RCX monster green
Damn that thing is bad dude!
Peugeot 103 rcx 50cc race moped/show bike with a new paint getting ready to compete in the West Coast motorized bicycle/moped 1st race event April 7th in Southern California.
Frame semi gloss black with very light metal flakes by Master Mario.
Powder coating: wheels and seat clear reflective, swing arm and frame brace frosty black, official monster green parts + black exhaust high temp ceramic coating:
SoCal Moped Race Sat April 7th 2012 Grange Track, Victorville
The monster is track ready. It looks mean and hungry for some 18 hp 200cc 4T go kart and 12 hp 50cc h20 Morini engines. The fairings have to come back in style, plus they’re so much more efficient on the track.
First videos:
The main jet is rich to protect the engine. It four-strokes and only revs at 13,000 rpm for now. At this level of tuning those small 50cc engines pushed to their limit are very sensitive to any wrong setting or weather changes . I’ll jet it on the track and will use a velocity stack or an air box for better air flow. But in general I tend to keep the carburetion rich to protect my race engines even if they lose a little bit of power. The races are just for fun in California, we’re not running a championship and it’s not worth blowing up an engine.
High tech catch bowl from 99c store 
. It prevents the fuel overflow from leaking on the race track and create dangerous slippery spots.
The gas tank leak repair with POR15 looks great.
- My motobecane Av10 50cc air cooled 19mm carb single variated with launch lever is track ready. The only thing left is to install the much needed Kawasaki NHK adjustable steering damper I got for cheap on ebay. Unlike on a big motorcycle, it has to be mounted as close to the frame as possible so that it doesn’t feel too stiff, guru’s word. No more test runs before the race to save the brand new piston ring for maximum power on track day.
Doppler clutch trick by Tomahawk race team:
I’m using the Tomahawk pulley Xtreme kit + push start bearing upgrade HFL 3030.
The stock Doppler clutch pulley often shutters during the shoes break in period creating vibrations resulting in broken stock 6mm posts or broken stock one way bearing. A good trick is to deglaze the cluth bell and the clutch shoes after the first couple of miles just on the edges where they make uneven contact. We did it quickly for the video but you can spend more time for a better finish. The clutch will engage smoother and later at higher rpms for super fast takeoffs. You may have to repeat the process a second time if the pulley start shuttering again. The shoes might wear out a little bit faster but when you ride a race bike or fast street bike you have to change engine parts very often, what matters for speed addicts is performance over long term durability.
My 50cc single vairated bike takes off as fast or faster than most dual variated mopeds like derbi or hobbit and pulls harder because dual variated transmissions absorb some of the power and need a lot of rpms when most of those kitted bikes use low rpm 70cc air cooled kits, or if they pop wheelies they don’t have the pull and top speed like a single variator with launch lever. I remember being faster off the line than 75cc derbis (maybe geared for top speed) on the race track with my peugeot RCX giraudo clutch pulley, 50cc air cooled stock cases single flat reed at the time and not tuned.
But a high rpm dual variated engine with a launch lever system is very effective on the track. It has been tested a long time ago in the late 80′s in 50cc french moped racing. It was at the time when the organizations were still deciding on banning or not the launch lever from “fully automatic rules”. The single variator + launch lever became legal and dominated the track for 20 years (still today in 2012, 18hp h20 50cc single variator launch lever prototype mopeds are faster than 80cc scooters on the track), but the dual variator + a launch lever was considered too powerful and banned from the rules by some organizations. It was one transmission system or the other, not both. We can’t see the engine but here’s a pic of a 1987 50cc dual variated launch lever prototype with fairings by master tuner Pascal Fraget and same year 50cc single variated parallelogram prototype by “Willy Hubert” one of the two last companies in France who still makes the vintage fairings we can now buy in the US thanks to Treats, fairing-full-race-conti.htm
Video:
Man… the motorized bicycles with 200cc 4 stroke dual variated go kart Chinese engines ($100) are gonna have to pedal hard to match the moby av10 or peugeot 103 rcx take offs on the start lane… lol. It’s gonna be interesting to see how the light and torquy electric bikes will compare. Even though I don’t like the expensive price or trust the reliability, I might try for one race the internal rotor MVT variable advance cdi strong spark for way better low end power and higher rpm. Available at http://www.treatland.tv motobecane-mvt-cdi-mbk-premium.htm
Thx Melvin for the demo… and the music.
- NEW 90cc cylinder kit by MXS (French/German company):
33 hp on the dyno, for AM6, Derbi euro2/euro3 and Yamaha Zuma engine cases hitting the European market soon! With the scootracing89 cases you can rip this kit on your monster moped with a Bidalot variator + special scootracing89 shaft adapter like the variated race bike below.
- French moped racing updates:
“Continental Vario” the northern organization for the french championship 50cc single variated moped is working on new official logos for 2012. Back in the old days small 50cc engine race bikes nicknames were “cup of coffee” (Italian size) or “pissing fire”. They gave those themes to their designer to draw the first sketches. The season starts this weekend with the first race Sunday March 25th. Here are some of the 50cc single variated mopeds with fairings competing in the north. They will also add young scooter and 6 speeds racers to the mix and maybe drag racing to bring new blood and keep the event alive in the long term.
- Also:
Check out that new moped racing organization starting on the East Coast which Tomahawk is excited to be one of the sponsors. Good luck guys!
Here’s the facebook page: 185520991554569
Jesse’s race bikes: Honda Hobbit 50cc + Puch free spirit 70cc
Puch race moped project for the OPEN class 49cc to 80cc:
North East Moped Racing Presents: Cherry Valley Cup
103 RCX, lets powder coat
After 2 years, time for a new look to get pretty and ready for the 2012 race season.
Motobecane rubber bushing mounts on Peugeot frame phase 2:
Special brass guides and bushing housing by Tomahawk, aluminum spacer by Overkill, welds by master welder and manufacturer of Apache helicopter parts.
Plus, motobecane old 19mm intake conversion to stock square shape for better gas flow with welded aluminum (no cheap JB weld for “Mr. High-Tech”).
Inside the beast
Rebuilt engine after full checkup:
Engine rubber mounting conversion Phase 1 + a peek at the Mykitech cases/minarelli scooter 86cc on the peugeot 103 frame for the big bore fans. Why not? My race bike with a modified chassis would be a good candidate to test that kind of power + launch lever. But with 25hp I would probably install my better Paioli 30mm adjustable hydraulic fork + steering damper.
ENGINE CHECKUP:
Here’s an exclusive look inside the engine of my Peugeot 103 RCX 50cc race moped 14hp converted back to a street moped without the race fairings. Before riding the bike on the streets I need to do a complete engine checkup after 5 races on the track.
The engine is a 49.9cc Bidalot h20 kit replica (with transfer ports smaller than a real vintage Bidalot racing kit) + graphite AGP piston + Malossi cases + Bidalot crank 16mm, Pvl analog cdi, Dell’orto 21 carb, Giannelli pipe, steel Bidalot variator and Giraudo clutch pulley. The engine was built by Remi Cusso french master tuner with 20+ years experience in moped racing. As you can see nothing crazy there just a very nice job on the exhaust porting and the malossi cases barely ported with minimal aluminum removed to match the Bidalot cylinder ports. Special crank lubricating holes added to the cases and guides inside each half for a perfect alignment. Guide also added to the h20 head for perfect alignment with the cylinder. Some good “race shit”… you do it right or you don’t do it.
QUICK TIP: The real power of 2 stroke small moped engines doesn’t come from porting the shit out of the cylinder and cases or using gigantic bore, carb or intake, but from properly assembling the engine very slowly, using metrology (the science of measurement) and paying attention to every single detail like a surgeon. Also knowing for each cylinder kit what swept volume and transfers + exhaust port duration works best with what cases volume, intake size, carb size, pipe size, rpms, ignition timing, spark plug, combustion chamber volume, squish with fuel octane rating, final transmission. Some extra horsepower on mopeds can be gained or at least not lost with a light chassis, zero resistance for spinning parts or brakes, good lubrication and alignment, tire pressure, engine proper cooling system, aerodynamic fairings, vegetarian diet plan… lol, etc…
Once I got the motor back in the US, I built a custom rubber mounted engine spring, laser cut some guides for the vintage Bidalot variator 100mm, completed the engine with all the h20 system and spent a lot of time in 2011 tuning it with the right timing + carb settings + pipe length + launch lever + variator weights + transmission for the race track in Southern California but no moped racer 50cc or even 75cc showed up to challenge me. I’ll wait next April 2012 to race against 200cc motorized bicycles. I wonder what’s next, Harley 1200cc engines? I’m really curious to see where it’s gonna stop with bigger bore engines in the quest for power? Isn’t 49.9cc the real limit to call it moped racing, and tuning skills to make the engine faster the real fun challenge? Or functioning pedals makes anything a legit moped no matter what the engine size?
5am in the morning, let’s do this:
Engine dismount, taking note of all the settings before taking it apart, timing, squish, checking the compression, piston ring gap, nikasil at top deck, crank bearings + seals, rod, needle cage bearing, piston pin, viton O-ring, variator full checkup with new guide allen screws for every race, weights arms pins, carbon petals reeds, engine spring, water hoses, etc, etc…
If I’m not too lazy and have enough time I should weld and install some motobecane rubber bushings. The engine is half way rubber mounted with the custom engine spring but I need to finish the job to get rid of all the vibrations causing the exhaust springs to break at high rpms. It’s a little complicated because I need to make sure that the variator stays perfectly aligned with the pulley to avoid any problem with the belt, there’s no room for error when you’re dealing with a race engine.
Quick note:
The piston’s head shows a perfect gas flow and no overheating as a result of a good exhaust porting job. The Bidalot high quality needle cage bearing is recognizable by its blueish color. The multiple new base gaskets worked fine instead of an aluminum raiser not available at the time. The crank shifted a little off center inside the cases probably due to the heat at high rpms on the track but no worries there everything feels tight. To protect the engine I kept the carburetion rich and like all the moped racers in France I’ve been using some (hard to buy) airplane leaded Avgas 100LL fuel rich compared to the dry unleaded 91 or even 93 octane fuel that we normally get at a gas station. Next year I’ll try to get some leaded VP C12 racing fuel octane 108 with appropriate cylinder head squish.
Disassembling an engine after few races is important to prevent any mechanic failure or horsepower loss, and gives a good reference point on the parts wear after a certain amount of miles or time spent on the track, it helps with scheduling the next checkup.
Time to change the piston ring to regain between 1 to 2 hp. After measuring the ring gap I can now evaluate how fast a new ring wears and know that it won’t last more than 2 or 3 races with full power before replacing it. I measured the transfers and exhaust port duration in degrees set with pretty high numbers based on Gr2 specs but close to Gr3.
That engine looks really clean after 5 races and stayed reliable because of a conservative porting and restricted rpms taking no chance to break the 16mm peugeot crankshaft also very thin on the variator side. A 2 stroke race engine performs at its BEST when pushed to the very limits (high rpms, small squish, compression ratio, leanest fuel mixture, etc…) but then can fail at anytime and make you lose the race, it’s like a “catch 22″. To win races, you have to compromise but also adjust after each race and make changes according to your competition on the track. Sometimes it takes an entire season and if your fellow racers are not 100% dedicated or don’t show up the following season then you’ve almost tuned your bike and pushed the engine limits for nothing.
So… you still want to be a moped racer?
Peugeot Malossi cases and Bidalot 50cc h20 kit available at http://www.treatland.tv
Hmmm… Check out that vintage full Bidalot kit party 50cc air cooled 15 carb 11hp bolt on, for 80′s 90′s Peugeot Gr1 class entry level moped racing. I wish they’d still make those racing parts instead of those street replica parts we’re only getting now.
BONUS PICS:
Moped racing in Oregon. I got the photos from facebook Lara Burke’s album thanks to Jeffrey Jay Herzog moped racer with the polini 70cc black motobecane av10 #22. Why doesn’t this happen in California anymore? I’m sooooo jealous. It seems like they get 6 to 7 consistent riders and 10+ on a good weekend. I may have to save money and drive all the way up north once or twice a year to have fun with those fellow racers. Jeffrey is building a new engine for his black moby next year based on my Gr1 50cc setup and also building 2 or 3 extra loaner bikes for anybody who would want to try moped racing in 2012.
BONUS VIDEO:
France, Team Remi Cusso vintage Bidalot RS 50cc race moped in action beating the modern Japanese, Italian, Spanish 50cc 6 speeds race bikes during an open practice round in the south of France Championship 1st race of the 2011 season last April. I was actually at the race and witnessed the power of those 50cc 18hp mopeds, it was so impressive. The “old pops” technology stunned the new kids and proved that 50cc variated race mopeds are not dead and still kicking ass.
On board video with a rare camera angle mounted on the swing arm at the bottom of the shock. Old school Moto GP style:
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ALSO… from the early 90′s in the peak of french moped racing era, vintage photos of a variated 50cc race moped prototype chassis GR3 (no carb size limit class) built by an independent french team that later became the official bike of the Ninja exhaust company team:
PLUS… Peugeot 103 race moped winner of the 2011 South of France championship season in the entry level “stockish factory” class, stock 50cc air cooled (ported), stock cases, 15 carb max, performance exhaust, stock variator.
AND… treasures of G3 Raptor’s cave (french builder and racer) hidden somewhere outside Paris. Bidalot Gr3 clutch pulleys, engine springs, intake manifolds, cdis.
Bumble bee, the fast and pretty
New game plan. I’m going to use a peugeot seat with maybe upholstery, an ebr frame brace, a round headlight, a peugeot 103 spx kick stand, I will paint the wheels black and probably keep the bumble bee spirit by adding some yellow accents. Now it’s starting to look like a cool ped. I’ll try to update the article later with new pics.
Peugeot 103 RXC 49.9cc moped, 14 hp 14,000 rpm.
I don’t want my 50cc race moped to rust in my shop until the next race April 7th 2012 at Grange’, so I decided to remove the fairings and register the bike to blast it once in a while on moped rides. Before that I’ll do a complete engine checkup and will change the transmission for street riding top speed. The negative side is that the more miles you put on a race engine the less it performs at its full potential on the track for race day.
I installed a long seat and a Tomos square headlight for now to make it look more like a street moped american style. I’ll probably paint the wheels black, re-weld a straight frame brace, get a round headlight and modify the seat cafe’ style later. The purist french racers and bloggers are going to tease me for removing those awesome vintage Bidalot fairings but we can’t please everybody and since nobody races in California I have to take that bike to the streets. Plus the bike will also blend much better next year on the track racing against other mopeds or 50cc to 200cc and electric motorized bicycles.
The only thing missing is the license plate and the pedals but there were no pedals on the stock peugeot 103 RCX 90′s version with pegs and kick start like many other mopeds, Honda, Vespa, Motobecane, Tomos, etc… It’s almost impossible to install pedals on that bike, there’s no thread for a rear bicycle freewheel, no front sprocket on the shaft or even room to weld one. I’m still keeping the moped spirit by using a 49.9cc limit engine and after market Peugeot moped parts only, except for the auto electric water pump. Even the vintage Fournales ole0-pneumatic shocks were made for the 103 RCX frame.
Bonus video : Another fast Tomahawk 50cc motobecane.
Melvin’s motobecane Av10 polini 50cc kit with stock cases is almost done. He built the bike and I taught him how to properly assemble the engine and slightly port the cylinder W exhaust port. He custom made a swing arm, clip-ons handle bars, dual launch lever, exhaust ball joint springs system, cut and re-welded the frame’s tail to adapt new shocks (gave up the mono shock project), installed a disc brake and custom fork brace, etc… He always find new ideas using cheap parts available at his auto body shop.
I stopped by Friday night for his birthday and first start of his new moby. I reassembled the 19 carb with all the right settings, timed the ignition, tuned the doppler variator + launch lever. I did a full session breaking in the engine on the stand before doing some test runs. WOW… the 50cc polini kit rips! Good torque and some serious power even with the small 52T rear sprocket. That bike might be faster than any of our other mobys and Melvin is light too. Once completely done the bike will get a new paint.
Somebody’s gonna have a big smile on his face blasting through the streets of LA at 70 mph.
As you probably already know, you can find all those performance parts at http://www.treatland.tv the best moped parts store in the universe and build your own fast motobecane engine or have all the parts shipped to Tomahawk for complete assembly, tuning, testing, shipped back to you and experience the real 50cc power.
Who said Motobecane av10 variated mopeds can’t go as fast as one speed puch mopeds and hold top speed for miles?
I think those Turkish Kamikazes use a stock av10 bottom end + 70cc kit + modify stock pipe + small rear sprocket. Ok, they ride downhill on a light frame and small tires with an aerodynamic position but still that’s not bad… I read 80 mph on the speedometer. Those bikes don’t have good acceleration in the city though and are built to break records on the freeway.
Adams, 4th round
I just came back from the 4th minigp race at Adams motorsports park in Riverside, CA 06/05/2011.
What a blast… It felt good to be back on the track with my variated peugeot 103 RCX 50cc H20. I didn’t have a chance to test the new motobecane av10 G1 50cc since we arrived late and missed the 2hr practice session. I jumped straight into the race with the RCX probably the safest choice to keep up with the other motorcycle racers.
It was a small turn out because of back to back races. I was the only moped racer but they let me compete in the minigp vet/youth class with 3 other motorcycles. I placed second behind the experienced racer Saul with his Kawasaki 60cc 2 stroke engine and front of Rod with his Aprilia RS 125 frame + honda 100cc 4 stroke engine.
There was a great energy and I can’t wait to come back to the exact same track in July for the night race.
I found a Tomahawk made out of two wooden sticks in the dirt right in front of my canopy. What a strange coincidence…
Thanks Freddie for those awesome pics!
Wanted: Tracy #1 moped racer in America
So we’re back from Grange’, 1st moped race March 12 – 2010. We had a lot of fun even though it ended up being just me against Tracy who won the first race of the season he’s now the man to beat. Good, that takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders
Here’s how the race went down:
- 1st round: I take 1st place and Tracy 2nd (obviously). The Rcx being faster than the moby without the launch lever it wasn’t really fare so I had to slow down a little to make it more fun and competitive. (quick note: The Rcx reached 14,000 rpms on the stand with new jetting, it screams!)
- 2nd round: Tracy takes 1st place and I can’t finish the race running out of gas! We rushed to get on the track for the second round and I didn’t check my gas tank. What’s ironic is that prior to that round I was making fun of Tracy refilling his moby’s tank which was adding more weight to his bike and make it even easier for me to win that 2nd race.
Final result, Tracy wins the race placing 2nd and 1st. I lose by placing only 1st in the first round. We still have to figure out the point system but Tracy has the lead now.
The lesson is that in moped racing you never know what’s going to happen until the checkered flag goes down. Well done Tracy, you won fair and square! Although I suspect that you sipped some gas out of my tank between rounds.
I want to thank all the mopeders who showed up to support the event and I hope that you guys can bring your moped next time for the 2nd race in May 28 at the same track Grange’. I know that we’ll see more Gr1 bikes finished and ready to race this time. I hope to see more open fast mopeds too. Come on guys, bring your fast street bike and lets race!
Also, I met with Josiah the SoCal minigp organizer and we’re talking about doing a big moped race event with camping and BBQ party to have the NoCal, SoCal moped racers compete against each other all at once. The event would be in August 20th at Buttonwillow. You may want to mark that date on your calendar.
Check out Ryan’s rusty motobecane with a 2 speed Solo pulley on it… rad!
Rcx, 2nd test run in LA
I modified the pipe on the Rcx and the bike feels better even though I couldn’t read the max rpm because of a wrong setting on the tachometer. I’m getting close now and we’ll start doing some tuning on the carb (too rich) and the transmission (variator + spring tension and gearing). Overall the bike feels solid and good enough to be competitive on the first race. I don’t want to go t00 crazy with the pipe or compression ratio to keep it more reliable and have a bike running at every race.
The bike reached 57 mph at the end of the straight with Drew’s GPS. I still need to tune the gearing to get a solid 60mph which should be enough on those small go kart tracks.
RCX, la patate dans les rues de Los Angeles
“Rcx ripping in the streets of LA”… well not quite yet.
So after trying the old Gianelli pipe with a shorter length I was able to hit the 12,000 rpm zone way higher than the first time I started the bike with the Bidalot pipe. Once tuned properly with the right size on the modified Bidalot exhaust I should be able to reach close to 13,500 rpm. After I’m done searching and modifying pipes, I will probably send all the dimensions to a special shop to build a custom exhaust.
On the videos you’ll notice that the bike is not tuned yet. I didn’t have time that day to jet the carb for the new pipe or do any variator + engine spring tuning but it’s good to keep it rich for now.
Those french mopeds with single variator + clutch pulley properly tuned have pretty fast take offs and would probably match any Derbi with the same engine size. I can’t imaging doing some extreme porting with an h20 80cc kit on a french bike. Plus, they’re much more fun to ride having manual control of the variator gearing ratio with the launch lever that gives you the feel of downshifting on an automatic transmission. Derbis or Hobbits acceleration feels more like a scooter, it’s fast but not as fun. With the french bikes you really feel like you have some control of the engine and the transmission belt, it’s amazing. There’s nothing like it.
RCX, finally assembled
I’m getting really close. I still need to cut the clip-ons, custom build an aluminum plate to mount the tachometer, temperature gauge and voltmeter, fill up the radiator. I also need to inject a little bit of oil through the transfer ports to lubricate the crank bearings because the engine has been assembled a while ago.
I just received the tiny Koso voltmeter (1.5 inch wide) and need to connect it with a switch that I can turn on when I need to check the battery’s power.
I may have to get one of those racing flexible hoses from France for the air box, unless I can find something here. If I crash and I want something softer to avoid any pressure on the carburetor and potential damage on the rubber intake. I’m probably going to race without it for now. I’ll know more after the first engine test.
I tested the water pump again, protected the electrical circuit with a fuse, checked all the electrical connectors, tightened all the water hoses. I’m probably going to clear a little better the water hose close to the variator.
I replaced the throttle cable 90 degree bendy guide with a straight one. The throttle cable is now running straight underneath the fairing along the frame brace with zip ties. I also installed a fuel filter that I didn’t have last season.
Ca va peter! (it’s gonna rip!)
Chassis:
Peugeot 103 Rcx
Bidalot fairings
Ebr hydraulic fork
Tarozzi race clip-ons
Grimeca 17″ wheels
Bridgestone Battlax tires
Grimeca disc brake
Fournales oleo-pneumatic shocks
Engine:
Bidalot 50cc h20 replica (ported by Remi)
Malossi cases
Bidalot crankshaft 16mm
Fag C3 bearings
Pvl analog ignition
Dell’orto 21mm carb (maybe 25mm later after testing)
Bidalot racing exhaust replica
Ipra radiator
Bosch electric water pump
Transmission:
Bidalot variator
Giraudo clutch pulley
Malossi belt
Giraudo engine spring
Equipe France rear sprocket
Daggrs track day
Man, I love that track in the middle of the desert !
Extra photos from Saturday practice at Grange’.
Rcx 50cc air cooled engine retires
It was fun returning to Grange’ Track last Saturday for an awesome practice session with the Daggrs bikes.
Special thanks to some of the Daggers members Jamisin, Tracey, Casey and also to Rachel ( from NoHo scooter ). We all had a blast on the open track. I hope we can do it again before the end of the year.
It was good meeting Young Lee the owner of the M1gp series. I’d love to participate at his 8h or 24h Le Mans race next year.
It was probably my last time on a track with the old Bidalot 50cc air set up. Unless we start a Gr1 class next year. It’s time for retirement ! Next time I ride the rcx on a track it will be with the new 50cc H20 engine.
Grange’ moped race 10-10-10
Thanks to Jamisin from Daggrs we have a video of the first round. He was standing on a stick with his camera in one hand and his dog in the other hand.
Story of the race:
After a close start I take the lead in the 1st corner. My stinger breaks in the 1st lap with the baffle hanging, I almost got flagged. I lose the baffle somewhere at the end of the lap before the straight away. The only thing I notice was the loud sound and a loss of power, I thought the header or the ball joint broke and I kept checking the front of the engine.
An official jumps on his bike to pick the baffle and points it at me in the 2nd lap. At that point, I know that I have no back pressure and slows down to protect my engine but decide to continue racing.
Brian can’t really reach full speed because of his variator not getting full range. He catches up with me and with battle in the last few laps.
Carson is somewhere behind jumping on his Tomos after each corner to make it down shift in 1st gear. It was fun riding behind him and watch him in action during the second race.
Back from Grange’
Awesome racing weekend !
It was a very short notice but we were able to race with 3 mopeds thanks to the Latebirds guys. There was me with my peugeot 103 rcx, Carson with his Tomos A55 and Brian with his peugeot 103.
Also thanks to the spectators from Apple Valley Ryan and Curtis, Colby from Orange county and a group of Latebirds members, Jamisin representing the Daggrs who video taped the first race ( we’re still working on it ).
The good thing about joining a racing club is that they already rent the track, organize the race, have insurance, officials, medical assistance…. I’m realizing that it’d be hard to start our own moped league by ourselves and make it a successful event.
The results:
First race: 1st Christophe – 2nd Brian – 3rd Carson
Second race: 1st Brian – 2nd Christophe – 3rd Carson
We spoke with Josiah the owner of SCminigp race club about starting a moped class next season 2011. They host 9 races a year every month and have room for 2 or 3 moped classes. He wants to meet with the moped community at Choke next month to work on the schedule ( # of races ), the fees ( between $ 40 and $ 60 race day ), classes and rules, etc…
If the race becomes a success in Southern California he would create a moped race in Northern California and have us meet twice a year half way at the Buttonwillow track.
After talking with our group this weekend it sounds like people want 2 separate classes.
People like the idea of having a non variated cheap class so that anybody could race their stock Tomos or puch with stock 50cc cylinder (the cheapest) or maybe a 50cc kit, with a 15 carb max, and a pipe ( choose your gearing, suspensions, breaks…). That way, new Tomos owner wouldn’t feel left out, they could still have fun on the track competing with each others and afford to race.
The second class would be for the variated bikes but it’s a little complicated.
I personally want to keep it “cheap” and fair with the french bikes Group 1 class but I also realize that not everybody has a moby of peugeot frame to build a 50cc bike from scratch and would rather show up with their 70cc street bike already built. I also don’t want the monster derbis and honda hobbit left out of the competition either. We also have Jeff’s derbi from Choke ready to race in LA. And if the race starts in February would we have enough people able to build a 50cc Group 1 bike in 3 months ? The bottom line is that we need bikes on the track to make it a race.
So it seems like people want to keep it open like at the Polini cup with 70cc max and have 2 races within the race. In other words, let the big guys battle up front with their monster mopeds and big budget, and the other ones with their cheaper 50cc french bikes Gr1. I was able to keep up with Brian’s 103 70cc this weekend, so unless Tony shows up with his 2 monster Derbis from Northern California, the race should be “fair” and exciting.
I also talked to Keith from Polini spi-parts.com and they would love to carry more of the Doppler moped parts for us if we decided to build mbk and peugeot Gr1 bikes. They love the brand.
Also:
I’m planning on going back to Grange’ track next weekend…. so come and race me !
There’s an other GP series owned by Young Lee who wanted to host a moped class a while ago. I want to go check it out and see what he would have to offer us. I’ve heard there are more adults and less kids. But I need to call him first today. I’ll keep you posted on the blog or moped army if it happens or not so that you can get your bikes ready.
PHOTO GALLERY
Pics of race track, riders meeting, pocket bikes, 50cc – 65c – 100cc 2 stroke – 150cc 4 stroke GP bikes, our mopeds, and some great pics showing an example of the wire and catch bowl safety rules thanks to Rod’ and his Aprilia RS 50cc.
Face off
- Old Bidalot 50cc air cooled VS new Bidalot 50cc liquid cooled
Here’s the new engine set up for my Peugeot RCX race bike , ( ported and assembled in France by my friend Remi expert in 50cc variated race bike at http://www.karaokeman92.skyrock.com ) :
Bidalot 50cc H20
Bosch electric pump + large volume radiator
Bidalot vintage exhaust ball joint with ring ( Remi’s treasure chest )
Malossi cases + 360 degree rubber intake
Bidalot crankshaft
Celeron Bearings
PVL cdi
Dell ‘orto 21 or 25 carburetor
Bidalot G2 replica exhaust modified length
Bidalot variator 100mm
Bidalot engine spring rubber mounted
Giraudo clutch plulley
Gearing 11 x 68…..74
On paper it should be way faster than my very old engine that i could never get in the high rpm zone anyway. I can’t wait to test that new engine on the track !
Grange’ motor circuit would be fun. I wish we could start our own race here in Southern California next year.
Polini Cup race video
It looks like it is still processing but should be available on vimeo soon. Christophe (on a 50cc bike) placed third behind Jimmy and Terry Dean.
Polini cup 2010
Final Polini Cup Standings: 1st Jimmy 2nd Dean 3rd our very own Christophe!
Oil painting in working progress. My dad in France started it in May 2011, it should be finished in September.
Polini cup race 1
I still have a lot of work to do on the chassis and the engine… moving pegs, moving exhaust and launch lever, changing the spring, rebuilding the variator with new machined parts, stiffening the EBR fork, cutting the clipons, and more…
Working late at night but I’ll be ready for the 2nd race !
Back from the dead
Race bike brought back to life by Christophe. Practice laps at Polini Cup this weekend. Racing May 1st, 2010. Get there.
photo courtesy of Cuperteens
Welcome to the pow wow
“Welcome to the Tomahawk blog. I’m the French dude who you may have met at Choke getting parts and advice for builds. I’m starting this blog to help me keep track of my various variated bikes. Most of my riding time was spent blasting the streets of Paris and now I’m building bikes here in Los Angeles. Motobecanes and Peugeots are my mopeds of choice and I’m sourcing a large portion of my parts from France. I have three projects right now: a Puch Magnum Peugeot powered Frankenbike, a liquid cooled dual disc braked 70cc Peugeot 103, and a 50cc metal flake powder coated pimp corner to corner commuter. I also maintain a 1990′s Bidalot 103 RCX track bike (group 1). Since some people have been asking about these bikes, I’m going post photos of each of them in this blog.”
