Kit cars

[skyshack]

The notion that bike engines lack torque is idiotic, simply because no one can connect a drive direct from the crank of a bike engine. The ends of bike engine cranks don't have output flanges nor any way to make one. With the exception of a very few bike engines that still cling to vintage engine designs its been a very very long time since the torque at the crank has been available. The only current production engines I can think of that have a sprocket on the crank are Harley Davidson and Royal Enfield. They ALL have primary gears/sprockets to drive the clutch, the clutch basket is the first location that anyone can reasonably connect to to obtain an output.

Hyabusa 1:1.6 primary drive, crank torque 102 lb·ft (138 Nm) @ 7000 rpm
http://www.aperaceparts.com/tech/specshayabusa.html

At the clutch that is 163 lb·ft (220 Nm) @ 4375 rpm.

CA18DET at the clutch 166 lb·ft (228 Nm) @ 4000 rpm.

Power 172.6 bhp @ 9800 rpm = 6125 rpm v's CA18DET 169bhp @ 6400 rpm.

You couldn't tell the difference with a seat of your pants dyno. The "power band" is 650 rpm shorter but the busa has a close ratio 6 speed box.

[CNHSS1]

I think the point is skyshack, the way they deliver their torque 'feels' like they lack torque compared to a car Engine. Shunting round the paddock requires more revs and deft clutch control compared to a car engine. The kit car itself weighs 2-3 times what some of the bikes the engines originated from too, so all the work the bike engine manufacturers do to tune the delivery to the original task goes out the window when one of us lot drops them in a car.
Also worth looking at sumps as bike motors can suffer with oil surge on track. In a bike the engine and sump leans over when cornering so the sumps don't have the same issues as they do in a car when the engine stays vertical under hard cornering. People link Mistral, SBD, AB racing all do options from simple baffle plates, to modified sumps, to billet sumps with swinging pickups, ACCUSUMPS or full blown dry sump setups.
Clutch baskets can go bang on hard launches but billet baskets and different springs sort that out relatively cheaply (compared to performance car clutches anyway)

[spice_weazle]

I thought Dax were no more Johnny? Used to be in Harlow iirc

From what Ive found you are correct. You can get the Dax cobra, maybe taken on by some one else, but the rush seems to be no more.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

That's a shame it was a few years ago that I last saw them at a kit car show. Gardner Douglas T70 is a very high quality kit mimicking the old Lola but 45k is a lot to pay for a kit. Do a search though just to see some genuine car porn !

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

[spice_weazle]

Ive always been a fan of the Gardner Douglas kits.