clamshell opening ?

[Oldfirebiker]

Hi all, Newbie here, 1st post. I'm in the process of buying what appears to be a 70's terraplane. The top that's lifted to exit & enter the car appears different than others. The ones I've seen open lengthwise along the outside edge of the top. You'd then have to access on the cycle side. This one pivots forward with hinges on the front of the car, access is then by either side. Is this actually on some versions or is this car some sort of knock-off or copy of the terraplane. If it's not genuine, I'd have to rethink my buying this. Thx in advance for any help/advice received.

 

[Two"85s"]

Welcome Oldfirebiker
The one you have may have modified you can check to see the holes for the hinge has bean plugged.
Pics never hurt

 

[Oldfirebiker]

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately the unit is 700 miles away. I'm relying on pics being sent to me. Those do not reveal any mods, but I have no close ups. The rest of it looks identical to others, 5-spoke wheel,mounting brkts on the car, hand adj lean cyl, wiring harness, rollbar, etc. it does not have the brake system that's on many other cars, but I think that's an option & not std equip. I just don't care to drive 1400 miles because this is a knock off. Owner has limited info as this was acquired from a friend who left the state. I'm anxious to get started & still have to figure if it will be put on a '79 GL1000, '95 GL1500, '99 BMW K1200lt, or my '06 HD Ultraglide. I believe it will be an easier install on the Goldwings. Would like to have it done by Summer riding season

 

[Oldfirebiker]

It's not a 5-spoke it's a 7-spoke that I've seen many others.

 

[Two"85s"]

I don't think it's a knock off, most likely a mod done by a PO.

 

[trikebldr]

Without pics it's very hard to evaluate. But, just playing devil's-advocate, and knowing the histories of a few Terras, I would not want a front opening version because it makes you climb over the fender or the mounting bars. One reason for a right-side hinge was to make it easy to simply walk into the car from the front, using the bike's handlebar or fork or fairing to balance against. I would have preferred it to open to the left, but then the windshield would have to be shorter to clear the bike when the top was flipped open. The Terra's top shell is not all that strong and by hinging it at the front edge it has now been subjected to a worse condition that could easily cause serious cracking. I would be very interested in seeing the structure used to hinge it at the front. It would almost HAVE to have some sort of sub-frame to give the top more stiffness to do that.

I seriously doubt it is a knock off because the frame/rollcage and mounting system is not easy to duplicate. A lot of Terras have been modified in many ways. One of them presented on here was VERY nicely smoothed by permanently molding the top section into the main body, and other nice little features done to it. One of the regular contributors on here has one with the same pop vents found on Vetter fairing windshields. Some have had nice rag-tops made for them, some have had square headlights molded into the nose. Just no end to the possibilities of what can be done to them.