Year 12 Automotive students, along with their teacher Steven Bishop, have been busy designing and building an interesting new vehicle named “Black Betty” - a cross between a child’s roaster trike and a motorised quad bike.

Students came up with the design after finding an old trike in our school shed and a teacher donated a non-functioning quad bike.  After some initial planning, the class took to dismantling their finds and began to re-engineer them to work together.

The trike’s frame was cut in half and an extension was welded on to make the vehicle longer so it fits larger people. Then the rear axle of the quad was fitted and a new gearing mechanism installed. After a quick spray job, the result as it stands at present is a really cool adult size pedal-powered roaster trike that is great fun to ride.

However, as this project is a work in progress and needs an engine, Mr Bishop has sourced a 48cc 2-stroke engine kit designed to fit on a traditional bicycle. The class plans to re-engineer this engine kit so that Black Betty will be able to move via her own steam in the future. The first job though is to fit some good brakes to ensure safety.

Watch this space to see how the project progresses.

Photo from left to right: Year 12 Automotive students Tiaki Paku, Mario Leone and Travis Kembray