I think they were in clubman with the rs125's. I seem to remember the ones I worked on were like 2008ish and valves were always the weak point being Honda valves suck ass. I do remember a few running the electrick start (X) models with the (R) head also. Maybe they were Formula classes. hell I dont know other than they were fast and handled great.
We ran ours in the classes a RS125 would run in. Formula 2 and now I think it is Moto3. Think it may also qualify for a "D" class/clubman too. They came with X model engines. A common hop up was to put an R engine in because it had a transmission with better ratio's and made more power. As Robby-Bobby said, valves can be an issue and our bike dropped one, locked up the motor, spit the rod through the cases and the rider off. The newer NSF250R, is a more powerful bike. I lked ours and it required less maintenance vs the RS125, but @nigel smith will let you know he hated his Moriwaki.
I race one with WERA, have had it for years. What do you want to know? Mine has the X motor and is still electric start, which is awesome. Switching to the R motor makes it faster but as far as I know you can't do that without having to lose the electric start. I have had no valve issues but I check them often and haven't modified the motor. Race classes are D Superbike and Clubman. The handling is amazing, it is a blast to ride. Tougher to be competitive than it used to be, it runs in the same classes as the Kawi 400 which the MotoAmerica kids are riding now, but still a really kick ass motorcycle.
For sale? So I'm told the head and cam our the only difference from the x to r. So could technically make it an R with eletric start?
There was one at Hallett a couple weeks ago in several classes against bigger bikes. The kid put up a hellava fight, got good starts and made a bunch of guys work really hard to pass him
How do you do on the Moriwaki vs. average club racer on a 400? I've always been interested in these GP-esque bikes, but never see many of them at the tracks I frequent.
The Moriwaki is lighter and corners faster. It also gets great starts. Mine only goes about 118mph, ever, no matter how I gear it. The really built 400s with a lightweight kid on them get higher top speeds . I do really well with it versus an "average club racer" on a 400, the only problem is that now the MA Junior Cup kids and aspiring racer kids are riding the 400 and race in the same class, so the level of competition went WAYYYY up this year. (When Rocco shows up he wipes the floor with me and everyone else, then races up a class or two and does the same to the 650s and 600s!) I won multiple championships in prior years but working hard for 2nds and 3rds this year. However, it is stock and I run pump gas, you could probably mod one and tune it and go quicker. Honestly they are pretty close. I'm small and I like the little bike for the razor sharp handling and real GP racer feel. But I've ridden the 400 and if I was taller I'd probably go that route. For a racer kid I think the Moriwaki is better to develop good technique, it doesn't tolerate errors like tense arms very well and really allows incredible corner speed. Do keep in mind the Moriwaki is carbureted, which can create challenges with tuning you wouldn't have to worry about with the 400.
Sorry, no, not for sale. I didn't dig into it too deeply because I wanted to keep the reliability as high as possible but I was told that it is not simple to go to the R motor and keep electric start. Also I think you really need to change the transmission to the R version to get the benefit of the R motor, the X transmission is basically a 4 speed - 5th gear doesn't do much at all.
Since no one has mentioned it yet, the RS125 is substantially faster than the Moriwaki, tough to beat those if you have to race against them.
That always sounds fun but will cost you an arm and a leg by the time you are done, probably. The stock Moriwaki is plenty fast on a small to medium track and can run rings around larger bikes. It's ALLLL about corner speed, they pass you on the straight but you get them right back on the entrance to the next corner. If you really want a 450, get a SuperSingle. If you can find one already built you can probably get it for $6-$9k and whoever built it probably spent $12-15k or more to build it. I had one and it was AWESOME, definitely a big learning curve on building it but it was a blast to ride and raced in the same classes as the Moriwaki. I didn't really go any faster on it (more torque but a little less corner speed) but it was more comfortable to fit on and substantially easier to ride.
I've seen it done, but it was done in a RS125 chassis instead, since those bikes cost less and you have to cut up things to make it work.
Thinking about this as a more affordable Kramer 650. Not really sure Supersingle 450 would be in the same ballpark as the Kramer.