1 2
NotSoSmart
NotSoSmart New Reader
2/3/23 4:50 p.m.
Dusterbd13-michael said:

In regards to the single master: im not worried on a track only car. Nascar ran singles into the 90s, dirt and other disciplines still do.

I'm all ears on all opinions. Truthfully I'm a bit on the fence still, one part of me is "it has to be lightweight and cheap, one cylinder is fine" and the other part is "just fit two you idiot, why risk it". I'm not going to have a handbrake either. I'll leave as is for the minute and can change it easily enough in the future. 

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/3/23 5:23 p.m.

I wouldn't be worried about the lack of a handbrake - although it does make loading a trailer easier. I'd definitely try to run either dual masters or a dual circuit master. The second is used on basically every production car so it's pretty easy to find one cheap.

I have had a single circuit brake system fail.

93EXCivic
93EXCivic MegaDork
2/6/23 4:38 p.m.
NotSoSmart said:
Dusterbd13-michael said:

In regards to the single master: im not worried on a track only car. Nascar ran singles into the 90s, dirt and other disciplines still do.

I'm all ears on all opinions. Truthfully I'm a bit on the fence still, one part of me is "it has to be lightweight and cheap, one cylinder is fine" and the other part is "just fit two you idiot, why risk it". I'm not going to have a handbrake either. I'll leave as is for the minute and can change it easily enough in the future. 

A bias bar and a second master cylinder aren't too terribly expensive for the peace of mind tbh and also open up tuning brake balance.

mblommel
mblommel GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/6/23 4:45 p.m.

Smart roadster is now added to my 25 year import future want list. 

Since it has the same power train and cradle as a four two (4 two?), seems like the path to 'Busa madness has already been well trodden. 

Although I wonder if something like a Ford ecoboost 1.0 would fit in there (to keep the 3 cylinder theme). 

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/6/23 5:18 p.m.
93EXCivic said:
NotSoSmart said:
Dusterbd13-michael said:

In regards to the single master: im not worried on a track only car. Nascar ran singles into the 90s, dirt and other disciplines still do.

I'm all ears on all opinions. Truthfully I'm a bit on the fence still, one part of me is "it has to be lightweight and cheap, one cylinder is fine" and the other part is "just fit two you idiot, why risk it". I'm not going to have a handbrake either. I'll leave as is for the minute and can change it easily enough in the future. 

A bias bar and a second master cylinder aren't too terribly expensive for the peace of mind tbh and also open up tuning brake balance.

Packaging gets a little more complex, though. It's easy to swap a single master for another single master, it's a lot harder to package two masters and a bias bar. Besides, a proportioning valve works better than a bias bar for a car that isn't purely being used for track work.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/6/23 10:13 p.m.
NotSoSmart said:
Dusterbd13-michael said:

In regards to the single master: im not worried on a track only car. Nascar ran singles into the 90s, dirt and other disciplines still do.

I'm all ears on all opinions. Truthfully I'm a bit on the fence still, one part of me is "it has to be lightweight and cheap, one cylinder is fine" and the other part is "just fit two you idiot, why risk it". I'm not going to have a handbrake either. I'll leave as is for the minute and can change it easily enough in the future. 

Definitely don't do a single circuit and no handbrake at the same time. I wouldn't do that on a golf cart.

Rons
Rons GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
2/7/23 1:54 a.m.

The car is also intended for track days, and the organizers may not appreciate single circuit brake systems.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/7/23 11:21 a.m.

In reply to NotSoSmart :

sorry for being late to the party.  please reconsider that single-circuit master cylinder.  MC is the wrong place to be saving weight.  don't think about MC failures, think about a hydraulic leak anywhere else in the system.  pedal to floor, thinking about life insurance premiums.

beyond that, party on! i think it looks great as a speedster.

NotSoSmart
NotSoSmart New Reader
2/7/23 5:10 p.m.

Thanks for all the input folks. The single master cylinder was something I was doubting myself over, and on the balance of probability I think I would regret not having two cylinders more than I would enjoy the benefits of the lightness and simplicity of one, so I'll be changing to two cylinders before it turns a wheel.

In other news the bike was decided on, and while not quite up to Busa standards it's still a Suzuki. Behold the power and the glory of the Bandit!

My reason for going this way is that Hayabusas are just too expensive and went against the grain of what, in my mind, this project was meant to be. The 1200 Bandit is very cheap, which was by far its main attraction, but (trying my best to justify backing myself in to this 100bhp corner) the other attractions, while tenuous, are many. It’s simple, tough, tuneable (up to a point) and relatively torquey. And most notably it’s air/oil cooled, so it’s lightweight. I get to ditch the radiator and coolant and piping, and seal up the air intake at the front of the car, which has aero advantages that will be fun to explore. I reckon that not running a windscreen means I can easily pull whatever air is needed in to the engine bay to keep it cool. If you haven’t gathered by now, I really love things that are light weight and simple, and hopefully this doesn't go too far in that direction to be a disappointment power/speed wise.

This particular bike was too cheap to pass up. Found through a friend of a friend, it was fully serviced, including the carbs, four months ago, whereupon the keys were lost. I took it as an act of faith that it runs and bought it for a very good price, so first job is to replace the ignition barrel with the supplied new one and try fire it up. More updates soon.

 

NotSoSmart
NotSoSmart New Reader
2/9/23 2:59 p.m.

These arrived today:

And I'll have a look soon about the best way to get this fitted. 
 

Also got a friend to print these panel clips, to replace the brittle and broken ones that came off the bodywork:

I've no idea if they'll work out ok material wise etc but it's not a proper project car these days unless it has some 3D printed parts, so I'm using them regardless!

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
2/10/23 4:41 p.m.

Glad to hear you are going with a dual master cylinder, from someone who's has a single master cylinder fail while backing down a steep driveway.

This sounds like a great project - can't wait to see it on track.

physician
physician Reader
2/11/23 9:47 a.m.

Great to see a b12 in a car.

100hp stock but pods and a rejet give them about 10hp more.

Add exhaust and gsxr750/1100 or gsxf1100 cams and they become basicly an overbore gsxr1127 with about 135 -140hp. About 125 to the wheels.

I would not remove the oil ccooler as the engine rely on it for cooling. Even on naked bikes bigger cooler have to be install so the engine stay cool. In a car the engine will work harder for longer... get a bigger one. 

Though aircool, this gen of zuki engines date from 85. A b12 with carbs weight around 200# About 10 heavier than a busa. A gsxr1000 is 160, fireblade about the same.

40# penality for something like 2000$ less is interesting.

And the remaining of the bike can easily be sold as they are popular base for custom bikes.

These roadsters are cheap in uk, i wonder if its 15 or 25 years old to import to quebec canada.

A 4l/100km mid engine sport car would make a good commuter!

Rons
Rons GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
2/11/23 12:49 p.m.

In reply to physician :

The rule for Canada is 15 years. There are outfits that have shipped prices to the ports with RoRo capabilities (car needs to be drivable and Ibelieve Halifax and Montreal are available ports.

physician
physician Reader
2/24/23 7:48 p.m.

In reply to Rons :

I'll look into rhat Roro.

Thank you!

2Girlsracing (Steffi)
2Girlsracing (Steffi) Reader
2/28/23 8:39 a.m.

I'm not sure there was a lot of difference between a busa and a bandit anyway, but I've been out of bikes for a loooooong time! I ended up getting a honda super blackbird motor for my project  to avoid paying busa tax and if it needs more, add a turbo. 
I really like the dmart cars, looks like it will be a lot of fun!

Basher590
Basher590 New Reader
6/23/24 10:51 a.m.

Hey, trying to revive this thread, did you ever finish this project? 

1 2

You'll need to log in to post.

Our Preferred Partners
vpPTS6TXZosMtThj4834qF3hu9KbfAWUC93EVfZeh9jrLWSvp9PiYig7vQziQgBN