“Norwegian Rickshaw”A Big Hit At Parades
Over the years Harlen Grovom has come up with numerous inventions, some of them built purely for fun and many featured in FARM SHOW. His latest creation is what he calls a “Norwegian rickshaw” – a 2-wheeled deluxe, side-by-side people hauler.
“Every year I try to drive something in a local parade, and the first thing people ask is, ‘What will you have new for this year?’” says Harlen. “I had a lot of help from friends and neighbors, who gave me ideas on how to build it.”
The “rickshaw” rides on a pair of 400 by 36 drive wheels and is fitted with 2 bucket seats out of a mini van, with big metal footrests in front of them. A geared down 1 1/2 hp Briggs & Stratton gas engine, located between the seats, is connected to the transmission off an old self-propelled swather. The engine belt-drives the wheels and is geared down by 3 chains. The frame was borrowed from part of an old cultivator.
A pair of levers are used to steer, and a belt clutch off the engine is used for starting and stopping. “I pull way back on both levers to stop. By pulling back on just one lever it’ll spin around in its own tracks,” says Grovom. “The only other control lever is the throttle. There’s only one gear, and top speed is slower than a normal walking speed so I might have geared the engine down too much.”
The spoked wheels are off an old side delivery rake, which Grovom already had. But the tires cost him $800. “I bought the tires from Miller Tire after looking all over for something less expensive,” he says.
“The machine’s weight is supposed to be evenly balanced, but I had to add a pair of small wheels, one on front and one on back, to keep from tipping over when hitting bumps in the road.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harlen Grovom, 12643 Hwy. 17, Park River, N. Dak. 58270 (ph 701 331-0169; hlgrovom@polarcomm.com).
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“Norwegian Rickshaw”A Big Hit At Parades FARM HOME Novelty Items Over the years Harlen Grovom has come up with numerous inventions some of them built purely for fun and many featured in FARM SHOW His latest creation is what he calls a “Norwegian rickshaw” – a 2-wheeled deluxe side-by-side people hauler “Every year I try to drive something in a local parade and the first thing people ask is ‘What will you have new for this year?’” says Harlen “I had a lot of help from friends and neighbors who gave me ideas on how to build it ” The “rickshaw” rides on a pair of 400 by 36 drive wheels and is fitted with 2 bucket seats out of a mini van with big metal footrests in front of them A geared down 1 1/2 hp Briggs & Stratton gas engine located between the seats is connected to the transmission off an old self-propelled swather The engine belt-drives the wheels and is geared down by 3 chains The frame was borrowed from part of an old cultivator A pair of levers are used to steer and a belt clutch off the engine is used for starting and stopping “I pull way back on both levers to stop By pulling back on just one lever it’ll spin around in its own tracks ” says Grovom “The only other control lever is the throttle There’s only one gear and top speed is slower than a normal walking speed so I might have geared the engine down too much ” The spoked wheels are off an old side delivery rake which Grovom already had But the tires cost him $800 “I bought the tires from Miller Tire after looking all over for something less expensive ” he says “The machine’s weight is supposed to be evenly balanced but I had to add a pair of small wheels one on front and one on back to keep from tipping over when hitting bumps in the road ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Harlen Grovom 12643 Hwy 17 Park River N Dak 58270 ph 701 331-0169; hlgrovom@polarcomm com
