Taurus 650 Prototype, pictures and other info

[MattDragontamer]

You are all in for a little treat today.

Today I had the chance to meet one of the designers of the Taurus 650.
Turns out, he and his wife live but a stones throw away from where I live.

Rob and Joyce were telling me about the days back in the 80's when the Taurus 650
was but in the design stages. How the prototype (before the prototype seen in the picture below)
was but a glorified metal mesh with an engine and wheels.

The prototype was the means to get a government grant to help in the production of the Taurus.
Once the grant was achieved, the company had to meet a goal of a minimum production line of 300 machines.
The production line produced 4 to 5 trikes a day. Everything was going smoothly until the production ban of
1987/88, where they were nearing the production goal for the government grant. In order to sell the last few trikes,
the company shipped the Taurus' to Australia to a ranch. So keep an eye out down there! I will see if I can dig up more info.

An interesting fact for ya, ODG didn't want to start the production line with the vin# 3W000, so they started with #3W100.
The prototype how ever had the number 3W098 for what ever reason. Even Rob didn't know the answer to that question.
As confirmed by my records, there are a total of 322 Taurus 650's with the last vin being 3W422.
So be sure to register on my site www.taurus650.com !

So here is a pic of the prototype before the final changes were made.
As you can see, there were a few features that resembled the Honda Big Red
of the times, but as we know, ODG went with a unique look.

There will be more to come!

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[Daddio]

Very cool, Matt. History is a neat thing.

[onformula1]

Thank You for sharing, I love history especially trike history.

[MattDragontamer]

I would love to continue saying I have a treat for ya'll, but not everyone shares my enthusiasm.

AH HELL, BOY DO I HAVE A "DOUBLE TAKE" HEAD TURNER!!!

So a little while back I was offered a Taurus 650 for free from a guy a couple of hours away from where I live.
Off I went to pick it up. He told me over the phone he wanted $75, which to me was a lucky strike.

I arrived to his property and rolled up to the house. Here I was looking for a Taurus... and I kinda... saw... one.
To be honest my first impressions were; "This is the last time I pick up anything without seeing pics." and
"Great, scrap metal."

So, I load up and the guy tells me to just take it, forget the $75. And then he recalled he has another gearbox in the back.
So here he comes with a gearbox, but with a little different look to it. I loaded up and off I went.

All the way home I has so pissed off at the waste of time and fuel to pick up a load of scrap metal,
however there are some useful parts I can salvage. I got to the property and rolled it off to a
corner and tarpped it.

Over the nest few days I kept recalling the trike and the parts. I wanted to find out which trike the engine came off of.
When I had a chance, I looked it over. Found the engine serial number. The number started with a "J-". I opened the
production log book and looked for the serial... Nothing. Looked it over again... Nothing. So then I thought, well I can check
the gearbox, there is a vin for every gearbox. Nothing. So here I was like WTF. I decide to check the spare gearbox.
Again, Nothing.

So here I am analysing the situation. I have a look-a-like Taurus with no VINs... engine serial starts with a "J" and
machine specific parts that seem to be in pretty much the right place.

So it dawned on me... could it be a prototype?

For that I needed a reliable source to confirm my suspicions.
So I make plans to get Rob Effinger (One of the designers of the gearbox and other Taurus Parts).

Rob and I meet up and I don't tell him a thing. Just that I need him to take a look at a Taurus and answer a few questions
that I have. I get him up to the machine and pull back the tarp.
First words that come out of him mouth was "lol, what do you have here?..."
He then looked the machine over a few times before I asked; "So what do you think?"
Rob replies "I think... you have one of the very first prototypes"

We then went over the machine, facts and his memories. Conclusion, Prototype.

Other than the VINs missing on certain parts, the front forks were the motorcycle versions
that predate the model make for the Taurus, the front yoke is simple and in house machined
out of a piece of aluminium, the frame is shorter and the main body tubes are bent to spec.

With the evidence that I have, I am willing to accept without a doubt, that this is in fact A if
not THE original field test and prototype used to get the funding to start the Taurus 650
production. :D


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[Racer-X]

Are you going to fix it up or leave it as is?

[ironchop]

That's mind blowing!

What a score!

I can't think of a better person to get that.

Congrats Matt

[Eric250R]

Very cool story

[coolpool]

Oh I'm cringing at the teardown; memories of seized hubs.....wait, you're 4000km away now, whew. Dodged that rusty bullet! JK buddy, that's definitely a different animal from your other ones, great pick up for sure.

[MattDragontamer]

Are you going to fix it up or leave it as is?

That is the question isn't it. The odds are I will give it the respect it deserves and rebuild it to
what it would have looked like when they first built it. However, I will be holding out on the rebuild
for a while. I will try to get some more details and pics from back in the day to try and get it
as accurate as possible. Only time will truly tell.

[MattDragontamer]

Oh I'm cringing at the teardown; memories of seized hubs.....wait, you're 4000km away now, whew. Dodged that rusty bullet! JK buddy, that's definitely a different animal from your other ones, great pick up for sure.

LOL, wasn't spending two days trying to get that rear hub off loads of fun?! Hehe...
Well, at least I might have something to roost over during the winter.

[jakep53]

There was a Taurus 650 for sale here in Australia not too long ago, maybe one of the ones you were talking to being shipped here?

[fabiodriven]

I'm glad this was brought up again. Matt is a great individual and he's single handedly turned the elusive Taurus into a machine that we now have the complete story to as well as the resources to keep them going and even build brand new ones!

[Ghostv2]

I still have one of his Taurus magnets on my fridge from the TF15' door prize giveaways lol.

[El Camexican]

I'm glad this was brought up again. Matt is a great individual and he's single handedly turned the elusive Taurus into a machine that we now have the complete story to as well as the resources to keep them going and even build brand new ones!

Thanks to him some of us can even say we're driven one. :Bounce

[atctim]

Awesome history and story here. Very Cool Matt! I have a Taurus hat I wear on special occasions!

[coolpool]

I'm glad this was brought up again. Matt is a great individual and he's single handedly turned the elusive Taurus into a machine that we now have the complete story to as well as the resources to keep them going and even build brand new ones!

Roger that Fabio! Matt's determination and attention to detail allowed him to restore not one, but three Taurus' in just over a year. And if folks don't know, he maintains the website, www.taurus650.com , check it out!

[Ghostv2]

Awesome history and story here. Very Cool Matt! I have a Taurus hat I wear on special occasions!

Woahhh, where can I get one of these? Post up a pic tim, I didn't get to see those.

[coolpool]

Woahhh, where can I get one of these? Post up a pic tim, I didn't get to see those.

I've got one! I'll text Matt and get him to look at this old thread. Maybe he can help you out Ghost?

[MattDragontamer]

I am down to only a few ORIGINAL hats, however, I am looking into getting some new ones made. I have found the exact same hats, color and all. I just need to save up get them done.

[czac]

wow cool story!! i would have thought that thing was home made...it looks like a tank! lol... it would be cool to re build back to its former glory, throw it on a trailer and take it to local shows. its a real conversation piece for sure... good lock with it.

[hoosierlogger]

Awesome history and story here. Very Cool Matt! I have a Taurus hat I wear on special occasions!

I've got a n.o.s. Taurus hat I can't bring myself to wear even on special occasions.

[Ghostv2]

I've got a n.o.s. Taurus hat I can't bring myself to wear even on special occasions.

You got a picture? I'm curious what they look like.

[hoosierlogger]

You got a picture? I'm curious what they look like.

I'll get one up tomorrow.