As of December 02, 2003 :
So... I had to get myself involved in yet another r/c bike. And what would it be? Thunder Tiger's Yamaha R1, in 1/5th scale, which comes almost RTR. Its physical dimensions are quite large, being 44cm long and about as heavy as an electric 4wd buggy, which means around 1.5 kg.


Compared to the 1/8 Kyosho HOR, the TT is definitely overshadowing it!

  

I set the bike up quite quickly. I just HAD to take it out for a spin! I used most of my old electronics: A Trinity S-Spec stock motor, an LRP Sport Digital ESC, a standard Futaba S3003 servo and a couple of Tamiya stick SCR1700's (remember them?!). For guidance I used my trusty (but not... rusty!) Futaba FF3 and its FM receiver.

  


After a quick ride on the street right outside my home, I realized the bike needs some tweaking. It went straight on, alright, its turn-in was horrible, but at least the speed was reasonable and not scary at all. It would spin its rear tire at will, if the throttle was opened carelessly. So far so good, dark was falling so I just packed it and went back inside! And yes, I crashed it 5-10 times, but who's counting?! (No scratches so far!) My kids loved it! They even wanted me to do a wheelie! Not with this motor, not tonight, excuses, excuses!

     


After cleaning the bike, I replaced the standard slick tires with the GRP tires that came with the bike. I bought the bike from Hobbyhaus in Germany, through ebay.com, and I requested them to add the GRP tires in the kit. They promptly did for another 25 euros. I have yet to test them on the track/street, but they sure add to the scale look of a STREETbike! I didn't glue any tires yet. I saw in CNR's site some other style wheels, both aluminum and delrin, and we have to do a family committee to decide which to order. (Basically, which wheels will go better on my R1). The funny thing is when I told about my "new R1" at work, everyone wondered how come I turned from the measly 75HP of a BMW to the double-plus HP of an R1. "You'll kill yourself on that thing" was the most common reaction!!!!

A few notes on the bike:
It came assembled, as I said, and upon opening the box I was of course impressed by its sheer size. Even without electronics, it felt quite heavy compared to the 1/8 bikes I was used to. The scale proportions of the bike are not the best in the world, even though the rider is trying his earnest to look cool. Staying on the scale details, the rider is held on the bike by his hands only, which are wrapped around a steel wire bolted to the front of the frame and that's it. I found a piece of velcro in the bag that contained the small things of the bike, and assumed it was for securing the rider on the seat. There are no handlebars and footpegs, while an exhaust would look nicely out there in the back. A friend has already done this so stay tuned for more details here! (a photo can be found at the http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/. Check the forum "RC Motorcycles" then the thread "Your rc bike pics here").

I couldn't resist, and I stole the pic of the muffled R1. Doesn't she look fabulous?!
Another pic stolen from a forum. This one is probably the next bike coming from TT. Rumors say that it would be either nitro or electric powered. No matter what, it looks awfully good. Check the sidestand and the front discs and calipers!
I managed to make my own fake exhaust! See here for details!

Back to my own TT:
Mechanically the bike looks to be very sturdily and well built. The aluminum frame members are very well finished and so do the plastic parts.

A few highlights: The swingarm is one-sided, unlike the real R1, but quite in the fashion of some recent Ducatis!
The drive chain has a splitting link -unlike the Kyoshos- which means it's easier to service. The gears that come with the bike are 32DP pitch, but they are very quiet.
The rear shock is quite slow in rebound but quick in compression. It already comes with a much preloaded spring, but after loading the bike with electronics and battery, the rear of the bikes looks very squat. I added 2 mm of spacer to keep the sag where it LOOKS correct.
we'll see what really works on the track/street.
A look in the above forum, as well as others I have listed here can be very revealing in terms of setting the bike up. One more site, the one of Team Benwell is really full of helpful information.
I have yet two more projects running alongside the FM-1e right now: One is the modified RGV (yes, the 1/8 with parts from SJ and SF RCMCC), plus the forthcoming 1/10 electric buggy race of next Sunday.

So, stay tuned for more info on my newly acquired toy, the Yamaha R1!
Page made on Dec. 02, 2003. Update: same day, around 11:00pm!
Update Dec. 7, 2003: I (almost) managed to run/ride the bike at a tight R/C car racetrack.

Just before that, I was racing my '91 Kyosho Lazer ZX-R, running really vintage things: A Tekin 411G esc, Orion, Trinity and Keil Sanyo 1700SCRC's (remember these?!) etc! My friend Ayrtos ran his equally vintage Yokomo YZ10 (circa 1993!) on Panasonic 1700SCR's and a Tekin 411G2, finishing SECOND overall! I finished 4th! Not bad for oldies! Read all about it here
Update: Dec 31, 2003
Update Jan. 06, 2004: A run of the TT at a local 1/5 track, along with 5 (yes, five!) videos!
Yet more update on the TT, and the Kyoshos too (Most part is for the TT, however!)
My golden setup! (If there ever is one!)
August 26. 2004: Pat's brakes! Three fully operational AND scale looking disc brakes!
September 10, 2004: Pat's brakes installed.
September 11, 2004: Finishing touches to the brakes...
November 30, 2004: Added USD forks, a new painjob and a couple of videos!
April 8, 2006: A Venom Racing speedometer!
April 13, 2006: A general update an the whole bike, plus some thoughts on the Mtroniks Genesis ride brushless system.