After the main hints and tips thread grew too confusing and complicated I've collated the main points here to make then easy to read.
Just for info, the old thread is still there if you want to plough through several dozen pages of communication....
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=957024


Right lets get straight into the main points to fix on the GPV-1 RTR from the box.
The servo horn should be 90 degrees to the link rod at straight ahead, if it's not just re-centre it, use a 1.5mm hex wrench to slacken the two collets, unscrew the servo horn with a little philips and pull the servo horn right off the splines, turn on the radio tx & rx and leave it at neutral, check any trims etc are all at centre too, reposition the servo horn on it's splines to it's 90 degrees to the link rod and re-tighten the centre screw. Reposition your spring collets so they are just touching the spring and pushing it lightly aginst the centre slider and re-tighten the grub screws.
Job done. Two minutes with a hex wrench and you'll be sorted.

Steering as recieved. Offset to one side with wheel dead ahead.


As Reset to 90 degrees at straight ahead.

If the speed controller is mounted horizontally the front corner is too near the front tyre, so reposition it at an angle parralel to the chassis leading edge.

As supplied


Relocated to improve clearance.

TOP TIP - Clean the track! Whether car park or race track, take a walk around and clear away stones and grit. The 1/8th scale means that even a 6mm stone would be like running over a house brick at 280mph, and you wouldn't ask Rossi to do that would you!


Top Tip - Run aerial wire to rear seat loop, base load excess around aerial tube mount, fit tube, run aerial up.


Top Tip - Chamfer the tips of the scratch bars to ease insertion into their bases.


Top Tip - Remove spur gear carrier to adjust chain tension eccentrics, so it doesn't go tight at full bump, re-mesh primary gears. typically eccentrics 3 or 4 from fully back with droop screw unwound)

While you have the spur off, check wheel bearings are fully seated front and rear, and adjust axle bolt tension so there is no drag. Do it up tight then back it off gradually until the wheel spins free - check for slop in axle.

Top Tip - Remove all steering damper O rings, slide to rear end to store, check free steering is free to slop side to side.

Top Tip - Undo triple clamp screws, rotate fork legs in clamps to ensure there is no bind or twist. Do top clamp screws up tight, but only do lower triple clamps up just finger tight to avoid pinching the fork leg anfd trapping the piston as it goes by inside.



Top Tip - Cut out screen and custom fit clear lexan ( I used section of a coke bottle 2L) rivet on or use "Tough Stuff" from CML (like the old shoe Goo!).


Top Tip - Trim away top edge of fairing belly pan As it is the front wheel pushes the fairing straight into the front mudguard and it catches every time.
Dremel the top edge down as per the red arrow, to allow the front tyre to drop lower as you slide the fairing on and off every time you swap batteries, stops the fairing getting jammed under the front mudguard and saves you loads of fiddling about.
Leave a lip all the way round the lower edge to stop the batteries going forward into the front tyre.



Top Tip - Remove the fork legs caps completely so the heat of grinding does not damage the O rings, grind a flat with Dremel - not too deep just take off 0.7mm maximum, rebuild and rotate fork in triple clamps until flat is towards tyre for extra clearance. Add shim washers to either side of the wheel bearings to space the wheel exactly in the centre of the forks with an even gap left and right.


Top Tip - If you fit the front brake kit to your Venom, spin the front wheel fast and shake the bike the front wheel stops rotating as the discs try to leave their hexes and jam in the calipers, which means that during cornering they will flop to one side and drag, but more over, in a tank slapper they will make the problem worse by jamming the wheel.

The interim solution.
By adding a flip of lexan to the inside of the front mudguard (CA glue once you have degreased both surfaces), and trimming it back so that it only just touches the disc when it is spinning nice and flat between the caliper pads, (I measured a gap of 15mm from edge to edge) I could now spin the wheel as fast as I like and shake the bike around and the wheel never slowed. On track it was far smoother and tank slaps no longer held any fears for me.
The lexan stops the disc from flopping outward at it's forward edge and keeps it in line with the pads at all time. I added a chamfer at the top (not shown in pics) so it was easier to get the mudguard off over the tyre, and at the bottom edge so it couldn't jam in the spokes of the brake disc when the wheel was rotated backwards (just cos it sounded bad!). Sorted.

These really are sweet brakes and went straight on several of our bikes and with no set up at all worked spot on and transformed the way the bikes entered a corner, beautiful!





TOP TIP - Keep your batteries from sliding forwards and backwards by adding velcro tabs to all of your batteries in the same place to match up with the opposite half on your battery tray just behind the rubber pad.



TOP TIP - DO NOT try to use tyre debonder to get the Venom Kit tyres off, the rims just melt.
So do Tamiya rims for that matter.

Cut the tyre off and re-use the insert, the tyre and rim are scrap.
I can't get mine off no matter what I try.

I tried warming them up in the oven, on very low for ten minutes, the rims melted and went wobbly but the tyres were still stuck fast to what was left of the rim.

Please Mr Venom, offer V1 and V3 tyres pre glued !!

Fitting the brake kit is pretty self explanetory to be honest, but would some instalation photos help?



Be sure to turn on your radio, set up the brake mixing, centre your brake servo horn and confirm direction of rotation/travel BEFORE attaching the servo horn or you could over stress it, OK?

Be sure all cables are fully seated in their terminals and that the servo hron ends up 90 degrees to the cable as it pulls to a halt, and moves forwards only slightly as you apply the throttle so as to release the calipers but not tension the cables and affect the steering.

The two brake cables are different lengths, the longest inner/outer goes to the right hand caliper, through the frame plates, which is why one cable base in the stand off is cranked up and in a bit (looks odd but it's done for a reason!)



You need to swap your fork leg lowers to the ones in the brake kit.
Screw the calipers to these carefully, small screwsi n plastic, so don't over tighten.

Make sure the brake discs are free to move on the hexes that replace the brake discs.

Assemble the calipers and tighten the through bolts so the pads just clamp the disc and then turn them all back 1.5 turns to allow running clearance.

Use the little silver spacers tubes between the brake pads, use the little brass tubes to crimp on the cables as terminations. Placement of these should only be done once construction and set up are complete, pinch them on in the same place, left and right caliper cables, i.e. pull the servo horn backwards a little, move the caliper lever up so it's just making the pads touch the disc, and crimp the brass tube on just touching the arm. Do that left and right and you will have a good balanced action.



The cable for the right hand caliper goes through the frame, using the sqaure hole above the triangular one as shown, it goes right across and exits just in the corner so it shouldn't get trapped by the ESC/reciever placement.

TOP TIP - To stop the rear tyre dragging on the shock bottom joint when fitting a high speed modified motor which will ballon the tyre much more than the stock motor.

Remove the rear mudguard completely or cut away the screw boss from below, you'll see where your tyre will have marked it! You could try spacing it up with small washers if you want to keep the scale appearance.

Also, cut a flat on the shock rod end to match the profile of the swing arm and improve clearance to tyre, as here... (Blue Arrows)


While you are at it, (Red Arrow) glue a piece of scalpel blade or similar hard thin metal sheet to the swing arm where the droop screw touches it, to prevent it punching through.

TOP TIP - The brass bearing spacer remains stationary in both forks and swing arm so any drag on the hex adaptors will slow your bike a lot, especially on kit motor.
Drill right through all discs and chain sprockets to give the brass spacer enogh clearnace. Use 6.5mm drill first to do it gradually, then a 7mm drill is perfect and still leaves plenty of material in hex.
Safety first, mind your fingers, the drill will grab, oh yes
(ask me how I know, drip drip drip...)
So hold hex in a tube spanner while drilling, not a vise or pliers or you will squeeze it and remove too much material.

The foam rider figure is very robust compared to lexan riders, but a little heavier.
Some riders have found a benefit of dremelling out all excess material and got him down from 48g to 35g which doesn't sound much for the time, effort and mess involved had a good effect on overall handling!



----YEAH WE finally Got Sticky for the New Clean Hints and Tips thread!-----Thanks mods, and everyone that pestered them for me

Reciever installation - Spektrum.

The recivers can go either between the rear seat loop rails, or on the right side chassis plate, either full size or micro, in either position.

Keep the left hand chassis plate clear for the Brakes.

If you need your speedo on the right chassis plate then you have to go for the seat loop installation.



When mounting on the right side, keep all wires at the top where the fairing is widest, and mount it fully back to allow brake cable an exit from it's passageway.

Gearing calcs Chart mm/rev.
So you understand the effects of gearing, regardless of pitch.

Kit Overall ratio = 10.65:1 (14/64 primary, 12/28 chain drive)

Rear tyre diameter 87mm = 273.3mm circumference.

Venom GPV-1 mm/rev
P/S___ 64_____62_____60
14___25.66___26.49___27.37
15___27.49___28.38___29.32
16___29.32___30.27___31.28


more tips and info to come soon......

Make sure you fit smaller steering linkage collets or grind a flat on the kit ones to give clearance and prevent them rubbing on the chassis plate.

Also

Remove the two O rings on the steering slider on the servo horn and just add a drop of shock oil, far smoother and much better cornering.

pictures to follow......

Get on a car park and figure out what the bike needs to make a clean corner, get that nailed and then get on track, when you get it nailed it's a great thrill, but heading straight for the track can prove frustrating.

Here's three vids of GPV-1 action, so you can see how it really works.

GPV-1 lapping of Bedworth viewed from drivers rostrum.

Venom GPV-1 Novak Bedworth (1 min 18 sec)

GPV-1 wheelies, and action shot down low.

Bedworth GPV (1 min 37 sec)

GPV-1 on board mid race action.

Venom GPV-1 Bedworth Chase Cam (1 min 36 sec)