Trike is a three-wheeled motorcycle, which is normally designed by creative individuals, and the latest to join the bandwagon is France-based Francis Bouillet, the Kustom and Racer Design Workshop. The 40-year-old Francis is a former member of the French air force. He used to work as a jet fighter navigator and after retiring from the air force, Francis followed the course of renowned Franco SBARRO at ESPERA SBARRO school in France.
According to Francis, the idea to build ‘Bonneville Spirit’ trike hit him when was studying in Sbarro school in 2009. He set up Kustom & Racer Design workshop in 2010. When he was at Sbarro school, he was asked to propose a personal custom project and that’s when he proposed the "The ‘Bonneville Spirit’ project. The school also asked him to build a 1/6th scale model and Francis decided to work on a model that can be functional. Francis said that his idea to come up with a trike with a strong visual image by combining the car and motorbike domains. Francis said that he started dreaming about Bonneville Spirit trike after watching a movie named "The World's Fastest Indian."
Francis’ trike is powered by a Sportster engine, which he has taken out from his won motorbike. He has designed and made the strong and sturdy frame of the trike at his home. An old French car of 1902 was used by Francis to make the front end of this trike, This car is the oldest part of the trike. The hot rods used in this trike are taken from a discarded Sikorsky S-55 Chickasaw. Francis has used the parts of an old French Fouga CM 170 Magister jet to make the foot rest of his trike. The fiberglass wheel housing and stainless steel exhaust of this trike are also home made.
Talking about his experience, Francis says:
"It sounds and runs really cool, and people are still astonished to see me on the road. The driving is almost like a quad; you have to lean into the corners as the frame does not tilt right and left. I have several contacts with SCTA crew and they wish I'll bring my toy during the Bonneville Speed Week but the shipping is very expensive from France to Utah. I hope being able to make it one day."
The look of this trike is definitely attractive and the best thing about this machine is that it is fully functional. Francis deserves full credit for using his creative skills and vision to come up with a masterpiece using several discarded old materials. Not much information is available about the performance of this trike but it is likely that it would run like normal bikes.
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