Last Update 12/21/2012
Grinnall Scorpion III - Reverse Trike 'Full Roller' Kit starting @ $17,000 USD approx (available now - in the UK, currently being imported)
grinnallcars.com - Scorpion III designed by Mark Grinnall in England. Price varies depending on options but a few have built a complete kit in the USA for under $25,000 including the bike and just so you'll know, these are made specifically to use various BMW motorcycles as the drive-train.
Grinnall Specialist Cars Ltd
Westridge House
Heightington
nr Bewdley
Worcestershire, England
DY12 2YJ
Tel: 01299 822862
Fax: 01299 822889
Email: mark@grinnallcars.com
Here's a nice detailed letter I got from a Scorpion owner -
I own Grinnall Scorpion #151. It's very reliable, fast and never gets less than 35 mpg. It turns heads everywhere I go. I used a wrecked 93' K1100RS with 16k miles on it as my donor. By the time I sold the parts I didn't need, I ended up with my donor parts for around $1800. You may be able to do better than me...at least one owner ended up with his donor parts for FREE after selling the parts he didn't need.
You'll need the entire drive-train (engine, gearbox, rear drive and rear disc), the instrument pod minus it's metal backing plate, the radiator/fan assembly, the brain that runs the engine, and a portion of the wiring loom, which you will splice to Grinnall's wiring loom for the Scorpion. Allow 150 hours for self assembly, what with dismantling the donor, allowing for "head scratching" and just generally figuring things out. If you were to build a second Scorpion, 100 hours would be more realistic.
The SKD kit ships as "motorcycle parts". I can supply you with the name of my customs broker in the SF bay area, if you are a west coast prospective buyer. Shipping to my home in Northern California cost me about $2500, including crating, and shipment via sea and truck. This has now been reduced to around $1500 with a little investigation, and other owners have found the $1500 rate to be about right.
I chose the following options and recommend them to all prospective owners: heavy duty clutch, sump extender, Momo interior package, four point harnesses, heat shield (reduces heat in the cockpit), rear interior luggage tray. You can buy your front wheels from Grinnall or source them here. Same with tires.
In California the Scorpion registers as a motorcycle, runs a motorcycle plate, insures as a motorcycle (no smog checks!) and does NOT require a motorcycle endorsement as it is a three wheeler. You are not required to wear a helmet in California due to it's unique 3-wheel status (see CA vehicle code for details in the motorcycle handbook). I generally wear a pair of sunglasses or goggles for most driving conditions. Most air is diverted over the windscreen, but bugs can still blast you in the face from time to time, so eye protection is a must.
A rough total of my receipts shows a total cost (includes shipping,
taxes, DMV fees and first year insurance) of around $21k-$22k. Dollar for dollar, you can't get much more reliable, fast, fun driving for the bucks.
The build is pretty straightforward. The factory supplied instructions lack photos, so between the British text and lack of photos,
does require some careful thinking as you assemble. It is mostly bolting parts together, with some careful drilling of holes in the fine glasswork, a
bit of cutting hoses and fitting of parts. All the tough stuff has been done
at the factory. Your hard brake lines are all in place attached to the lovely powdercoated framework, right down to the flexible stainless brake
lines waiting to be attached to the wheel cylinders. It's a "final assembly"
job. EVERY PART necessary to assemble the car is supplied (minus the BMW parts), right down to the box containing every nut, bolt and washer you'll
need. Grinnall does excellent powdercoat on the frame and suspension parts, and nice paintwork, too.
I've had my Scorpion on the road now for over six years, and it
has been trouble free. Maintenance is basic and straightforward. You can have your engine serviced at the BMW cycle shop when it needs a
tune-up. I'd say the Scorpion is as reliable as the donor bike it derives its'
power-plant
from. The car is very comfortable to drive. When I took mine out for it's
first test run, it was like I had driven it all my life, except for the inline shift pattern, but that's something you get used to in minutes.
It shifts effortlessly and quickly, with minimal clutch use. The single rear wheel will teach you lessons if you don't take a slow
learning curve. It breaks loose pretty easily, even in dry road conditions
IF you drive hard, but learning to correct its' oversteer is simple. But you
can get in over your head real fast if you don't pay attention or overdo it on the throttle in a turning situation.
You need to be VERY EXTREME to have a problem. Just use common sense.
A word of caution: DO NOT PURCHASE A SCORPION IF YOU LIKE ANONYMITY! You are going to meet the world, like it or not. When you stop, expect to always be the center of attention, with LOTS of questions. If you are a single guy, it's not will you meet women, it's how many and what age. The car is an absolute PEOPLE MAGNET. I cannot state this strongly enough.
You can drive a Scorpion on the freeway with no problem, but you'll find as I did that it's real domain is the two lane twisties. A freeway is a waste of its' abilities. Grinnall's lead time for shipping is generally about sixteen weeks, longer if things get busy, which they seem to be doing incrementally and steadily as a few more of these appear in the US. A reasonable deposit will secure you a car number, and Grinnall will notify you to send the remaining payment prior to shipment.
Remember, you have the option of paying Grinnall around $1500 extra and having the parts assembled there minus the BMW donor parts. This reduces time to put it on the street greatly. A decent experienced hot rod/sports car builder could probably do it in a couple of days if the donor parts were cleaned up, serviced and ready to install.
My Scorpion was featured in the April 99 issue of KIT CAR - The Builder's Authority in a three page spread. If you have internet capability, go to www.yahoogroups.com and join the online group. Just type in "grinnall scorpion" on the subject line. Many Scorpion owners worldwide belong to this group and the archived emails and photos can give you more information if you're willing to take the time to go through them. The online group can be extremely helpful with tech questions should they arise. You'll notice that activity is reasonably sparse...Scorpions DRIVE and don't require too much attention.
Order with confidence from Grinnall Specialist Cars, as they have built a finely detailed highly
engineered performance vehicle. You will not be disappointed if you're looking for fun on wheels. Fact is, you'll have only one regret when your
car is done...that you didn't build one sooner!
Sincerely,
Tom Reier,
Santa Rosa, California.
Here's a recent 12/2006 post in the discussion group:
Kit 8000 pounds
Pre-assembly 1600 pounds
Popular options 1700-2000 pounds
convert to dollars = $22,813
Shipping $4500 approximately
That totals $27,313 without the donor. If you add in $2000-$3000 for the drive train parts you are at a
$30,000+ car. Now I realize that you can get the car without the pre-assembly being done (SKD) but I think
very few people are ordering them that way anymore. Knowing what I know now, if I got another car I would
definitely pay the pre-assembly charge. And this would get someone a box stock car which is becoming more
rare. Some other options are:
All the other additions I've seen would quickly take the figure a lot higher. So the days of the $20,000 or $25,000 Scorpion are gone, even if you get an SKD kit with no pre-assembly. Richard L.
Common Law Copyright 2004'-2012' by reversetrike.com - All Rights Reserved.
