2007 HRC 4 stroke now available!!

No, but he certinaly wouldn't get $10K for it either. For that price, I'd just bite the bullet and get a real GP bike.

 

Sorry bro. I am pissed at the world this morning because my racing org has decided to put a piece of junk track on our schedule twice next year.

You are right, they can be found but they are hard to find. Jesse has definately worked out all bugs on his which makes it worth $10k in my book.

Sorry for being a dick.

 

No harm, no foul.

I've been guilty of the same thing a time or two as well.

 

Wait till the 4 strokes start dropping Valves, not going to be a whole lot of changing out top ends at the track, When the Manufactures get behind this it will be awsome, but until then I will be just ridding the 2 smokes, as I think the verdict on the 4 stroke motors is still out. There is a KX250f on the CMRA web page that is a 03 with new head and valves......What does that tell you?????
I'll take a 98 RS125 with a ton of spares for $5,000, and when the Majors start making the 4 strokes I will just buy one of those....

 

Hey strokerboy, we are in complete agreement. As a matter of fact, that is what I want to do next year. Lower costs, tons of fun, and something different. Too bad I dont think I have the skill to run the real exotic stuff like your Aprilia's. Now I gotta figure out how to get down to about 150lbs like you. I am going to look pretty stupid at 6'2" and 150lbs but I should be fast.:up:

 

Got it. But I don't think I would have bitten on that bike. The guy started to try to sell that bike in 2004, about 3 years ago. My guess is that part of the problem was that the bike uses an FT500 motor, not modern Jap 4 stroke and also utilizes a 1989 chassis.

The bike looks like a decent bike, and I agree that it is not a $10,000 bike. I wanted something with a newer chassis and a YZF or CRF 450 motor. Maybe a Yam 660. But I found nothing in the US or Canada that fit that bill at any price. There are a bunch available in Europe though, but as with any home built I'd want to look at it in person before buying it.

And the top level bikes there were going for $8k to $12K used.

 

Yeap. I've looked at the European stiff too, and some of the bikes are trick. Sending that much money overseas is a huge risk for a a sight unseen.

I'll keep an eye out for you if you want to.

p.s. On the TZ591, I believe the 1989 chassis/ and 80's motor, make it Vintage legal and competetive. So it's not such a bad thing. I understand what you're saying though.

 

My ears are burning....(I own the FTZ591).

Here's an account of my early adventures as the owner of an older hybrid bike. I'm no wrench, but I have come to embrace all that is mechanical in my first months with the bike. If you like to use your ingenuity and solve problems; if you have mechanically inclined mates in the pit; if you don't mind paying for track days and only running a couple of sessions while you piddle with the bike in the paddock; if you can tell yourself that half the fun of racing is just being with your friends (because your bike won't work); well, then, you just might be up to running a bike like mine.

I purchased the bike with a roller set up, parts motor, and some spares (gearing, filters, etc) for $3500. I only bought the bike after thinking hard about what I wanted out of racing. For me, it was the opportunity to run a real racing chassis and to be able to run up front if my skills allowed (I raced a stock EX500 last season). I was willing to give up some reliability and the starter button. Actually, bump starting is pretty fun after you get used to it--and have a good roller set up.

The bike is legal in V6LW, DSB, and Clubman. I consider it to be strictly a sprint bike. It has to work too darn hard to do so lap after lap.

I took the bike to a local shop and had the motor dynotuned. Ended up with about 48 hp and a very nice power curve (The dyno from SpeedWerks when it was built was 56 hp; the first dyno at my shop was 52 hp with a nasty flat spot at 3500 rpm).

I took my 48 hp motor to VIR and almost didn't race as I sorted out a fueling problem (the line kept collapsing) and a stripped rear axle nut (ended up using an axle set up from an F3).

I raced in V6LW, DSB, and Clubman expert and had my butt handed to me in all three races. Without the ABILITY to absolutely blitz through corners, the fantastic TZ chassis really doesn't help that much. And the 48 hp--even in a 255 lb machine, doesn't help, either.

I also found out that the gearing was WAY short. I was into what I wanted to be my red line (6500 rpm) a third of the way down the front straight. There wasn't any room to go up a tooth in front, and I didn't want to mess with my chain, so I made the best of it. I managed to touch 9000 rpm without damaging the motor (like I said, SpeedWerks did something right with the motor ). The good news from the weekend was that I cut 3 second from my lap times and was pretty smooth on the new bike. The braking was absolutely incredible. It was weird watching everyone (except the motards) grabbing their stoppers a full two brake markers before me).

I came home and consulted a gearing chart before I bought three new rear sprockets (35, 31, 30!), two new chains, and a handful of master links (hope that takes care of the gearing issues)$200

I bought some new fuel line and a spring to stick into the fuel line to keep it rom collapsing (hope that takes care of the fueling issue)$10

Ordered a custom exhaust system from Jemco (hope that takes care of some of the horsepower issue)$325

Took the rear axle out of my Triumph TT600 and had a friend cut it down and thread it so that it matches the original axle that was ruined (the friend mended the threads on the original, so now I also have a spare)$30

Adjusted the valves (Now, this is a real plus of old technology: used a screwdrive and an open-end wrench)Free!

I can't wait for Summit to see if the bike and I are any more competitive now that we've had some time together.

So, my $3500 bike is already a $4100 bike, and I'm not sure if it is sorted yet or not. It will be competitive in some races, especially on the shorter tracks (Beaver, Nelson, Summit) that we run in the Northeast. It will make me a better rider--of that I am sure.

Even though this season hasn't even begun, I'm already making plans for next year. I have my eye out for an XR600R motor that I would have done up as a Thumper Racing 660. This should be almost a swap with the current FT motor. I've also been looking at Husabergs (there is a 750 racing motor made in England) or something like a KTM motard motor, which offers a 6-speed tranny, slipper clutch, etc. But then you are talking thousands of dollars. And for what? This is a hobby, after all, right :up: ?

It is expensive to run for championships. Ask any of the people who ran the Barebones monoracers in the 90s. There is a lot of fabrication to make such a bike work as a whole (unlike my bike, which is really a motor dropped into a frame without a whole lot of thought given to the engineering). These bikes ruled the classes they ran, but that was 10 years ago, and even then the motors popped with some regularity. Times have changed. We now have these crazy superlightweight single-cylinder bikes called supermotards ridden by even crazier kids who have been in the dirt since they were two. And these bikes are water-cooled, have slipper clutches, etc.

So, as you think about cost, also think about what you want to be able to accomplish. If you want the fun of owning something different that is fun to ride, then you can probably spend something like $3500. But that will be for a bike that will be in need of some TLC. Spend $5-6k and get something like the Brits were racing in their much more developed supermono leagues some years ago. The best and latest stuff costs: latest chassis, latest motors, best fabricators. If you do it right, realize that you are doing what WSBK people do--putting together "stock" parts to fabricate an exotic whole. And exotic wouldn't be exotic without the exotic price tag!

Cheers all!

Kurt

 

LOL Nice write up Kurt!

 

Hey Kurt!

I keep seeing XR600 engines. Do you want me to e-mail you when I do? Some are here in SF but others are on eBay.

I'm the ultimate compulsive eBay/Craigslist hunter...I can't help myself!

 

That would be great, Erik. I watch eBay, but not Craigslist stuff. I think I'm looking for an '89+ model (less likelihood of losing 3rd gear)? An '89 also ensures V6LW eligibility without having to argue the case that the '90s motors are the same as the '89.

Kurt

 

A wide array of parts fit all XL/XR600 engines from all years. Clutch springs/plates and valves come to mind. For big bore hop-up part availability, stick to '88 - '00 engines. Those didn't change in the slightest so the kits fit that range.

Seriously though...is someone running WERA Vintage actually going to protest a XR based thumper? This isn't AHRMA where they protest everything under the sun.

I'll keep an eye out for ya!

 

So does anyone have a link to any of the Moriwaki bikes that were talked about earlier in this thread?

 

Nobody?

 

http://www.moriwaki.co.jp/top_news/gp-mono-eng.pdf

 

slightly OT...
bikes I saw at Daytona during AHRMA race
tards turned in to road racer...


looks like YZF450 with stock frame & tard wheels with suspension slowered + fabbed bodywork...


same thing here with CRF450...

 

Good show, Shig. I'd sure like to know how the set up works out on the track as far as geometry, balance, etc. goes. I really dig the wire wheels and retro bodywork (not to mention 21st century technology).

 

When is the bike available?

How much moeny does someone need to send you?

 

That Honda is very cool!

 

Nice to see it moving upstream.

yz85 - http://minigpx.com/news/article/?article=24797
ktm65 - http://minigpx.com/news/article/?article=24913