For anyone awake - Biker Build Off - Discovery Real Time

[BlackLightning998]

They are building a Vincent Rapide Chopper on the TV right now if you are up and have SKY.

 

[Marcus Bowden]

No sky & too busy keeping my mike going.

The chopperised Vincent in the MPH a year or so ago looked great, it's nice to see a bit of variation as keeping them bog standard they are not safe to ride and mine is my only transport unless my wife takes me in her car.

 

[VinParts]

If anyone has a copy of this I will cover costs for a tape to be sent to me as a lot of our parts went into this project and I would love to see the outcome.

Regards,
Russ

 

[BlackLightning998]

It looks stunning Russ

He just had it on the Salt Flats - did 97 and a bit mph and then got a high speed wobble and backed off - the bike is running the original girdraulics mounted on a longer rake. The bike looks simply stunning, you should be well proud Russ.

I'll have a look and see if it is being repeated - I've never tried recording SKY onto a video but I will give it a go if I can find it re-run, these things are often repeated every 24 hrs on SKY.

The guy looked a bit of a Vincent fan, t-shirt, leathers, helmet all badged Vincent and HRD.

Great programme - I switched on just by luck.

Cheers

Stuart

 

[nkt267]

I watched it yesterday afternoon.The bike looks great Matt Hotch used a Shadow engine with polished cases(and ran it on the SALT) and standard girdraulics follow the link for photos. www.hotmatchcustomcycles.com/vinnie.html

 

[tonythecat]

Russ,
A buddy of mine said he taped it for me, if I get it at the week-end will send it on to you.

Tony

 

[samueljohn]

Russell,
You can also order direct from Discovery Channel a DVD;

http://shopping.discovery.com/product-64370.html

This way you can pause when your bits are mentioned and enlarge the image for best effect.

John R

 

[Graham Smith]

Be careful if you order a DVD from the Discovery Channel in the US and you live in the UK.

When it arrives, it'll probably be a Region 1 disc, and more than likely won't play in your machine over this side of the pond (unless you have a multi-region player of course!).

 

[tonythecat]

You are right there Graham, I had one hell of a job to get an European copy of "Debbie does Dallas", purely for research of course.

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Not safe to ride

Four Vincents have pulled over 150 mph over the salt with standard "not safe to ride" geometry, one over 160 mph, and this "improved" one gets to 97 mph before a wobble stops it. Does that tell you anything?
Cosmetically, however, it is a beauty. Not my thing, but a beauty.

 

[clevtrev]

Be careful if you order a DVD from the Discovery Channel in the US and you live in the UK.

When it arrives, it'll probably be a Region 1 disc, and more than likely won't play in your machine over this side of the pond (unless you have a multi-region player of course!).

You can play any region on your computer.

 

[nkt267]

But look at the angle of the headstock Tom,the bike was in a speed wobble before it got to a ton.Girdraulics weren't made for that angle of attack.The bike is beautifully finished and he covered most of the front in clingfilm.The other bike in the rideoff didn't bother with salt protection and I personally think he had the desire to make it shift..Don't forget also that people like Rollie Free are special.John

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Rollie Free and tank-slappers

Bear in mind this started because of the assertion that Vincents in standard trim were too dangerous to ride, and that Rollie Free himself might have been a factor in avoiding wobbles, on his dangerous Vincent, at 150 mph. I disagree with both assertions. Here's why.
I'm second to none in my admiration of Rollie Free, but the stability didn't come from his "skill and judgement" but from the steering geometry of the bike he was riding: Lightning "chassis" modification amounted to fitting rear-set footrests to a standard Rapide/Shadow/Comet frame.
I've experienced four "speed wobbles" (none on Vincents), three of which were all-out tank slappers. I can do no better than quote a friend: "Anyone who thinks he might control a tank-slapper has never had one. He'll have about as much control as a rat does in the mouth of a terrier." That describes exactly my experience.

 

[Nulli Secundus]

Rollie Free and tank-slappers

From my experience of a tank-slapper on my Rapide, I fully agree with the quote made by Tom's friend.

 

[macvette]

Looks like the eccentrics are in the side car position