50cc french moped racing, “laissez les bons temps rouler”
Let the good times roll!
Here are some photos of the last 50cc variated french moped race in Ancenis Sep 18 2011 (2nd round). The pics were shot by Mikael “Lemim” and sent to me by my friend Ludo (above pic) who works for the M.C. Amorce 50cc racing club and co-organized the event for the TGO south of France championship. I met him during my last trip in France for the 1st round in April 2011, super nice guy who shares the same passion for peugeot mopeds and has been building street bikes for years. He’ll be attending the Peugeot 103 40 years anniversary celebration in October. I wish I could be there.
Ludo started moped racing this year and built a peugeot 103 spx to compete in the Production class, entry level “factory” class for sotck-ish peugeot and motobecane 50cc variated mopeds. Check out his race bike:
I’ve heard that it was a rainy afternoon with lots of crashes. My friend Remi Cusso and his team weren’t able to attend the race because of conflict with scheduling.
If you want to see more pics of the race check the photo galleries on the MC Amorce 50cc club website:
http://mcamorce50.jimdo.com/galerie/
The TGO championship includes many 50cc categories like scooters, pocket bikes, 6 speed bikes, solex, sidecar… but roughly, here are the 3 classes and rules for 50cc variated mopeds:
1- PRODUCTION: (Factory, stock-ish)
Chassis:
Step through moped frame, no racing frame, no reinforcement other than mandatory frame brace cross bar, 305 euros max. No parallelogram engine mounts.Fork open 30 mm max. Rear shocks open. Wheels 17″ max. Rear drum brake. Front disc brake 220 mm max. Seat and fairings open.
Engine:
Stock cases only, factory or after market. Crank open with stock stroke and 155 euros max. Stock cylinder type air cooled only, one exhaust port only (no bridge or auxiliary port), 2 rings piston. Cylinder head 46 euros max. Cylinder porting and cylinder base raiser allowed. After market reeds allowed 44 euros max but no petal reed block. Intake manifold 19 mm max. Carburetor 15 mm max. After market performance exhaust allowed 170 euros max. External cdi ignition only stock or 185 euros max. Stock variator only. No launch lever. Stock engine spring. The race will start with the engine running.
2- PROMOTION: (old Gr1 class)
Chassis:
Same as Production class + reinforcement allowed + fork open 32 mm max.
Engine:
Same as Production + crank 185 euros max, air cooled 50cc racing kit + head 260 euros max, carb 15 mm max but venturi allowed, manifold 19 mm max but custom made allowed, reeds after market allowed 40 euros max but no petal reed block, performance exhaust open, external cdi ignition 245 euros max, variator open 106 mm max no clutch function, launch lever allowed, engine spring open. Racers will push start the race.
3- PROTOTYPE:
Chassis:
Frame open. Wheels, tires, fork, shocks, brakes open. Steering damper allowed.
Engine:
Cooling system open, engine parts open, variator size open, carb size open, 2 stroke and 4 stroke engine allowed, exhaust open. The race will start with the engine running.
VIDEOS:
I couldn’t find any videos of the moped races but here’s some 50cc pocket bike and scooter action on the wet race track:
Team KRH2 sponsored by La Becanerie, Artek, Mvt, Yanusi.
Some of those 80′s vintage french moped fairings are available in the US, check out the full selection at http://www.treatland.tv
G1 goes for a spin
Tomahawk ripping the streets with G1 50cc race bike for the monthly test ride.
There’s no clutch pulley but I’m lifting the launch lever with my foot at each red light to keep the idle by making the belt slip on the variator. The bike is really flying, there’s plenty of power and acceleration to test an even smaller rear sprocket for better top speed. The pipe can still be modified to gain some extra rpms and power but I prefer to keep the engine reliable. I wish I could have some moped racers to compete against on a track.
Back from the test run, good combustion with a chocolate brown spark plug and still room to lean out the fuel mixture for better performance.
Motobecane av10 race moped with stock engine cases, stock 2 petal reed valve, 19 carb, stock cdi, old 50cc Bidalot kit, enjoy the ride…
Here are some pics of a 1991 Bidalot G1 50cc vintage racing kit (not replica version) with stock cases, stock intake manifold, Bidalot crank, Dell’orto 15 carb, Champion spark plug, 9.5 hp @ 10,000 rpms.
I’ve just ordered some new moped race fairings from http://www.treatland.tv for a future fast motobecane av10 50cc Gr2 race bike project with 30mm Paioli adjustable hydraulic fork, stock engine cases, 21 carb, malossi or polini 50cc h20 kit. Thanks Treats for shipping them so fast!
http://www.treatland.tv/bidalot-RS-fiberglass-fairing-body-section-p/fairing-body-bidalot-rs.htm
http://www.treatland.tv/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=fairing-front-malossi&CartID=1
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
Plan 1 From Outerspace
This is the first working setup: 21mm carb, simonini circuit pipe, malossi 70cc, doppler clutch-pulley, mvt millennium ignition, malossi cases, bidalot variator, malossi head. (Borrowed Wheels)
Magnum with Variated Engine Mounted
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.”
