Just arrived home - drove it about 50 miles home, in the dark, pouring rain, the seat was in the wrong position and I had no hood or sidescreens. However - I can't take the grin off my face. For the first 40 miles I was very careful with the throttle because of the streaming wet roads. Neaer to home however I found a couple of straights and gave it some stick in the first couple of gears. Oh....My.....Good....God..... Once it gets onto the cam - about 4000rpm - and clears it's throat, it feels absobleedinglutely ballistic. A wail like you wouldn't believe as well. Once I've completey removed the drivers seat and chucked it away - a standard requirement for me in cars of this type - I'll be able to give it some. Have to be careful though, you can hear it about a mile off. Jumped into the passat after getting home and it felt like driving a town hall. Not that passats are known for their razor sharp handling anyway ;-)
Well - got the locost.
Apr 13, 2004
86 Replies
nice one mate, btw I hear the 4motion passats have excelent handling.
*green*
This year.......
Tony
formatting link
Tony - stick with it. This is my 4th road going version of a sevenesque car - the other two were a triumph based Robin Hood, a pinto powered monocoque Robin Hood and a Sylva Star powered by a zetec. I thought I knew what to expect. How wrong I was. Although the motor in this one is a bit temperamental at low revs, once it's up there it's just amazing. Even better than the zetec was on dunnell management and 45 dellortos - seriously. I think what helps this car is that it's so very very light. You are going to be very very surprised once you drive your car - especially if you swap that 1300 xflow for a 1600. I'm sure I'll regret saying this in a few months, but I have to wonder if the guys selling the bike powered cars have bit off more than they can chew - this xflow is mental enough for me. Get it on the road this year - you are cordially invited to "Scotland, the best driving roads in the world."
It will be done this year, honest ! :)
I've a 1.3 already in there and I've 2x 1.6 in my shed ;)
1 is a standard 1.6GT and the other is a very tuned version of the same, hairy camshaft, FO 'uge valves 1.3 pistons etc. It'll be done by the end of the summer :) then over the Winter I'll stick another mill in there ;)Tony
"Bob Sherunckle" wrote
I will be building a Bike Engined Indy from MK when I can find the funds for a deluxe kit and engine.
Steve.
Arrange a go in a car engined one first.Mine has 110bhp - very modest nowadays. Tonight I was visiting a mate and one of his neighbours had a go in mine. He has been considering building one for a while and had never actually experienced one first hand. I took him out for a blat and he made up his mind within 20 seconds that he was building a car engined one just like mine. He's selling his bike to finance it - a Buell Lightning. A fairly serious bike - nothing like a blade/r1/zx9 obviously, but still quick compared to practically any car . You won't believe how well they go.
"Bob Sherunckle" wrote;
which engine do you have? the car-engined would be cheaper, but I want a BEC!!
Steve.
1640 xflow - big valve head - a brace of webers and a 4 into 1 exhaust sytem. Nothing fancy at all - worth a couple of hunfred quid tops. But seeing as it weighs the square root of diddly squat you don't really need a huge amount of power to scare yourself. I had my 1st sideways moment in it this morning - it scared the old guy in the 405 coming the other way more than it scared me right enough. It wasn't really a corner, more a kink caused by a strangely angled railway bridge.
"Bob Sherunckle" wrote ;
The more I think about it the more I want a BEC! I was doing my DAS this year, might scrap that and get a starter kit on order, once I've taken that plunge well its just rude not to finish it, despite being expensive!
Mk Indy with a Gixxer Thou.... sweet!
Steve.
Even a bike engined Lotus Seven-alike is tame compared with a 600cc (or bigger) sportsbike.
However, if you're not man enough........ ;-)
Not man enough to delight in strapping on coloured leather and hanging around with sweaty bearded fat blokes ?
Hmmmm.
Are we talking about accelerating in a straight line or real actual driving with corneres and everything ? Straight line - bike every time- obviously. Round a twisty circuit - don't bet on it. I was at a sprint this weekend at which a blade engined locost had won outright. That's no mean feat when you consider that the opposition consisted of, among other things, an OMS single seater, a vision V89, a Radical Pro Sport, a Ralt RT30 and all manner of westfields and Imprezas. Horses for courses and all that, but if it's manouverable speed you're wanting, nothing much comes close to a well driven locost with a bike engine- this one was a Stuart Taylor Locoblade.
The Locost _may_ be able to out-corner a bike, but I know which one takes the most bottle to ride / drive at that kind of pace on a twisty road. Which is what my post was getting at.
"SteveH" wrote ;
Sounds like a challenge to me that does, tell you what, when I've built it, we have a little race? Track would be wiser but if you're not man enough............ ;-)
Steve.
"Lordy" wrote;
An every-weekend occurrence for an Italian shed driving freak! :)
Steve.
Whatever advantage a Locost would have in a bend would be totally wiped out by a 100bhp bike on the straight bits. Trust me on this.
However, you seem to have the mechanical abilities of a Kwik-Thick fitter, so I don't think we need concern ourselves with the vague possibility this 'challenge' may ever come to fruition.
Obviously the reason why you made enquiries into getting a bike license recently......
FWIW, I don't do coloured leather (or bikes). Black is the one true colour.
"SteveH" wrote ;
The came to this conclusion through?
Steve.
"SteveH" wrote ;
I think you're confusing a race track with a drag-strip, never seen a purely straight race track yet, and this will be your down-fall.
By locost, would you also refer, to the Tiger racing twin busa engine version which holds the 0-60 record for cars?
Steve.
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required