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THE GUZZI.
DING BOB TRIKES AUSTRALIA
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OVER 1000 BIKES rode into town for
the annual motorcycles charity run in aid of the Salvation Army and
the most unusual and unique of all was ridden by Santa Clause himself.
Owned and Built by Ding Bob it is the first of it's kind to be licenced for road use in Western Australia. |
The bike or more correctly trike is owned and built by Robert Busellato and is the first of it's kind to be licenced for road use in WA.
Thinking of trikes usually brings to mind the Harley Davidson Servicar but Busellato's trike is completely different.
The Harley built for commercial use is chain driven and there is a lack of rear suspension to aid in road holding and driver comfort.
Not exactly what Busellato was looking for so he decided to build his own.
Guzzi
licenced 1986.
A strong Moto Guzzi frame was being wasted so he swapped a VD 85 Harley Davidson basket case he was going to rebuild, for an ex-police Guzzi that had been sitting under a tree for three years. This gave him the base on which to start.
With the aid of a mechanical draftsman friend he drew up a suitable design that was accepted by the Licencing Authority Engineering Division and approved on principle.
| Wanting suspension at the rear, a suitable car end had to be found that was
light enough and small enough. Independent suspension was the way to go and a
Subaru rear end for $150 from the wreckers was the final choice. Once the basics were gathered together the headaches began - firstly where to start. The Guzzi frame, engine and front end were rejuvenated and set up on blocks to the required height, with the Subaru rear. |
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| Above: The original Guzzi |
It then became apparent that the Guzzi gearbox, was offset to the centrally located input of the Subaru diff.
Busellato had three choices to remedy this problem - offset the drive shaft at an angle: use a transfer box or offset the Subaru diff. He chose the latter and suitable modifications to the half shafts that drive each wheel.
Once the diff and wheels were lined up, plates and framework were built as per the drawings. Different shock absorbers were tried and handling ability evaluated and finally motorcycle mono shocks were chosen to give a comfortable ride without too much movement.
Everything was tack welded and then finished off by a professional welder to achieve the best results. The Engineering Department is greatly concerned about weld quality and insists on X-Rays.
Busellato then enlisted the aid of another friend, a custom vehicle designer, to achieve the style of bodywork he wanted. The body was formulated and a mould made to form the body in fibreglass.
With the body fitted, 14" x 6" mag wheels were chosen to fit inside the flared bodywork and Goodyear MCT series 60 tyres were fitted.
Busellato's pride and joy was nervously presented to the Chief Engineer on licencing day, who after a lengthy test ride, reappeared all smiles.
His first comment to Busellato was "that's how the Harley should have been designed".
The machine was immediately accepted for licencing on it's merits - as a motorcycle with modifications - and not as a Servi-car.
Fitted with the original Guzzi California screen and seat, the trike is for Busellato the perfect touring machine.
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