Driving a TWIKE in summer is grand – take off the Targa canopy and you get the same outside feeling you would get with a convertible car. This is why TW560’s canopy is off for most of any summer.
Winter is much less fun. The dark canopy makes the interior a rather cramped and dark place…
Well, not so long ago, purely by chance, I met a former pilot who had sold his TWIKE over 15 years ago and told me he had recently discovered a hard-top for his TWIKE in his cellar… If I was interested in having it?
Wait: a hard-top?
Yes! See for yourself!
Series 1 TWIKE production saw all TWIKEs being produced with a flexible and transparent plastic as a roof. The canopy was a later addition to the TWIKE after the hard-top solution proved to be not very practical.
If you’ve ever asked yourself what the strange rubber profile which is stuck onto the upper beam of the canopy frame was… this entry will give you the answer: it’s where both halves of the hard-top covers slotted into!
You get two halves which slot into the front and top…
They then are slotted into the front part of the TWIKE canopy frame.
In winter this is like driving without a canopy. Full visibility, no wind and if you get some sun, temperatures are higher than outside very quickly, which in a TWIKE without heating is a blessing. (which is, incidentally, why it wasn’t such a good solution overall – anytime temperatures outside are still ok and you are driving in the sun, temperatures inside are unbearable).
I truly love my hard-top.
Thomas, a fellow TWIKE pilot who lives in my village, had heard that I had a hard-top and wanted to try it before attempting to buy/make one for himself – my pleasure, Thomas!
Let’s go.
First, we had to remove the metal strip with the canopy snap fasteners as the hard-top slots into where the metal goes.
Then we slot both halves in and make sure they have a snug fit everywhere.
Then, we use the straps at the back to fasten the hard-top to the frame and it is pushed into the slots as far as possible.
With a small piece of duct tape we make sure they stay in place horizontally and we’re done!
TW230 is ready for some serious old-school TWIKEing.
