for future reference, autozone offers a free rental tool for spring compression. I wouldn't recommend compressing suspension struts with ratchet strats to my worst enemy.

I love your ingenuity. I'd be painting it fluorescent orange with regenerative electrical lights all over it so that people would see me. They run over each other in trucks. People are staring down at their phones.

Paul Keep Living the Dream

DIY excellence 👍, "Flintstones reverse" 😅😅😅 I love it. Aptera's 400-600 MPGe is hard to beat but costs 25K, and is compatible with Openpilot, and solar charging.

I would love to see a modern Honda Cub engine used in this. Injection, a katalysator and hugh fuel efficiency. And a better muffler I guess.

I always love Kirsten Dirksen's coverage of you and others.

I really think this idea is the way to go .. possibly with a small "pickup-truck" bed in the back for carrying some groceries or something that doesn't just fit in a small space. Very important to be ahead of the wave!

Aptera is doing this at the mass produced consumer level. Sweet to see this build!

Paul , This is Mike brruhn my brother steve was in the Vetter milage competition, it's great to see you still working with your project, brings back a special time in my life listening to his storys . Thank for sharing. Have fun keep up the good work

Thanks for showing some of the process. Until now I've only seen finished things (well kinda) from you. To keep the weight down I was pondering inflatable structures wrapped together with steel cables. Zeppelin people got a lot of interesting ideas. Good luck!

There's a company called Aptera that's following a similar idea that Paul has. The tear drop car design by Aptera. But, it's electric with solar panel on the roof to recharge the battery since it's so efficient it requires minimal electrical to charge. Can't wait to see the cars be delivered late 2024 or in 2025.

I like a man who appreciates the difference between squashed and squarshed.

I'm glad to see this project again! Now that you've extended the wheelbase, you can also extend the tail to improve the aerodynamics and give yourself more cargo area!

Aerodynamics is a strange beast and like tuning engines for power, what seems logical doesn't always produce the expected results - I recall way back when the average drag factor of the average car was in the region of 0.7, the UK company BMC produced an economy family car styled by Farina and designated the A40 - A denoted Austin and 40 was the approximate power output of the engine. The performance was surprisingly good to say the least, in spite of being vaguely brick shaped. In an effort to economise on build costs and minimise the sale price the designer had eliminated most of the traditional chrome trim and reduced the size of the gutters and by doing so had accidentally produced a car with a drag factor of 0.47. That perhaps influenced Ford because in 1965 or thereabouts, their concept car, the Probe 3, was remarkable for having a drag factor of only 0.27, a reduction achieved in no small part by fitting the glass almost flush with the surrounding metalwork. Ford claimed the car gave a typical 1600cc performance from only a 1300cc power unit, though it wasn't until 1981 the concept car innovations appeared on their production cars. I expect those side protection bars and maybe a few other things are really upsetting the aerodynamics...

I think you just reinvented the Velorex.

I've been building this in my mind for the past 30 years. It's all most people need.

Hey Paul , I'm super impressed you rock . I just bought a vintage velomobile and I live in Seattle. I'm rebuilding slowly but don't have anywhere near your skill level . Your gas Trike is the most slick cool vehicle I've ever seen from a home builder . Bravo 👏

I love this build. I've always wanted to do a "big boy Velomobile"...

Tylko dzięki tak szalonym ludziom nasz świat jecze istnieje

You built your own Elio...and didn't have to wait an eternity for one that you could drive.

Any island that doesn't have stupid US trucks should look at these kind of cars.

This never ceases to be amazing! Your creativity is awesome. Keep it up!!!

Nice design. I'd paint it in high vis dayglo alternating striped colors and add reflective tape. Make the grocery compartment more accessible from the outside because you'll be using it a lot. Every trip I made I bring groceries home. Maybe make the cockpit canopy able to slide forward, backwards, or on a hinge, but not a big priority. The biggest problem with out of the ordinary designs like these are they are cop magnets. I like to tilt when I go through a turn, so I stick to motorcycles. But if I went electric I'd consider a three wheel design to support more batteries.

The problem is everyone driving a cement Truck on their commute from their tax write-off alpaca farm to their city job.

Very cool little machine you built. I'd love to own something like this. Aptera is as close as I'll get as I'm not really a builder. Great build though!

Thank you for another great video Paul! I always love seeing what you are up to and what's been percolating in that head of yours!!🥰

The Morgan setup greatly benefitted by wider front stance and independent front suspension.

Wonderful seeing you again, paul. I am the original owner of a fully enclosed motorcycle called a Pulse auto cycle built in Michigan in 1990. Blessings

keep a going Paul ......great build

You are a re-trendsetter. This will be a hit, like your bicycle bike trailer. Perfecto!

👋😄👍 Nice‼️ Be careful and do not get squashed like a bug!

This is a nifty project,great work! Thanks for showing us.🌞 Be careful,Sir!

I've always enjoyed watching your projects, fascinating and educational. The various shelters, watercraft and even the tree stump gnome home, thank you for sharing with us.

Surely you need a vehicle weighing at least two tons to get one person to work.

I have personally thought about this same thing, and have followed your build... I am a little heavier than you, so everything would need to be a little bigger built.... I would use a different engine, something out of a quad, as it has 5 gears Forward and 1 Reverse and is Semi-Automatic....Auto Clutch but you still shift it like a Motorcycle...... much more efficient than a CVT or something like that (The Biggest mistake of the HMV Freeway)....Even my short trip to work on my very inefficient ATV gets 57MPG (at 45MPH) so with some aerodynamics...and one less tire, and a LOT less rolling resistance = 60MPG at 60MPH doesn't seem out of question...Sure beats my pickup truck!

This is a beautiful job. Simple and beautiful.

They have suspensions now that lean into turns, that would be the cherry on top of this.

Thanks for sharing your fascination with your fellow earthlings. I had a memorable dalliance with wind-powered trikes and a saucy mig welder. Subscribed indeed!

Looks great Paul! I've long since had to shelve my own reverse trike, as I'm away at grad school and don't have access to my workshop any more, but I always enjoy seeing your creations on youtube!

There is one teardrop car, the Aptera. And the Frikar Podbike is a nice concept. Problem is, the world doesn't care. Fuel is still affordable and voters favour the automobile so much that rules, laws and space is dedicated to it.

wish our laws in oz down under let us have a homemade class of single seaters

You built a truly nice vehicle. Impressive.

I love all of your creations.

Brilliant work on the wheelbase!

I salute you sir from the bottom of my heart ! And wholeheartedly recommend you convert it into Electric power. To catch up with the zeitgeist + tap into the huge markets thirsting for it. If you need help, I'm a US expat living in China, and would lend a hand 👍

you need a leaning/tilting front suspension so that it leans into turns like a motorcycle. it would increase stability greatly. do that and it would be the perfect three wheel vehicle check out the Wesll awd leaning quad

Very much enjoyed the update, and thanks for the inspiration. Since you started this project I've been designing some designs in Solidworks for an electric reverse trike. I've done some designs using Aluminum, Mild steel and a hybrid monocoque plywood-steel design, and surprisingly plywood comes out a lot stronger and lighter less costly than either Aluminum or steel using Solidworks stress analysis and modeling. If you might like to take a look at the concept and chat or work up some Solidworks designs I'd be up for that.

Thanks for the inspiration !! You’re doing great things

The BMW Bubble type shape is best. It`s short and less wind affect. Lot of room. Small wheels are in body and cause less drag than open wheels.

👍 👌 Great job & hobby,sir.Ride safe & healthy. Thank you. 🇨🇦 😊

I'm building a similar model with a monocoque carbon fiber body powered by an electric motor. The front suspension, steering and brakes are from a Quad in an IFS beam type configuration so I saved a lot of time on that issue. Rear suspension is single arm motorcycle from a dirt bike, so a few time saving shortcuts, though, the body has been a big involved project. Kudos on your more involved build. Engineering front suspensions is a science all by itself something I got involved in with several Sevenesqe(Lotus 7) type builds years ago. Just use Miata parts for those projects and benefit from the millions spent by Mazda on that engineering. Haven't been to Stanwood since I had an engineering project in Seattle back in 2010 and was looking for a building lot there. Wonderful area.

awesome video for an awesome project. I hope someday to bring my dreams to life like this

Thats awesome you are still evolving your designs.

You are an inspiration Paul...keep bringing your dreams to life.❤

What a lovely execution! I have one that is bigger, electric, and shaded by solar panels. I will make a video soon. Yours is simply beautiful!

I'm sure you know Aptera, and Elio, and now Aptera again are trying to bring something in this vein to the market. There are probably more I don't know about. I hope someone eventually figures out how to sell efficiency to the general populace. I love this Paul!

This reminds me of the elf ( electric tricycle) and I love your ingenuity and creativeness. I think this would work in Europe under the quadricycle law as a hybrid, electric front hubs for town driving, and a small petrol engine for open road driving. Here in England you can build any vehicle for the road under " Single Vehicle Type Approval " which all kitcars and replicas have to go through...............

Really I think we should have more cars like this rather than the 'tanks' we see today which are vastly bigger than the cars of the 60s, 70s and 80s with which I grew up!

Looking good Paul !

I did nearly the same thing in the early 1980's I used a snowmobile frame and used a 60CC Yamaha motorcycle as the back end. I drove it around a bit but never tried to register it. I was motivated by the oil embargo in the 70's and some articles I read about cyclists and that 80% of the energy at 60 MPH that a cyclist generated went to overcome air resistance. I figured that if you could make something more aerodynamic that even with a very small engine it would work just fine and would burn hardly any fuel. I have since owned a Corbin Sparrow and I am a reservation holder for an Aptera so I am still hoping this idea comes to pass.

Paul, what about vacuum forming the body with one continuous sheets of clear Lexan? You could make form out of wood in your garage taking care to give all the complex curvatures a true tear drop shape deserves. You could even heat the Lexan yourself and suck it down onto the form using a couple of shop vacs with a little common sense and ingenuity. Right up your alley I bet. You could have the beautiful showroom floor shape that I am sure you have been dreaming about. By the way, RC car bodies are made the same way and are incredibly durable.

Almost every car I see only has 1 person in it anyway

Cool project. Quality channel. Subscribed.

Amazing work.

Fantastic, loved all the history

Very nice ! Great job !

Great to see the updates.

Saw that exhaust pipe and had to click,knew it was a Yamaha sr185 engine!! Cool build! I’ve grafted the same engine into one of my old bikes, selected because it was the cheapest complete engine I could find online, think I got it for $200 shipped few years back.

Good fun, and definitely worthwhile experimenting.

You can make it ultralightweight with curved plywood frame and hemp lashing and covered with cotton (fabric on frame, see mosquito and others) and use pedal only with diy pinions for climbing easy (oversized big rear pinions and small front pinion) or with sails, the shape of that body generates lift because the wing profile. See wooden trikes for inspiration

I would love to build a project like this. I know you don't do plans (I understand ) but if you could put some form of details into a list... such as tire size, type of suspension parts used, type of motor, wheel base (now), etc. it would really flatten the curve for my project. Thanks

Look up a color called Jupiter yellow. Very visible in low lights. It is the color of football goalposts. I think in UV light it would really pop . The sooner they see you, the safer you are.

You need to look at the scrub radius and aim for neutral as the further you go away from that the more the vehicle self-steers and wanders, along with being unstable under brakes. The scrub radius is the distance in front view between the king pin axis and the center of the contact patch of the wheel, where both would theoretically touch the road. It can be positive, negative or zero. The king pin axis is also known as the steering axis inclination. The scrub radius is affected by the wheel’s width, diameter and offset. The scrub radius creates a turning moment that influences the steering feel and stability, castor is also very important for stability.

Great Job. I think your onto something.

Fascinating as usual!

Lovely. I would like to see this thing as a tandem seater. With a folding camper trailer!

very cool project!

Awesome build. Very logistical and smart. Its about time someone made a rational commuter vehicle. Now 345 lbs? Id like to think we could get that down to less than 259lbs... Carbon fiber anyone? Aluminum maybe? Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

I'll bet your a fan of the aptera.

Hello neighbor, from 'Little Detroit of the West" Auburn WA. Always love your designs Paul.

Looks like lots of fun

Aptera is making its come back!

Simply brilliant

It would be nice if aptera could make it in production. Everyone that understand will be very happy. The SUV will stay the biggest market, but at least it would be something to fight the common stupidity

Verrrry interesting.....👀....I'm definetly thinkin on repurposing a couple my bikes.....maybe add some side pod to add impact and cross-wind shedding....inflatable in a netting lattice lengthwise along the cabin......teardrop shaped as well...

great video!

I'd love to have one of these for my work commute -- except it would have to do at least 75 mph and be comfortable at 65 (35 mile commute, about 20 miles is at 60-65 mph). Shouldn't be hard to add a simple cabin heater/defogger, a little ductwork around the engine cooling fins and a fan to push the heated air where it's needed (or over the side when it's hot out). The fan would also help keep the engine cool at stop lights... You're not any less safe than you would be on a bike, after all, but you're probably getting better mileage than even the old CM400T I used to ride in Seattle (52 mpg all day every day). In fact, the engine out of one of those would be a fine choice for this kind of machine; should easily get to 75 mpg with that kind of streamlining and has enough power to run at proper highway speed. And Flintstone reverse could be replaced by a small electric wheel motor in one of the front wheels or even in the rear wheel, at the cost of having to carry a much larger battery compared to the tiny one that most motorcycles had when that engine was built.

Since you're interested in high-efficiency teardrop vehicles, you should check out the new Aptera that's close to production! It's an EV, and it has incredible range/efficiency, plus it's also a trike!

It looks like a fun vehicle to drive.

I love it when Paul makes a video on his genius project

Cool. The only advantage this has to my motorcycle is that you don't get wet in the rain. But I also say that for cars and trucks.

Nice upgrades Paul.

Useful information. I draw a lot of things like this on Sketchup and put them on my channel. Subbed.

This reminds me of the Eco-Exo trike that Exomotors used to offer. Theirs used the swing axle/ motor combo from a Suzuki Burgmann for the powertrain.

12 months later, looks like your carrying a little extra ballist now Paul.... 😉 Jokes. Machine still looks great. Good work.

Such a great video!

In the 1950s shell put out a call to the people to build a car that could get 1000 mpg..the car that won it, got 1300 mpg! With a vaporizer!

I remember watching the build

Paul I like this concept 👍 can you make a single wheel pull trailer for groser groceries? You did grate.

FART CYCLE The cycle that sounds like a fart! FART CYCLE I'm jealous of this guy. Gets to live in paradise and screw around with whatever he wants to, building things. When I have free time I do the laundry.