APRIL
2003
30/04/03 :
The results from Round 2 of the X-Race UK Championship are now on-line over at the X-Race UK website.
The next round will take place at Elvington on the 18th of May which is also a Streetfighters Straightliners and NSA meeting.
23/04/03 :
Joe Elliott is selling a Dragster if anyone is interested, but don't get too excited it's not his famous 'Eliminator'. However the spec is good.
It's a 2001 D180 (blue) as seen as seen here in the Gallery and "as seen on tv"!
It's tuned by Joe himself and goes pretty quick, engine mods are: Malossi 172cc barrel and piston, PM billet head, PM55 pipe, Doppler reed block and
inlet manifold, Dell'Orto 25mm D-shaped carb, Malossi belt and rollers. Styling mods are: rear seat panel, blue grips, clear brake light lens, carbon
indicators. Also has a brand new rear tyre. Has done a mere 4000km. A bargain at £2000. Joe can be contacted on 07970361826 (mobile) or 01778 342849 (home).
22/04/03
UPDATE:
Dragster Gallery Collection 27 is now on-line and features some pics of Mark Tricker's Dragster
windshield experiments, Micky A5's cool cut-down Dragster (a future Twist & Go feature bike), some shots of the Monster Mob
D125 race replica as seen at last year's Birmingham NEC show and some other good pics from the Netherlands and elsewhere, check 'em out.
The sprinting took place as planned at the weekend at York Dragway.
It was quite a good day apart from the cold weather and that dreaded head wind. The times weren't the best,
in fact everyone's times were slower, on average half a second slower than at Santa Pod.
But for the first time in the history of
Straightliners a scooter got into the Elimination rounds, and it was of
course Joe Elliott with his aptly named Dragster 'Eliminator', he gave a Suzuki SV650 a very good run (particularly over the eighth of a mile)
much to the amusement/astonishment of the grizzly biker crowd. All the results and a race report from the day to appear on the official
X-Race UK website shortly. The third round of the
X-Race UK Championship will take place
at Elvington on the 18th May.
Some pics of
Chiselspeed's new shock absorbers sent in by the infamous Mikes Carpets, sorry Andy Pearson from
PSN Scooters!
Andy Pearson is currently road testing them, they look good in billeted alluminum, they have an adjustable spring and they are adjustable on the
gas aswell. They are slightly heavier and beefier than the originals and I noticed there may be problems with space around the rear shock if you
have a PM carbon fibre hugger fitted. The springs you see here are unpainted but
Chiselspeed will accept any colour suggestions. Personally I think
the springs would look great chromed. The shockers come with a 3 year guarantee and they are also fully serviceable if they
are out of the warranty period. With regards a price, we are hoping for around the £350 mark for the pair which is not far off the
cost of the originals but superior in build quality.
17/04/03 :
First up, some news from Chiselspeed, they now have a rolling road which is good news
for those of you in the north who before had to travel further afield to get your bike on the Dyno. The cost is £45 plus VAT per hour.
Many of you will also be interested to know too that Chiselspeed have developed some aftermarket shocks
for the Dragster. Martin Cook tells me he received the final sample yesterday and they look the dogs bollocks!
Price is yet to be confirmed but the good thing is they come with a 3 year warranty so you can't really argue with that. Pics and
some testing to follow...
It's the second round of the X-Race Championship this Easter Sunday 20th April at York Dragway.
Trevor Duckworth who runs Straightliners
told me to tell all competitors to pay their entry fee outside the York Dragway pay gate and Straightliners will give you a pass to get in.
This runs until 11am after that you will have to pay to get in. You then sign-on as normal just take your steamed entry ticket to race control
and the fee is the same £30 squid to race. Don't forget to bring your Drivers Licence which you will
need when you sign-on if you want to race.
More drag racing news...
WORLD RECORD MEETING 28th & 29th September
Straightliners and the northern NSA will be running a World and British records meeting
on the main runway at Elvington on Sunday 28th and Monday 29th of September. It is hoped to run all distances 1/4 / kilo / and mile with flyers on
all distances. Can all interested parties please write to the address below with the records they wish to attempt and the type of machine they
wish to enter as demand will be very high. Entries will be on a first come basis.
World Record Attempts, 5 Carr St, Brighouse, W Yorks HD6 4AZ
14/04/03 :
Important news for all those of you who are participating in the X-Race Championship... Two extra rounds have now been added as follows:
Round 6 - 14th September, Elvington, North Yorkshire.
Round 7 - 19th October, Santa Pod Raceway.
The extra dates have been added for latecomers to the competition. The main problem at the moment has been advertising or rather, lack of it.
Entrants will enter their scores into the competition by chosing their best performances over five rounds. Entrants need not enter all seven rounds.
The extra dates are there primarily for those who missed the first round or cannot make it to certain rounds due to other commitments.
Furthermore the X-Race Championship now includes sub-classes for the various engine capacities and geared and automatic scoots
are now split into separate classes. Which makes the competition fair for all you people out there with 50 and 70cc scoots since you can race in
your own class. Currently the points are all there for the taking...
Don't forget it's the second round of the championship this Sunday 20th April at York Dragway which
promises to be an action-packed day. Even if you don't want to race, why not come and watch? These events
are also good day out for spectators to come and watch the fastest bikes in the country.
Catch up with all the latest info and ammendments to the rules at the official X-Race UK website.
10/04/03 :
PM Tuning have been busy as usual testing and developing new tuning products
for all you go-faster freaks out there. So what we have here then is the Vortex / PM Tuning re-programmable CDI:
So how does it differ to other CDI's? Well this box of tricks allows the user to switch between 10 different
ignition maps ranging from mild to wild so the box will suit standard, tuned and kitted 125/180 Runners and Dragsters without the need to adjust the
flywheel/stator - a true 'plug and play' system. An optional extra will be a dual handlebar mounted switch for ignition map selection on the fly, cool.
A software package is also available for PC owners who want to tweak the ignition maps themselves.
PM Tuning have invested heavily in the programming software from Vortex in order to accurately set-up
pre-defined dyno, road and track developed ignition maps in order to get the best out of any engine set-up.
The CDI system employs hi-tech microprocessors in a compact design smaller than a packet of fags.
The system will also benefit owners using 'peaky pipes' e.g. Malossi (peak power at 9500rpm) as the stock system
does not carry enough spark advance at high rpm. So for those of you who have had no luck gaining a power increase
with other CDI's then this little gizmo could be the answer. The system will also be ideal for 1/4 mile sprint racers
who will be able to enjoy the benefits of automatic ignition map change for electrifying standing starts.
If all goes well the unit should be available in 6-8 weeks, the exact price still to be confirmed but expect somewhere in the region
of £250. Plans to develop the same kind of ignition units for other popular scooters are also underway for Vespa,
Lambretta and four-stroke machines.
09/04/03
UPDATE:
Pics from the first round of the X-Race UK Championship 2003 now on-line, look here.
05/04/03 :
Here it is, hot off the press, a sneak preview of the new issue of Twist & Go. As you can see Joe Elliott's Dragster 'Eliminator' adorns the cover!
Joe's write-up written by yours truly, read all about it in issue 17... Also in the new issue you will find my guide on how to get into drag racing, seven road tests including the new Vespa GT 200, Malaguti Phantom Spectrum 50,
Aprilia Mojito Retro 125 and the new Honda Pantheon. Plus updates on London's congestion charging, custom scoots, scooter clinic plus all the
latest news etc. etc. Make sure you get your copy, on sale Thursday April 10.
04/04/03 :
Statistically speaking Italjet Dragster.com
has hit an all time high in terms of web traffic, for the month of March the hits work out at a staggering 10,339,706 million which equates to 815,063 unique page impressions.
If there are any companies out there reading this and are interested in advertising on this here website then feel free to contact me.
Still looking for an alarm for your pride and joy? Well, check out Astrodon Alarms who manufacture a high specification
immobiliser with remote engine start-up. It's also £10 squid cheaper at £89.95 than the similar Krypton alarm and still has all the features:
- Remote engine start-up (200 metres)
- Anti-hijacking remote engine cut-out (200 metres)
- Engine immobiliser
- Voice warning system
- Panic button
- 125 db siren
- Remote control shock sensitivity adjustment
- Waterproof unit
- Free technical service available
- Compact design for easier fitting
- 15 million code combinations
Beat the thieves I say...
03/04/03 :
Rumours confirmed, the image below is the first glimpse of a new Dragster, this news from Italjet UK's website:
"It's early days yet, but the facelift Dragster looks every bit the modern performance scooter without losing any of that raw
street scoot looks that is the character of the Dragster. We will keep you informed on the progress of this project which has
a target launch of 2004."
Furthermore, Italjet UK currently have some initial working drawings of the facelifted Dragster with a new engine...
I'm also told that from June 16th the Dragster in its current format will no longer be available.
Italjet UK have secure a supply from Italy that will no doubt get sold very quickly but Piaggio will produce engines
for Italjet up to the June deadline. So if you or any of your friends want to get a new 'original' Dragster then they need to be quick!!!
I suggest you contact Italjet or visit your nearest Italjet dealer.
More Italjet news can be found here on the MCN website.
02/04/03 :
The first round of the all-new X-Race UK Championship took place at Santa Pod on Sunday and the day went
very well indeed, the weather couldn't have been any better for this time of year too. All the
results and a race report can be found at the official X-Race UK website.
If you came to Round 1 at Santa Pod and enjoyed it then join us in Round 2 at York Dragway on April 20th later this
month for some more drag racing. For those of you who missed Round 1 feel free to come to any of the other rounds,
if you've not been drag racing before then why not come along and see what it's all about? York Dragway is located in North Yorkshire,
for details on how to get there check out the York Dragway website.
It's also worth noting that camping is also available at York Dragway on the Saturday night for those who've got a long way to travel.
