2much!!! is a kustom-style short-wheelbase (SWB) recumbent hammerhead trike street rod. We didn't build it to run in the Tour debloodyFrance, and we have no plans to take it to the Bonneville Salt Flats. It is purely designed for leisurely cruising around the neighborhood with a child on the back, and maybe another one on the driver's lap. However, it was designed to be incredibly cool-looking while performing this mundane task. We aimed for show-bike levels of finish and detailing, even though it's meant to be an actual street rider, and there isn't much of a show circuit for this type of machine (yet). We didn't achieve total perfection, but by aiming extremely high, we got reasonably close.
It rides on three 20", 72-spoke lowrider wheels, because Dave liked the way they look. They are shod with Kenda Kontact round cross-section rubber on the front, which work well with the cambered wheel attitude. At the rear is mounted a 20X 2.125" NOS musclebike slick, in our opinion almost compulsory for this type of kustom street machine.
The frame is steel, and we made no attempt to keep the rest of it ultra-light. The button- tufted-UltraLeather-over-foam-on-¾"-
plywood seat probably weighs as much as a typical racing bike all by itself- what with a custom-built enclosure for a Clarion 30-watt audio system and a pair of high-power Kicker auto-sound speakers mounted to its backside.The stainless-steel-tubing sliding adjustable seat cage structure would probably add up to another racing bike, with the SS tube framework of the tail section adding up to another half of one. The composite components- the front fenders and the tail fairing, are pretty light in themselves; but being intrinsically vestigial, they would also fall into the dead-weight category. Yep, this is one heavy machine! There was a reason why those cool chopped-top kustom '50s Mercs and such were called "lead sleds", other than the use of lead in smoothing the bodywork- even souped-up, those flathead V-8s could barely haul them around. The speedo needle has yet to top 10, but we have hopes for maybe 20, with some gear-ratio tweaking.
As the machine's performance envelope includes night-time cruising, we worked in plenty of serious lighting. At the rear is a '39 Ford repro tail-light with a glass lens. There may be a cooler-looking light out there somewhere, but we've never found it. JC Whitney carries them for about $12, and it's worth every penny. An extra feature is the dual-filament lamp, which gives us brake lighting. A Radio Shack microswitch in the braking system activates it. Also part of the braking system is a latching parking-brake lever. Trikes will take off on their own without something like this. The usual practice is to use a rubber band on the handlebar-mounted brake lever- puhleeze! The amber running lights on the front fenders are traditional streamlined truck clearance lights, available at Whitney and most auto parts stores. We cut away their grey plastic bases and faired them into the fenders with epoxy putty. We masked the active area of the lenses, and sprayed the rest to match the rest of the fender. The running lights and tail-light may be set for caution flashing through an automotive turn-signal flasher controlled by another switch position.
The electrical system is 12 volts, powered by a motorcycle battery mounted in the tail. Mounted to the face of the audio enclosure is a battery charger/maintainer. When the bike is not in use, an AC extension cord is plugged into it, and it automatically keeps the battery fully charged without overcharging. The 12-volt system was a slight problem when it came to the headlights-those bullet-shaped lowrider units which are about the only hot-rod-style lights available in this size. As they come stock, they are about adequate for looking at your watch by their light. As actual road lights, they're a joke. We determined to fix this by retrofitting with more powerful halogen lamps from Radio Shack. How we did this is told elsewhere, but suffice it to say that these babies are powerful enough that you can read your neighbor's watch with them, providing you use binoculars, and she stands near a window with the curtains open.
Switching for all this electrical gear is located in a console at the front of the boom, which also houses the parking brake lever, and the hot-rod style 3-speed gear shifter. The shifter controls a Shimano SIS front derailleur mounted on a tube above the BB. The 3-chainring cluster was originally a chrome 2-ring cluster found in a bike shop, fitted with a chrome circular chainguard. It looks like a replacement for a Schwinn Varsity unit. We added a 28-tooth granny gear to it, thinking it would make it easier for children to pedal the machine. Turns out, it's almost compulsory for use by adults, too. Weight matters, even if you don't plan to go fast. The 52-tooth top gear would be a challenge to the Incredible Hulk, and doesn't get much usage, so far.
2much!!! nude reveals that detailing extends to areas which would never normally be seen Althugh not designed for high performance, its hot-rod heritage is obvious.
