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ANIMAL'S FIERO TRIKE!
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ANIMAL
Hi all!
I thought about it, and decided to follow up on
Trader's request for introductions, etc. My name is
Larry "Animal" Garner, and I'm on my second trike.
I've been intrigued by them since the mid sixties
when people like Chattanooga Charlie and Ed "Big
Daddy" Roth started building V8 trikes and they found
their way into the hot rod and bike magazines of the
day. But those things were dangerous! Anybody could
see that, and Ed & Charlie have admitted it
themselves. Then there was the other end of the
spectrum.. VW trikes. They were small, light, fun,
and ran decent without being over-powered. I kept
track of all this evolution of three-wheeled vehicles
because I'm a card-carrying member of the
dare-to-be-different school of thought. One day in
Virginia Beach, VA I saw a trike that changed my
life. It was rear-engined, with a Toronado transaxle
& 425 horse 425 cubic inch Olds V8. It was relatively
small, very sexy-looking, and ran like stink. I
struck up a conversation with the owner, got him to
take me for a ride, and fell in love. The independent
rear suspension, coupled with the disk brakes and
gawdawful power available made for a hell of a ride.
I never forgot that trike, and one day decided it was
time to build my own version. I'd decided in the
meantime that the Toronado/Eldorado
transaxle-suspension was too heavy & bulky, so went
for something a little smaller...a Chevy Citation
X11. The V6 ran decent enough, and the handling and
stopping power were great. Took it to Buffalo, WY on
the way to Sturgis in '94 and a guy there fell in
love with it, had to have it. He followed us around
the whole week, afraid I'd sell it before he could
get home & get the money together. A couple days
after we got home, he called, made sure we still had
it, and came down to Utah from Oregon & drove it
home. He was 68 years old. It was great! The main
reason for selling that trike was to build another
one with enough seating to take my wife, twin sons,
and me to Sturgis and other bike/trike events. This
one is Fiero-based, with a Chevy 2.8L high output
V6. We did a little work to the motor, figure it's
around 170-180 hp. This thing RUNS! This one is more
cycle-looking in the front, lighter than the first
one. It's also for sale, so I can build a paint shop
behind the house. There are pics on my homepage. I'm
also a biker, been riding since '66. I'm a life
member of MMA, BTW, and a couple obscure little
organizations, along with supporting ABATE, Riders
For Justice, FEM, MAG, and am a charter member of the
Uintah Basin(Utah) Chapter of Bikers Against Child
Abuse (BACA).I'm the BTW director for Utah and the
international P.R. director as well. My wife & I run
a small non-profit org. that raises money to help out
the families of kids with life-threatening illnesses
in this area. Our main fund-raiser each year is the
Steel Pony Rodeo. The fourth annual Steel Pony Rodeo
will be on June 26, 1999 in FT Duchesne, Utah. There
will be a poker run, a bike/trike rodeo and a
blessing of the scooters with a Ute Indian Sun Dance
Chief presiding. There's free camping, and a dance
next door at the Hilltop Tavern after the rodeo. It's
a real hoot, and everyone's welcome. Sorry for the
length of this, but once I get going on something I
really like, it's hard to shut me off. Who's next?
RIDE SAFE!ANIMAL
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