Anyone out there ??

[Dave pearce]

Dave Pearce here, I used to be involved with singles. One question

What has happened to the class? It can't just be the economic climate.

Make my day, someone answer this .

[Baldybackmarker]

Hi Dave,

I'm sure economic climate has a lot to do with it. The mono riders who have been hanging in there the past couple of seasons are generally self funded die-hards. The personal sponsorship generally came from enthusiast owned construction type companies and the investment feeding that industry literally disappeared overnight mid 2008. I work in that industry and it's been dire, firstly with private developers stopping everything followed more recently by the public sector infrastructure cuts. The financial strain of crashes and blow ups have also taken their toll, as repairs take longer to fund and people can't afford the time off work, or increase the risk of being laid off through 'self inflicted' injury. In this sort of financial climate racing is more of a luxury.

I think the offer from Dave Stewart to continue to host the monos within other classes is appropriate and useful, as it gives the class time to find its feet, with people having the opportunity to continue racing but with less pressure to attend (find money for) every round. It's handy this is all with one club as it keeps the core together. When singles ran with other classes at club level it seemed to raise their profile at the grass roots, as spectators, riders on other machinery and the general paddock would be amazed at how fast monos can go around corners and their giant-killing capability over a lap. The visual comparison between the corner speed of a minimono and a 400/600 street bike based racer should win converts once again. It was seeing Vernon Glashier on his 500 Hossack Honda come 3rd in a close tussle with Mark Linscott on a 750 F1 Harris Kawasaki and Eamon Reid on his 1300 Kasparek Kawasaki, way ahead of a field of TZ/RG500 GP racers and various F1/F2 bikes, at the very first race meeting I ever attended (Brands Hatch in 1986!?) that made think 'I have to have a single'.

And it was what you, Harris and Hejira then did that underpinned the class's development. It was access to attractive frame kits, which could take a range of engines (even being able to change engine type with the chassis you'd built), which really made it accessible and viable. Your approach of a frame kit to mate choice of engine to choice of 250/400 supersport suspension and running gear appealed to those on a moderate budget, with Harris's kit (which included the swingarm and was generally built up with fancy real race wheels and running gear) appealing to the more well healed and Hejira providing an alternative route in for less cost.

I think a s*xy 'off the shelf' chassis kit with changeable plates to take a range of engines (left and right chain run) and the ability to run both Aprilia RS125 wheels and suspension and full race alternatives is still the way to go. I also reckon geometry should be half way between GP125 and GP250 (so bigger people can ride it comfortably) but with the choice of 125 or 250 running gear. 1270mm ish wheelbase would allow larger engines to be fitted without the cg height overpowering the wheelbase and an adjustable swingarm pivot to allow the anti-squat to be adjusted to suit the different gearbox sprocket sizes of the different motors. It'd make a cracking basis for a Moto3 bike too.

Regards
Steve

[riversbikes]

Hi Dave,




I think a s*xy 'off the shelf' chassis kit with changeable plates to take a range of engines (left and right chain run) and the ability to run both Aprilia RS125 wheels and suspension and full race alternatives is still the way to go. I also reckon geometry should be half way between GP125 and GP250 (so bigger people can ride it comfortably) but with the choice of 125 or 250 running gear. 1270mm ish wheelbase would allow larger engines to be fitted without the cg height overpowering the wheelbase and an adjustable swingarm pivot to allow the anti-squat to be adjusted to suit the different gearbox sprocket sizes of the different motors. It'd make a cracking basis for a Moto3 bike too.

Regards
Steve

What you have described is essentially what I have created, with Dave's help. Using a DRZ400 engine and RS125 running gear, I've created a mono using one of Dave's old MZ frames. My problem has been, until recently, finding a class to race it in once the bugs have been worked out. After 2 years of discussing ideas with the club, I now have an ultralightweight GP class, of which my mono will be the only one, but at least I won't be racing against 1200cc buells (I have an ex650 for that) -- the class will be populated by 250 and 350 streetbike 2 strokes, and similar machines. Still, with 40hp in its current form, I'll be in tough, but there is potential in the little 400 for over 55 hp, lots of aftermarket support, and plenty of spares. While I'd love to find a 690 katoom engine and go from there, I currently lack the skills and there is NO cottage industry in all of canada to reasonably fabricate some of the ancilliaries I would need. PVM wheels? Not a chance! A suitable swingarm? uh uh... However, by choking on the cost of shipping from blighty, I've got some parts for a v 2.0 of my bike, still using the 400 engine as a base (for now), and the tigcraft MZ frame as a backbone. Dave has sent me some spy shots of some very cool 650 frames, and a composite (alu/4130) KTM 690 frame -- check out his website...

By the way, what happened with the hossack open source racer project plans? That would turn some heads at the local track! My issue here is finding suitable ball joints that are strong enough for a bike, but not too heavy -- Norman Hossack used ones off of a Pugeot... not too many French cars here in Canada...

Diehard, but lonely, mono dude in Canada

James Sheppard

[Dave pearce]

James

The first part frame I sold was indeed a ex-works item . But don't confuse that with the pile of

crap ,production lead pipe chassis you have now.Nothing to do with me.

Sorry no offence intended

[riversbikes]

I'm under no misconceptions about that, Dave! For those who don't know, I have an ex-works MZ tigcraft frame as a supermono racebike project. To keep me busy during the 5-month Canadian winter, I have a production MZ frame that I am adapting to work with a DRZ400 engine as well. There is no comparison. The proddy frame is mig-welded, weighs more than double that of the tigcraft frame, and has chopper geometry compared to the race frame. That being said, it will make a fun streetbike (with a vin number for registration), and allows me to practice my fabrication and welding skills some more.
Dave's stuff is the real deal -- like many "production" items (bikes, cars, etc) the original prototype is often much cooler than what comes out of the factory.

james

[Baldybackmarker]

James,

Lots of work stuff has dominated my time this past year, so the Open Source chassis hasn't got much further. Maybe this year. However, I've just acquired a Tigcraft XR600 chassis from Dave Harnett with the intention of putting a TM600 engine in it + I've got the similar Tigcraft Rotax to rebuild after it's blow up and I'd also like to have a go at trying something a little different for another TM engine. Never enough time...

The US dirt track car suppliers are handy for ready made wishbones and there are various suppliers on your side of the pond for suitable ball joints. Try https://www.allballsracing.com The link I had to specific parts doesn't work anymore, so you'll need to do some searching.

Regards
Steve

[riversbikes]

dammit! You're the guy who bought that frame on ebay.uk! I was making calls to dhl to get it shipped over here when it dropped of ebay. At least it went to a good home.

[Dave pearce]

Just out of interest, Who are the "Supermono team" these day's. I mean someone other than Steve Burge.
That line at the bottom of the life support monitor has'nt twitched for a while now.

[Baldybackmarker]

I'm not part of a BSA committee/organisation/management, but just help out with whatever I can when stuff needs doing. Same as anyone else does.

Steve