Bike engines....why no more?
Discussion
After all the hype a year or 2 ago, bike engines in cars seem to be losing favour......well they are in Caterhams. Why did Caterham stop building the Blackbird? Why is it left to the specialist companies to stick Fireblade / Hyabusa engines into the 7?
I notice that Caterham STILL have that second hand Blackbird for sale for 20 grand. They seem to be having trouble selling it.
I notice that Caterham STILL have that second hand Blackbird for sale for 20 grand. They seem to be having trouble selling it.
I can't see why a torque-rich (relatively speaking) Hyabusa unit would be a problem on the road in a car that weighs the square root of 
all. Surely if the clutch weighting was done properly, then you are home.
I just think the 10,000+ rev limits and sequential changes are in theory irresistable. In Circuit Driver, April 2003, they tested 2 Hyabusa powered Caterhams. One had 200 BHP, the other 215 BHP. They were built by Blackbird Motorsport and the price of a new one was £27,500. I'd rather have one of those than a (really quite expensive) R500.
all. Surely if the clutch weighting was done properly, then you are home. I just think the 10,000+ rev limits and sequential changes are in theory irresistable. In Circuit Driver, April 2003, they tested 2 Hyabusa powered Caterhams. One had 200 BHP, the other 215 BHP. They were built by Blackbird Motorsport and the price of a new one was £27,500. I'd rather have one of those than a (really quite expensive) R500.
Many people are finding that bike engine cars are a pain on the road and so they may have lost favour a little?
Who are these people? I've had a Caterham Blackbird for nearly 6 months and, compared to the R300 I drove a while ago, is a much better proposition for road use. The car and engine are so light that the resulting soft suspension makes it a dream on a bumpy country road compared to the much heavier K-series engined cars. The clutch does take some getting used to but, like many things, once you're used to it it's a doddle.
I suspect the people reporting that BECs are a pain on the road are those who have driven them for 5 minutes and formed an opinion based on only that.
I can't see why a torque-rich (relatively speaking) Hyabusa unit would be a problem on the road in a car that weighs the square root
The whole thing about BECs not having enough torque is a myth. Even the lower-powered bike engined cars (e.g. Fireblade) produce as much (if not more) torque than a similarly-powered car engined car? Why? Because they rev. to over 10,000rpm, have ultra-short gearing hence bags of torque at the driven wheels. a Caterham Blackird has only slightly less torque at the rear wheels than an R500.
Ian.
Who are these people? I've had a Caterham Blackbird for nearly 6 months and, compared to the R300 I drove a while ago, is a much better proposition for road use. The car and engine are so light that the resulting soft suspension makes it a dream on a bumpy country road compared to the much heavier K-series engined cars. The clutch does take some getting used to but, like many things, once you're used to it it's a doddle.
I suspect the people reporting that BECs are a pain on the road are those who have driven them for 5 minutes and formed an opinion based on only that.
I can't see why a torque-rich (relatively speaking) Hyabusa unit would be a problem on the road in a car that weighs the square root
The whole thing about BECs not having enough torque is a myth. Even the lower-powered bike engined cars (e.g. Fireblade) produce as much (if not more) torque than a similarly-powered car engined car? Why? Because they rev. to over 10,000rpm, have ultra-short gearing hence bags of torque at the driven wheels. a Caterham Blackird has only slightly less torque at the rear wheels than an R500.
Ian.
notice that Caterham STILL have that second hand Blackbird for sale for 20 grand. They seem to be having trouble selling it
Oh, and before I forget, I had a test drive in this car before buying the Yellow Blackbird from Caterham. It was somewhat loud but the engine was clearly in very good shape.
The one thing that put me off at the time was the original bike instruments on the dash, which looked awful. I understand that Caterham have since fitted an R500-style Stack dash to the car so definitely worth another look. Possibly a tad overpriced at £20k but very low mileage ISTR.
Ian.
Oh, and before I forget, I had a test drive in this car before buying the Yellow Blackbird from Caterham. It was somewhat loud but the engine was clearly in very good shape.
The one thing that put me off at the time was the original bike instruments on the dash, which looked awful. I understand that Caterham have since fitted an R500-style Stack dash to the car so definitely worth another look. Possibly a tad overpriced at £20k but very low mileage ISTR.
Ian.
i've got a blackbird. it's ace.
but i could never understand how anyone who owns a caterham of any description could complain about a bike engined car being a that much more of a pain in the arse on the road... once you've decided to buy a caterham, discomfort is only a matter of degree!
but i could never understand how anyone who owns a caterham of any description could complain about a bike engined car being a that much more of a pain in the arse on the road... once you've decided to buy a caterham, discomfort is only a matter of degree!
Caterham stopped producing the Blackbird 'cos it was expesive to produce, they didn't sell many and I believe had a barney with Doug Newman...but I could be wrong on the latter....IMHO the 'bird engined cars are that bit better, mate has a 'blade engined one and I don't think it's as fast as my SLR was, but it makes a stonking sound
johnny senna said:
I can't see why a torque-rich (relatively speaking) Hyabusa unit would be a problem on the road in a car that weighs the square root of
Having sat and watched someone try to manouver a bike engined 7 out of a parking space in Budgens (Roar, clunk, stall! Roar, clunk, stall! Roar, clunk, stall! Roar, clunk, stall!), I can see why people get pissed off with them.
Having sat and watched someone try to manouver a bike engined 7 out of a parking space in Budgens (Roar, clunk, stall! Roar, clunk, stall! Roar, clunk, stall! Roar, clunk, stall!), I can see why people get pissed off with them.
Said person clearly hasn't got the hang of driving it yet. Mine tootles quite happily around towm without a single stall or expletive from me. This is completely different to my first two days of ownership.
Ian.
Said person clearly hasn't got the hang of driving it yet. Mine tootles quite happily around towm without a single stall or expletive from me. This is completely different to my first two days of ownership.
Ian.
Dear all,
I am thinking about buying a blackbird, but I wonder about the reliability of the car. I have been told by a guy with a hayabusa powered catheram that he has a lot of problems specially with the gearbox.
As I leave in Swizerland and I can not go to UK very often with the caterham, I wonder if a blackbird is a good choice.
Any advice is welcome!
Thanks
I am thinking about buying a blackbird, but I wonder about the reliability of the car. I have been told by a guy with a hayabusa powered catheram that he has a lot of problems specially with the gearbox.
As I leave in Swizerland and I can not go to UK very often with the caterham, I wonder if a blackbird is a good choice.
Any advice is welcome!
Thanks
Swisscat, go to www.blatchat.com and pose the same question in the "Techtalk" section. A lot of Blackbird owners frequent that forum. IIRC the engine is deemed to be very reliable, the reversing mechanism changed from geared to electric (or was it the other way round?). I'd buy one over a Fireblade engined one because of the extra torque, but beleive me, a 'blade engined car is pretty awesome too
Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff