robtown

I'd like to get the FFR electric assist recumbent trike. I was planning to sell off my Parmount, my 3 speed, my ALAN cx bike, my Bionx kit, and many other items. I probably still will.
The wife suggested I get a new car recently. This is my opportunity. I will attempt to get this car and have the trike as the fallback. Hey -the GTO would be new to me! Honestly, I want both.

1970 Pontiac GTO, 455ci, Edelbrock heads, Torker intake,Holley 850 carb, turbo 400, 3:55 posi, ps, pb, Cardinal redw/black vinyl top, red int, rally gauges

At about 25% the cost of the car with a top end of 40mph.

stapfam

Are you mane enough for the RED one?

Dudelsack 

I rode in that model Pontiac in my reckless youth.

The trike is ubercool.

I say: get 'er done.

robtown

I'm not even man enough for my bikes (but they let me ride them). In third grade I visited my grandparents and rode in my grandfather's 63 Catalina. I drove that car to college. It was a boat with style. I still dream of it occasionally. The GTO would suffice as a replacement.

The GTO owner is 88 years old and allegedly burns rubber when he leaves the ChicFilet parking lot each weekend. He's had a lot of work done to the car. Unlike my bikes, I would not be the mechanic - so it has to be good to drive. I'd say my chances are 50/50 that I will get permission to buy one of the two. If I raise the cash from selling off some bikes I will buy the trike regardless.

Tom Bombadil

That is one bad looking trike!

Just looked them up. Are you leaning to the 30 mph model or the 40 mph model?

http://www.ffrtrikes.com/FFR-Transition-One-p/t1.htm

robtown

40mph of course! I'd probably spend most of my time between 20mph and 30mph but the extra power might come in handy. The special front crank is expensive but I want to contribute past 25mph.
It'd be very economical if replacement batteries at 15k - 30k mile intervals didn't cost $1k. I could feasibly sell my 2000 Volvo and rely on my 97 pickup truck, the trike, and my other traditional bikes. Having the GTO as a second backup wouldn't be that much of a hardship.

Tom Bombadil

If you can get out close to that 30K interval, then $1000 isn't "too" bad for the replacement batteries. If one drove 30,000 in a vehicle that averaged 25 mpg, then that would consume 1200 gallons of gas which would set you back $4000-$5000.

I wouldn't mind having one of those trikes.

The GTO I could pass on. I like little sports cars better.

fietsbob 

Velomobile.. its a recumbent tadpole inside an aerodynamic Body.
some are Monocoque
Body is the frame so the weight is not redundant.
http://www.bluevelo.com/quest_velomobile.html

JanMM

Have you considered getting the Pontiac GTO and also a Greenspeed GTO?

Monoborracho

Tell me more about the Paramount (spoken in a low quiet voice)

robtown

Update - I'll have the 411R trike within two weeks. I sold all of the items on my list - and a lot more to fund the purchase. I even opted for the Industry Nine wheelset. My son's 240 Volvo died and he will be buying my (discounted) 2000 S80 Volvo on the installment plan.

A coworker is my agent for acquiring the GTO. So far it doesn't look good - he tells me to be patient. In the meantime I got him a Seven Cycles Elium SG carbon fiber and titanium custom frame (circa 2008) and built it with DuraAce 7900 and a FSA compact carbon crankset. It built out at 16 lbs. The total cost was approx $2k - not bad when new ones are $6k+. I'm counting on him to get me the GTO.

Phil_gretz

[QUOTE=robtown;14522183]Update - I'll have the 411R trike within two weeks. QUOTE]

If you ride the trike when we ride together, I'm riding exclusively in your slipstream.

robtown

My trike - shipping next week.

cranky old dude

All this GTO talk reminds me of my 19th Summer. Being a party orientated college student (aka drunk) I was required to attend Summer School at our area Community College. The plan was for me to pass Chemistry. It didn't work out very well.

Back to the Goat! I drove my mother's '66 Pontiac Lemans back and forth to school all summer. Since the Lemans and the GTO were the same body my 19 year old long haired self was a sitting duck for every police officer that saw me. I used to get pulled over and asked for ID and an insurance check at least twice a week for the entire summer. The really sick part is that the Lemans had a slug of a six cylinder engine that barely enough power to keep the car rolling.

overthehillmedi

Cranky, did the police get to know you by first name, or vice versa?

fietsbob 

One fellow flipped his retrofitted Cattrike, loosened one side of the rear wheel.
when he engaged the motor it's torque chewed away the metal around the axle
and he had to buy a new frame ..


Im pondering on a electric, vespa like scooter and a sidecar ,
adding space for a bigger or a second battery.. to increase range..

loneviking61

If I had a huge bike path network, i'd buy one. But on the road! No way. The top of a trikes seat is at the same height as the bumpers of lots of big SUV's.

gtragitt

GTO's were fantastic. I really liked the early ones with the 389 and three 2 barrel carburetors.

That trike is truly awesome!

robtown

Trike is shipped - arriving Wednesday!

Watchdog

So how do you like the trike? How much have you used it?

One thing I'm very curious about is how do you lock it to standard bike racks? Given the amount of motor assist is there an ignition that you can turn off like a motorcycle so that if one does not have a key they can start the bike?

BlazingPedals

Why do you think it needs to go in a standard bike rack?

Retro Grouch 

If I owned a car like that I'd have to set up a monthly rear tire purchase plan at tire Rack.

robtown

It does have a key that starts the cycle analyst unit. I'm considering a bike insurance policy I just got a sales brochure on - to protect it and my other bikes.

I like the trike! It's not great for winter riding, too much wind chill and not enough heat generation. I cruise in he mid 20's and it will coast down small hills at 30. With the Schlumph crankset I can pedal at 30+ speeds. I get about 40 miles per charge in warmer weather, not bad since I've hit my high of 250lbs. So far about 700 miles on trike w/o issues.
It's a great head turner and I often see people pointing their cell phone camera's at me.

On the GTO, I didn't get traction with my friend's friend on contacting the owner. I may keep trying, but I bought a late model BMW 1 series from another friend who went off to NYC as a new FBI agent. She didn't need the car there. It's a lot of fun to drive - manual 6 speed, fast, smooth, and nimble. Fortunately I can still fit a bike inside - an important requirement.

tcs

As near as I can make out, the 411 is street legal in Virginia as a moped if you keep your speed under 35mph and you wear a DOT approved motorcycle helmet. It's not legal to operate it as a bicycle or electric assist bicycle.

Effective July 1, 2013 in Virginia, mopeds must be registered vehicles.

BlazingPedals

I road-tested a Quest (velomobile) about 2 weeks ago. Without any assist, 25 mph was a comfortable cruising speed; and that's without any acclimation. I suspect if it were mine and I rode it a lot, cruising speed would be closer to 30 mph. And it's purely human power, so no licensing required! Then there's this little number that's been discussed at BentRiderOnline.