I don’t really understand why, but it looks like the story of Emile Leray is making the rounds online again because I’ve been emailed about it a bunch of times in the past two days. It’s been 20 years since he escaped the desert with his hacked up motorcycle and four years since the last time this story got attention online. If you’re not familiar with the story, you should definitely click on that link – Leray got himself stranded in a North African desert after wrecking his Citroen 2CV and he ended up converting portions of it into a makeshift motorcycle to save his life. I bring all of this up because reader Russ A just sent me something that looks like what Leray would have built if he had wrecked a dump truck instead. This is glorious.
The short story is that this hand built trike features a Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine (a 636 cubic inch/10.4 liter engine used in Ford medium duty trucks), Clark 397V transmission, and a Eaton 17221 two-speed rear axle. The suspension is handled by air bags and the steering is hydraulic.
This crazy contraption does not have a title, but find it for sale here on Craigslist in Westminster, Colorado for $4,000. And then please send me a video of you driving it.
This bike-uriousity brought to you by Russ A!