Bike engined trackday mini project
Discussion
Hey guys,
I am a newcomer to the forum here. I am currently in the process of building a FWD yamaha R1 powered trackday mini with my friend James. In December 2007 I purchased a 2003 yamaha R1 motor. Since then we have modified the standard subframe and have fabricated a custom engine frame. We are at the point of sorting out the drivetrain at the moment and getting the diff/sprocket into the car. I have a project website (www.r1manx.com) and plenty of pictures uploaded (www.flickr.com/r1manx) so please feel free to take a look, I am grateful for any advice or constructive criticism regarding the build from people on this forum. Cheers everyone, I can't wait to get her lit!
Ben
I am a newcomer to the forum here. I am currently in the process of building a FWD yamaha R1 powered trackday mini with my friend James. In December 2007 I purchased a 2003 yamaha R1 motor. Since then we have modified the standard subframe and have fabricated a custom engine frame. We are at the point of sorting out the drivetrain at the moment and getting the diff/sprocket into the car. I have a project website (www.r1manx.com) and plenty of pictures uploaded (www.flickr.com/r1manx) so please feel free to take a look, I am grateful for any advice or constructive criticism regarding the build from people on this forum. Cheers everyone, I can't wait to get her lit!
Ben
Hey guys,
Ive seen the FWD mini in PPC this month. Its the same concept as my build apart
from the drivetrain design. That mini uses a custom transfer box rather than chain,
sprocket and open diff design. Its probably why their kit is fairly pricey as the
development cost was no doubt quit high.
As for why FWD?....Well, I have witnessed several people shell out big money for a
custom Z cars RWD build, drive the car, find it so hard to keep on the road they hate the car,
only to sell it at a big loss. There was a bloke here on the isle of man who had a Z car mini
made and a mechanic friend of mine worked on it. I regard him as a top mechanic and a handy
driver and he was very un-impressed with the build quality and said the handling was frightening!
Granted, you could probably dial out a lot of handling issues with geometry, weight distribution
and suspension tweeks, but I like the FWD idea as it retains a lot of original mini parts and
the suspension and geometry of the classic mini is all retained. We hope to get the driveshaft lengths
as equal as possible so as to reduce torque steer and I guess only time will tell as to how good the car is!
I have loads of photos at www.flickr.com/r1manx or check out the website at www.r1manx.com.
I welcome any ideas or thoughts on our build, its good to gather opinions from other
enthusiasts.
Cheers
Ben
Ive seen the FWD mini in PPC this month. Its the same concept as my build apart
from the drivetrain design. That mini uses a custom transfer box rather than chain,
sprocket and open diff design. Its probably why their kit is fairly pricey as the
development cost was no doubt quit high.
As for why FWD?....Well, I have witnessed several people shell out big money for a
custom Z cars RWD build, drive the car, find it so hard to keep on the road they hate the car,
only to sell it at a big loss. There was a bloke here on the isle of man who had a Z car mini
made and a mechanic friend of mine worked on it. I regard him as a top mechanic and a handy
driver and he was very un-impressed with the build quality and said the handling was frightening!
Granted, you could probably dial out a lot of handling issues with geometry, weight distribution
and suspension tweeks, but I like the FWD idea as it retains a lot of original mini parts and
the suspension and geometry of the classic mini is all retained. We hope to get the driveshaft lengths
as equal as possible so as to reduce torque steer and I guess only time will tell as to how good the car is!
I have loads of photos at www.flickr.com/r1manx or check out the website at www.r1manx.com.
I welcome any ideas or thoughts on our build, its good to gather opinions from other
enthusiasts.
Cheers
Ben
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff