In the last three years, approximately, we have closely followed some of the aberrant engineering projects carried out by the YouTube channel team, Grind Hard Plumbing. One of their latest ventures is, precisely, the manufacture of what they themselves have baptized as Monster Trike: A monster tricycle with a tractor front wheel and a 6-cylinder BMW engine.
The Monster Trike is reinvented
It was not the first time that the Grind Hard Plumbing team did not surprise with one of their crazy projects, where the final result ended up taking the shape of an extravagant tricycle. You just have to look back and be surprised again with that spawn of the devil, manufactured in just 24 hours, with which they left us speechless. We are referring to his particular handmade Slingshot based on a Kawasaki ZX-6R.
Later, they manufactured a 180 HP Honda Ruckus, a 4-wheeled motorcycle in line or the fastest golf cart in the world with an R1 engine and 180 HP of power. Could not be missing from this review of some of the group’s main works, the Monster Chopper, which in concept somewhat resembles this Monster Trike. With 160 HP and 46″ wheels we asked ourselves at the time: what can go wrong?
Finally, we return to the moment when we first met the Monster Trike and about which its creators commented: “We bought the biggest tractor wheel we could find to build a 3WD monster trike. All the controls and driver will be inside the wheel!” As the main technical aspects of the project, we then outlined:
- 80” front wheel
- Rear axle from a US military vehicle M998
- BMW engine with 2.5 liters of displacement and 6 cylinders in line
New Atlas colleagues commented upon learning about the key features of the Monster Trike: “We are looking at a 2.73:1 reduction in the differential with a 1.92:1 reduction in the hubs… and, unless my calculations are very wrong, we could be looking at a trike with more than 1,200 Nm of torque.” Likewise, it was confirmed that the rear wheels came from the Monster Chopper, both 46” and 117 cm high.
After the publication of the first video, the Grind Hard Plumbing Co. team explained to their loyal followers: “This vehicle will probably be the most Mad Max thing we’ve ever built.” Almost a year and a half later they continue to refine details, while improving some key parts of the tricycle, including a new electric motor for its front wheel.
They explain it themselves: “We’ve added another motor to the monster tricycle! This time an electric motor on the front wheel! They can’t hurt you if they can’t find you!” The result, as you can imagine, is, like everything they do, surprising. Having all-wheel drive allows you to navigate steep terrain and climb steeper slopes than you could previously traverse.
That said and far from what most of the audience believes, the Monster Trike project is not over. There are still adjustments to make, processes to improve and challenges to overcome. The next reforms point to the transmission, since it is currently the one that limits the potential that can be extracted from the propulsion on both axles. So we’ll be keeping an eye on new updates on the YouTube channel from the folks at Grind Hard Plumbing Co.
