The 2011 Season has started for me (at last).
Snow is gone (for the meantime)...
Just drove my first charges since the beginning of Decembre...
Track is still damp but !!HEY!! its fun to be able to drive again.

UPDATE

Looks freakin awesome Edi

I like the rake on the forks, muy stable

And the axle to swingarm pivot angle, muy muy stable...

The bike looks stunning as usual

This is the short wheelbase version with the max. Fork rake. I can steepen it up by two 2° increments without changing any other geometry. Think I will need stronger steering springs to force it into a turn. Thats about the geometry the NF guys used in Grenoble.
I thought I have to try that.

The Swingarm axle pivot is 54mm wide. Absolutely no unintended movemet there

For the very first time I drove on a parking lot today. The track was covered in snow to my surprise.
I HAD to try the bike today otherwise I would have gone crazy

1.) The cheapo servo I tried stopped working after less than 20secs. Put a Futaba back in.
2.) Trimmed it to go in a straight line, fine tuned the front and rear brakes.
3.) After a minute I wreaked havoc with a big smile. Its crazy how fast it can go into a high speed turn.
It actually cuts into the turns. I always was surprised by the tight radius it took.
That on a dusty crapgrip parking lot.
4.)Superstable under all circumstances. Surprisingly agile under speed. I can even force it into a turn under full throttle.
5.)It stays in the leaning angle I steered it into. Then I can fine tune the radius with little power or braking. Always with a tendency to cut into the turn.
6.)No more headshaking...even without oil in the steering damper. Now I am sure it was the soft chassis that accounted to that problem.
7.)A very smooth transition from very low to high speed under acceleration out of turns, no standing up no washing out. Just a slight oversteer once you reach the limit. No sudden wobble when the front looses out of a turn under full power. Unbelievable.

I think after 7 Generations I really hit that sweet spot or at least come very close.
Hope it works like that on the track then. I am still shaking

What are you going to do if this bike is 'the one'?

Sell the design to HPI and start on a nitro bike? (Nitro bike, yes please )

I hope the the bike goes as well as it looks, you have certainly put an awful lot of time and effort in to get to the Gen 7.

(P.S. Don't ever lose your enthusiasm for the bikes, we need more like you and this thread has been a great read from start to finish )

I am not sure if its the one...I have been trying but noone wants it... bike market is too small ... they all want to do their own stuff.. here they would get (most possibly) the most tested and furthest developed bike anyone can drive out of the box. ~edi is a bighead~


I am playing around with a concept for a Nitro Bike. If it works out it will be first public in Lostallo Aug. 2011, we wont be showing it before. Not like this exhibitionist Thead here....

by the way:
The ESC Telemetry and and the GPS I have on the bike told me:
"...your bike went 117kph (or 123kph)..."
.. on a dusty parking lot....

come ooooooooon!!!! We do love exhibitionists like this!
I was telling a friend of mine (not bike-converted yet!) about these speeds and he was skeptical...
But then, you (I, im my case) should have done my homework first (glue the damn front tire correctly!)

Originally Posted by steliosh

come ooooooooon!!!! We do love exhibitionists like this!
I was telling a friend of mine (not bike-converted yet!) about these speeds and he was skeptical...
But then, you (I, im my case) should have done my homework first (glue the damn front tire correctly!)

I dont think that its ever possible to drive those speeds on a track practically anyway. Only in a straight line with hard brakes.

I know... people usually ask:
How fast?
Will it wheelie mister? (TM!)
How much?
In that order!
So... we have to answer all questions!

on another note, I was watching the latest pics, and was wondering... what is that white plastic thing on the top of the front, to the left of the steering stabilizer?

Thats a sort of Crashbar /bumper:
The Head of the SB5 Figure is only mounted on the Lexan without a lot of support.
In case of a crash the head crushes down onto the steering damper spring assembly and
bends/ruins it.
This thing is under the head and takes all the bashing...
I see some people look very closely

(so much about detail in this bike ;-)

an rc bike "airbag", then!!!!
What's next? ESP?!!!!

Originally Posted by steliosh

How fast?
Will it wheelie mister? (TM!)
How much?
In that order!
So... we have to answer all questions!

Fast: you mean in a straight line or on a track? is fastest inoffical lap 24.1sec. in grenoble fast enough? ;-)
Wheelie: it can, but i hate it everytime it does it. I can hammer the Power, backflip it and land on the tires 1 out of 10 times *LOL*
What does TM mean?
How much: if you have €1600,- (no servos, esc, batt, electronics) thats what its worth on the picture... R4V!!

TM: trademark!!!! You know that famous video of Dez, from years ago...