Open House Issue 98

A LONG TIME COMING! I have had Cerebral Palsy from birth in 1965 but it hasn’t stopped me fighting for things that I enjoy doing. From a young age, I have been interested in motorbikes.

I battled for my driving licence and passed my car Paul Holmes at first said £14,000.00 and I just test at the first attempt, since then I’ve been driving laughed and said I couldn’t afford that. He spotted an adapted van with foot, head and elbow controls. my NABD jacket and I guess he was thinking there could be future work for his company, so he I’m 55 and my Dad (rest his soul) brought me up basically talked himself in to building it for £10,000 with the attitude that, “If you don’t try, how do you and he would cover anything above that price. But know you can’t do something.” this was a verbal agreement between Paul and myself, said in front of David Alton (my PA) back I had wanted a trike for many years but with being in early March 2014. I agreed the total build price, disabled and using a foot steering system in my on the road of £10,000 to be completed within 12 van, we knew it would not be straightforward. months so fitting it around other builds, he could wave the labour costs.

After much research and two other part-built failures, my personal assistant found out about the For this, I used some of my inheritance which I was reversed trike, designed by Stuart Mills. left by my Dad when his bungalow finally sold and was split between 10 of us, plus a bank loan which I was going to ask Derby University if they had any started on 26th March 2014 over 5 years. Of which, students who could help build something from I ended up with very little to show for. scratch but then we decided to ring Stuart, the owner of Mills Extreme Vehicles, himself. After a Even then, Road Track Race Ltd. were dragging their long phone call back in February 2014 with him, I feet. After 12 months, they had a rolling chassis was put onto Road Track Race Ltd. in Nottingham.

Road Track Race Ltd. was dissolved in August 2016 I arranged a meeting with Paul Holmes at and according to Paul Holmes my trike build should Road Track Race Ltd. back in March 2014. have gone with Road Track Race Ltd. but as he At the time, I knew he had capable engineers said, “As a good will gesture, he salvaged my build working for him who could build me a trike based and took it on himself. It has nothing to do with Exo on the R1 trike that they had already built, but Sports Cars.” Which was set up in January 2017 modifying the frame to take an Aprilia Mana 850, which I had purchased because it had the fully Paul was struggling with fitting the foot steering and knew of a company who adapts vehicles, so, my trike automatic gear box.

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