October 6, 2003:
![](http://steliosh.net/cgi-bin/nph-count?width=6&link=http://steliosh.net/rcmoto/rgv/index.html")
Even after so many years, the bike still looks good!
(Yes, that is Ouzo in the background!)
After having the bikes so long in hibernation, I decided it was about time we wring out their muscles a bit... So, I charged my little 3 batteries, all 5 minutes each (!) and headed to my roof which has a fairly good traction, to test the old RGV.
I used to -and still do- charge at the minimum 1A or a little less.
The black battery is an original Kyosho 270mah, the red and white ones are home-made 250mah.
The bike is mostly stock, but with a few changes: Front and rear "Option Parts" alloy oil-filled shock and forks, the lighter front wheel flywheel, and a faster Kyosho DMC-BB motor. The electronics came right out of my trusty (read: vintage!) Tamtech. For some reason there is no reverse on this system, which suits me just fine for the bike. It's probably a burnt FET but since the forward and brakes work, who cares?!
The trick front wheel: Lighter flywheel, new tires, hydraulic fork!
For what I did on the roof, see the next page... I had my Canon A60 camera static on a pole, and had it started on video mode. The videos it took were about 3 minutes each, and I managed to catch a few captures from these, to show what it can really do. But mostly the inspiration for this was the fact that lately I have received quite a few emails where the most common quest was: "more speed, please!"
So, I have a fairly faster bike, complete with ball bearings in the gearbox and the wheels, using the newer tires "stolen" from my NSR (another sad story... rider parts missing, so actually the model is inoperable, without the complete rider). I tried this bike on my roof, and to tell the truth, 9 out of 10 times, I could not do a complete round of it, without having the bike crash on its side. (see above pic, for the crack on the fairing). I even ran it without the lower fairing cowling and at one time even without a rider, after a highside the bike did, but KEPT running! My roof, btw, has a lot greater traction than the street right out of my home!
So, the morale: The bike needs VERY delicate handling, and NOT speed. If you play in a wide space, it would probably need some speed too, but as it is right now, I'd be happier with it tunring. Alas, I have to confess I almost never wrung the throttle wide open! And the... morale: Practise, practise! That's what I keep telling myself.