This Custom-Made Trike Is Actually A Maruti 800 [Video]
India is the land of crazy mods and customs. This example from Gurugram proves the same. This trike is actually a Maruti 800! Hand crafted by a guy named Dinesh, this vehicle looks quirky.
Dinesh had started this Yellow trike project four years ago. He has previously built another trike with a motorcycle engine. This, however, is powered by a Maruti 800 engine, and is claimed to be quite fun to drive. The video explains the vehicle in detail, highlighting where each of its parts has been sourced from and how skilfully they have been assembled.
This rear engine, rear wheel drive trike has a striking design. The headlamp is sourced from tractors and the ORVMs come from trucks. The mounts for these mirrors are from Royal Enfield motorcycles.
There are two wheels at the front and one at the rear. The front gets tyres sourced from VW Passat and shod on aftermarket five-spoke wheels. These wheels, as said in the video, were influenced by the thoughts of one of his friends. The front shocks come from Tata Nano. The vehicle also comes with a front-fuelling layout.
All three wheels get disc brakes as well. The rear wheel gets a KTM-sourced disc brake with Pulsar 150 callipers. The rear shocks also come from motorcycles.
The rear gets dual indicator lamps. One of these is sourced from electric auto rikshaws and the other from Royal Enfield bullets. There is even a wooden spoiler, to complete the rear design.
Dinesh further claims that even though the vehicle just gets one, up to two radiators can be fitted on it, for more effective cooling. The trike used to do with chain drive previously. But as per the video, now it has been upgraded to a belt drive. The belt for this comes from tractor accessories used in the farming sector.
Naharwal has designed the chassis himself and claims to have spent over 4 lakh rupees on the same. The bodywork is finished in fibre.
The interior has just two seats, steering wheels and some basic controls. The steering is borrowed from the Maruti Wagon R and the four-speed transmission is from the 800, and there is hardly any room for two well-built adults to be seated comfortably. This project was completed last year- says Dinesh.
The two of them – the host and Dinesh- can be seen driving the vehicle on public roads. The engine noise and wind-in-the-hair drive are evident. The vehicle hardly gets to any speed. Eventually, it slows down the traffic around and creates a mess (listen to the continuous honking from vehicles around). Dinesh can be seen proudly saying ‘Traffic ka flow dheere ho jata hein’. How poetic can one get in describing ‘causing inconvenience to the public’ ?!
Later in the video, the host is seen standing up inside the vehicle, popping out his head and upper body from it. He then takes a dig at the possibility of him being trolled and sued for ‘doing unsafe stunts’. The entire drama is seen attracting much public attention.
Before You Applaud:
It is okay for you to feel impressed by the quirky handcrafted machine and how a random Gurgaon guy could build it from scratch. However, before showering all the praise and applause, understand that this is an unsafe build that is not road-legal, nor certified for safe, fault-free use.
Thus, driving it on public roads is illegal and a threat to the people and traffic around. Further, the host attempting to stand inside is even more dangerous. Considering the vehicle itself is a prototype and has only three wheels, it is definitely not advisable for him to do such things on open roads. We respect the effort, capital, time and the little bit of engineering that has gone into this project, even when reiterating the dire need for discipline and responsible testing/driving with project cars.