the factory grinding pattern which would lead me to believe that it was road tested at the dealership and then converted to a trike.



The retail price for a complete GL1800 swingarm as shown, including the shown driveshaft, is just under $3,500.00. Compare that with the $3k for a "refurb" BB and it becomes clear that if M3W spent the time to modify and mount a GL1800 final drive as their BB they would have had a dependable unit at about the same price point.

Also the final drive gear ratio on one of these is 2.75:1. This would require a rear pulley ratio of about 1.2:1.

At that price one could afford to play around with the final drive to make a front mounting plate that also doubles as a front bearing mount for the drive shaft. A drive pulley could be easily mounted on the studs for the rotor and wheel. The four bolts in front are more than enough to support the final drive and drive belt tension. Let's face it, the same four bolts now support the complete rear weight of the Goldwing.

MMC buys a Miata M5 transmission and makes the adapter to hold the flywheel etc, so doing a similar setup for the BB and using a GL1800 final drive would not have been out of the question.

It's too bad that the Quaife BB is so problematic. It does seem like there are many more bad than good ones.

If Z doesn't have any luck with the refurb BB, I'm sure that his machining design skills will show us all how to install a Honda GL1800 final drive on a M3W.

Good luck with you updates and I truly hope it does not come down to that for you.

Zacky, You have to have a pilots license for the bike in picture two (Goldwing?) Smile.
I've long since given up the idea of touring with the M3W and decided that I do enjoy working on it a lot-trying to improve (not at your level,(however) on it, but it sure is fun when it DOES work. Thanks a lot for your efforts regarding the factory. I consider what you are doing is a benefit for all of us. Your experience with the BB is just another example of the shoddy service the factory gives to its loyal customers. I for one can't understand why we put up with it.

Quite right H, we put up with it because the little fella is such a hoot, full of fun and something genuinely completely different in a rather mundane motoring world, but that still doesn't give MMC the right to take advantage of their customers as they do. I've sold my current Three Wheeler and gone to a Morgan Plus 4 for a bit, but I would dearly love to get back into one, when the time and price is right.

All power to your elbow Z. Don't give in.

Well, the refurbished Bevel Box is on it's way back to where ever refurbished, rejected Bevel Boxes go.

Dealership was in contact with Morgan and claim I will have the "new" Bevel Box I paid for in a matter of days (guess it's always a matter of days). If I had taken my little M3W to the dealership for a BB replacement, I never would have know I got a refurbished box.

Maybe I will have my shop better organized by the time I accumulate all the bits and pieces for the mechanical face-lift.

Hopelessly lost....but making good time.

Z

Zak ..thats one hellofa workshop...am v envious!

Am sorry too to read about the BB fiasco.

I do hope that its well b4 Sept for a new one to arrive.

You are v v patient!

4/4,

Thanks for the nice compliment on the shop...it's a lot more work than it appears in the photos. I probably log more hours than I should in the shop but along with being my hobby, it's my therapy, as well. The M3W keeps me off the streets....literally.

On the BB, once past the denial part of the M3W, the rest just builds character.

If there is anyway to make the process fun, I'm going to give it my best effort.

Though I have expressed my displeasure of how Morgan handles it's customers when it relates to mechanical issues, I really do like the M3W.

Z