The Mighty Machine
Three wheels, half a lawnmower engine, bodywork that makes a pac-a-mac seem effective and brakes that...well let's just forget the brakes; the designers obviously did!
The Auto Rickshaw
| Engine | 2 stroke, single cylinder, forced air cooled |
| Engine size | 145.45cc |
| Power | 7HP at 5000RPM |
| Torque | 12.17NM at 3500RPM |
| Transmission | 4 Forward and 1 Reverse |
| Brakes | Hydraulic expanding shoe (apparently!) |
| Fuel capacity | 8 litres including 1.4 litre reserve |
| Top Speed | 55 KPH |
| Weight | 277KG |
With a top speed of 30mph, driving a rickshaw was never going to be the fastest thing we ever did! Braking was via a foot brake and with a twist grip accelerator and gear change it's not like driving a car or a motorbike.
The "huge" engine converts most of its power into loud noise and you would be hard pushed to say they protect you from the elements, because they don't.
So the perfect choice for a 4800 km dash through some of the highest and hardest terrain on earth then!.
We had been trying to organise a bit of distance-pimping of our trusty steed and despite willing Indian mechanics and some quite superb technical drawings on the back of a fag packet, there was devastation within the camp; apparently the small modifications required to create a replica of the rickshaw below just were not possible on our budget!
Not to be outdone, we instead decided to purchase the relevent Haynes manual.
Apparently, they do not produce a manual that covers the Auto Rickshaw but we did find a helpful guide; it so good so thought it would only be fair to share it with you below.
