This is my first ever R/C motorcycle! It was bought as a kit way back
in '90. Construction was easy enough, even though it was my first Kyosho
kit. Even unexperieced modellers should have no trouble on this bike. Remember
one thing, though! You should have the electronics ready before starting
assembly, because, if you make the bike without them, you'll have to disassemble
it in whole to put the electronics in it!
At
first you tend to "drive" the bike like a buggy, giving lots
of throttle while steering. The bike then understeers and it's looking
impossible to make a short turn "right here". To make it turn
in just when you want, you have to let go of the throttle, steer as long
as you wish and then gradually come back on the throttle. This way, it
can make small turns, even two metres in diameter! One thing should be
avoided, though: Taking jumps! You see, this little bike has minimal suspension.
On the front it has a single light spring into each fork, just like those
found on the front suspension of 1/10 on-road cars. There is no oil to
dampen the movement of the suspension, just a tad of grease, which just
keeps metal parts from rubbing each other! On the back, there's a "shock
absorber" that's is made of a simple hard spring with no oil at all.
There
is a small number of motors to power this little beast. Except for the
pretty good standard motor, Kyosho has introduced another stock motor,
under the name of LeMans, which has two ball bearings! this is much faster
than the supplied motor, but it has a big minus: It spins the rear wheel
almost all the time! And, this mean trouble! Another alternative comes
from Tamiya, in the form of the Black Tamtech motor, which powers this
company's 1/24 and 1/14 cars. This motor has less torque, but is equally
fast with the LeMans. The choice is yours. We have tried all these motors
with equal fun. Next comes the suspension. Kyosho has overdone itself with
the front suspension option. The rear shock is like all shocks you know
too well from your buggy. Only it's smaller. That's it. The front fork,
however is a masterpiece on its own! It's constructed just like the real
one, only 8 times smaller. The visual effect of the external oil lines
is striking! You would think that the front disk prakes are hydraulic!
The brakes, of course are there just for the sake of the scale effect.
The real braking is done by the ESC on the motor. By the way, don't try
the Tamiya CPR-Unit, just for this reason: It has reverse, whereas the
Kyosho/Futaba unit has only brakes and strong at that! If you brake hard
enough, you lock the back wheel and sometimes this can be... dangerous!