Bike engined mini progress - First test drive!
Turbo Mini Forums

Hey guys,

Well I am 2 and a half years in so far on my bike engined mini project, and I finally got the first test drive in at the weekend...it was certainly worth the wait! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYqI5-dkMlo

There are a few issues, one was the battery drained itself completely after the first short run which is strange when it is pretty much new and kept stocked up with an oxford charger; i'll have to check the wiring as it could be a poor earth. Secondly, one driveshaft is possibly a little short is fairly close to disengaging from the output shaft but I will investigate further this week as it may be ok. The other thing I noticed, is a slight rattle under acceleration. It could be the cam chain tensioner or the chain itself chattering against the bottom coolant outlet as there is very little clearance, so I will be checking for witness marks this eve! The temperature was pretty steady, up to about 99 degrees after several runs (the fan comes in about 115), and the motor seemed to pull really well. Expected some teething problems, but overall, really chuffed! And I forgot how much fun my mini is to drive, amazing little cars, end of.

Ben

"If i'm not in action...i'm in traction"

Corrr. you guys made your own diff if i recall ? its great to see a front engined bike powered mini ! and from the amount of destroyed R1's i have seen (having been ridden like tools) means no shortage of power plants :) was there much torque steer ?

Richie

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MikeRace, Mini13

Hi Richie,

Well we didn't quite make our own diff, but we used a Quaife ATB diff and then made our own bearing blocks, grease can, sprocket adaptor plate and diff cradle/tensioner to make it work with the transmission. To drive...it feels light and nimble, just like a mini should really, and that's the bonus of retaining the original suspension points and FWD. As for torque steer, well I am used to driving my rally car which is equipped with a plated LSD and that is quite a handful, but with the ATB unit in the mini, it's suprisingly good and nothing outrageous, even with the geometry way out as that still needs to be setup properly. It's very fast but if you respect the throttle and feel for the grip, it's ace fun! I can't wait to get all the issues with it sorted and finish the project now. It's just nice to feel that the last 2 and a half years and several thousand pounds having been in vain.

"If i'm not in action...i'm in traction"

good work guys, what size sprockets did you use on the outputshaft and the diff?

Team www.sheepspeed.com Racing

I think we are running a 32 teeth big sprocket (bolted to diff face via an adaptor ring) and the standard R1 output/small sprocket as it retains the cush drive which is meant to be worth keeping. My mate James has calculated about 130mph top speed which is pretty good. It would be nice to gear it down a bit more, but the 32T sprocket only just clears the sunframe/steering rack under full chain tension.

"If i'm not in action...i'm in traction"

This is excellent! Much better in the front.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

what you guys doing for reverse ?

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MikeRace, Mini13

Nothing for reverse at the moment, a case of get out and push currently. The promotive kit, R1 minis don't have reverse gear but I heard they were working on a solution.

"If i'm not in action...i'm in traction"

I agree, so much better in the front as it should help keep some of the mini characteristics.
How much does the R1 engine and box weight?

Edited by sturgeo on 26th Jul, 2010.

looks good, nice playground

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

The R1 engine and box weighs about 70kg so it's almost half of the A series engine and box. The one thing that hit me straight away when driving it is how much it still feels like a mini handling wise. I always wanted to retain the front wheel drive character of the mini and keep the suspension and brake layout too.

"If i'm not in action...i'm in traction"

what is you drive ratio as we have had to put a drop gear in the mini blade to make it driveable

that looks so good, well done - hats off looks like a load of work too. Really impressed.

Nice one, sounds really nice.

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www.fusionfabs.co.uk



1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

good stuff

Looks great fun, well done!

Like the evo 3 in the vid too ;D

Very cool. Ticks all the right boxes for me !

"So wat we gonna do tonight Brain?"
"Same thing we do evernight Pinky!"
"Try to take over the world!"

good skills

a momentus day bro, lets get the suspension sussed next

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

sweet!

thought id drop a little update in on this

we got the suspension roughed up and ben took me for a spin in this thing tonight, we only quickly blatted around the units near his, but by christ im hugely impressed

handling seems as sweet as the mini ever was, and the grip and power and sequential box and revyness and just general brillness has wowed me completely

were off in teh morning to shake it down thoroughly at a trackday, find out the top speed etc, should be interesting!

im sure ben will report back afterward

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

Hey guys,

As you know joey and I were due for a full on shakedown at the trackday circuit over the weekend. I'm really pleased to report that putting a bike engine in the front of my mini wasn't such a stupid idea after all, and we had an absolute blast stretching her legs around the track! Apart from a few minor issues, the mini is everything I dreamt it would be about 6 years ago when the idea took hold during a night on the steam at uni. And then 2 and a half years ago we finally started the build and it's one of the best decisions i've made..it may have cost me several thousand pounds, too many hours to bear thinking about and 2 girlfriends, but by fuck it was worth it! :) With a few more tweaks and some bodywork jobs to tend to (flip front!), she should be painted up and ready for action by the end of the year all being well.

*Obviously we wouldn't want the TM boys to miss out some youtube action, so I hope you enjoy this footage. Cheers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9d3zQsjyg

Edited by r1_manx on 6th Sep, 2010.

"If i'm not in action...i'm in traction"

its looking pretty rapid..

cool, engine view turned out swell mate, you can see the gear linkage hammering away

i cant stress enough how impressed i was with the car, everything that could have gone wrong didnt, and not only did it stay in one piece, but its performance was hugely impressive, especially its burst out of the bends

proper chuffed for you pal

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

Well done, looks like a lot of fun. Its great to see you did everything yourself instead of buying a promo kit, must be much more rewarding and saved a load too!

EDIT: Is it going on the road eventually?

Edited by george91 on 6th Sep, 2010.