Northern Radio Moto Club
Skipton, North Yorkshire
NRMC
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BIKE SETUP
New to this and need advice?
Bike set up is not overly difficult, but whether you've jumped in at the deep end with no experience, or just want to tweak the handling of a race ready bike a little, then you need to take it to a race meeting. Most racers will be happy to help you get the bike up to speed, then it's just up to you to practice until you're ready to beat the pros. But before you bring it, make sure the chassis and wheels are straight and in alignment and you have the best tyres on. Also read the other articles on this page and please visit the moto-5 forum where you may find answers to a lot of your questions. Let's see you trackside soon!
Essential reading
STEERING METHOD
It is necessary to have a sprung flexible connection between steering servo and forks. A direct connection will not work. Both NF and TT bikes come with their own form of spring steering and damping. The older NF (501) bikes came with silicone fuel tube steering. They all work, but the most commonly used and easily adjustable method used on all bikes in the UK is the NF spring kit #X80/A (or similar)and seperate damper. Use a long arm on the servo to get a more linear action and easier adjustment via the epa on your transmitter. Set initially with no compression on the springs and adjust on your transmitter's epa. And don't forget these bikes turn by countersteering, so make sure you have the steering reversed - left on your transmitter should turn the front wheel to the right.
ON THE TRACK
Theses bikes rely on a castor effect for the front wheel, similar to the way a shopping trolley wheel will straighten itself when pushed, so will the front wheel of the bike. To turn left, the front wheel needs to be nudged to the right, this will allow the bike to fall and therefore lean to the left. If the steering is brought back to neutral and the bike is travelling at a constant speed, the bike will slowly right itself. If the bike is slowing down, it will increase the lean. If it is speeding up, it will straighten up. Generally, because of the gyro effect of the wheels, the faster the bike is travelling, the more force is needed to nudge the bike into a lean. Conversley, at walking pace a slight steering input will have the same effect. So always a compromise is needed for steering settings and only a track test will tell you whether to tighten or loosen the spring tension.
RAKE
Decreasing the rake angle (forks more vertical) will decrease the shopping trolley effect, allowing faster steering responce, but less stability which could lead to more headshakes / wobbles. Always start out with maximum rake angle (forks out chopper style) and for bumpy tracks, keep it there! Some tracks can benefit from decreased rake, but only a track test will tell.
STEERING ISSUES
Most bike problems center around the steering. If you have an issue and the solution is not immediately obvious, please check the following:
Firstly, verify that the frame is straight, untwisted, the wheels are in alignment, the wheels are not damaged / buckled and the tyres are glued on all the way around and reasonably well balanced. Also check that there is no or very little play in the front axle and forks and that all fork and axle screws are tight.
Remove steering and damper arms from top triple and (with the body on) lightly shake the bike side to side. The fork assembly should flop from lock to lock VERY freely. ANY slight binding, catching or roughness anywhere should be investigated and fixed before continuing. Next, grab the front wheel and fork assembly and try to move the wheel into the bike and out again to feel for any free play in the headstock. Replace headstock bearings if any play found and re-check. Then re-fit the steering arm(s) and check that the balljoint is not tight and binding. It should be as free as a bearing. Set springs with no compression at neutral, use the transmitter to steer left and right and make sure the action is smooth with no stiffness. Drive the bike and verify all is well. Re-build and fit the damper (if needed), checking balljoints as above. Drive the bike and verify all is well. If the issue is still not resolved or your bike has a different steering method;
1. get to a meeting and ask someone to have a look at it.
2. get onto MOTO-5 forum and post your problem there.
3. e-mail me
TYRES The kit Thunder Tiger or Nuova Faor tyres may be ok for the local car park, but for UK racing you will need to get some stickier stuff. PMT 100s and 010s can be used on warm dry tracks, but most commonly used and generally accepted for almost any conditions are the PMT 200 (cut or slick) GRP also make extra soft tyres, these are good on dry grippy tracks, but lose out to the PMTs when the conditions get slippy.
INSERTS
Soft inserts only work best on slippy wet & bumpy tracks (Skipton!), allowing the tyre to deform enough to get traction. Hard inserts for all other tracks and applications! A good combination for most UK tracks is the TT SB5 hard inserts or Masari 'dog poo' inserts with PMT 200 slick tyres. Only on hot days use the 100s or even 10s when the 200s may start to shred and blister.
TECHNICAL
Gears - All the technical info you will ever need to know on gears, including pitch formulas (from HPC gears, see link opposite) Gears- pdf technical sheet from HPC
Silicone oil - An Excel table showing comparison of various manufactuers' oils.