NZ street racing from '83

[Guest]

Check out these hard men!, good tyres, good brakes, stiff frames and safety run offs are for woosies......

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9ixrj_wanganui-road-race-1983_auto

I hope to be there for the 2010 event on boxing day

[Big T]

The link is not working

[KiwiGS]

It works from my computer, but I have repasted the link any way.....

[kochic]

thank you,
marc

[GregT]

I'm advised that this year's Wanganui street races are being broadcast live on the net.
www.speedbox.tv should find it.

6 cameras all day action boxing day. $15 I'm told...

NZ time remember - night 25th/early morning of 26th for the US

[posplayr]

great old time road race video

[Big T]

Very cool, but scary track

I'd sure like to see some pictures of Hiscock's bike

Carbon fiber frame?

[GregT]

One of the Kiwi's will have to have a rummage for some pics...

Steve Roberts built an aluminium monocoque originally which they raced for a season before making a fiberglass version of the frame. No Carbon fibre - remember this was early 80's - but the very recent availability of Kevlar made it feasible.

Both versions used a full house Yosh GS1000 supplied through Colemans Suzuki who had very good factory contacts. Pat Hennen's RG500 came via Colemans a few years later.

[KiwiGS]

Here are few pics of the 'Plastic fantastic' carbon fibre bike, and it's builder






and a little history I 'borrowed' from another site....

Sponsored by Wanganui-based Coleman Suzuki, in 1982 Hiscock finished third in the World TT-F1 and British TT-F1 championships on a Steve Roberts produced aluminium monocoque GS1000 racer. He regularly beat the worlds best four-stroke F1 riders and their factory-backed race bikes, on a machine designed and built in Wanganui.



The following year Hiscock took the new ‘Plastic Fantastic’ to Europe and placed eighth at the tortuous Isle of Man during it’s first race. In the Classic TT he was in fourth position when a piston broke. However, at his second meeting he suffered a high speed crash in Holland, ending his 1983 Northern Hemisphere season.


Hiscock recovered to defend his Australian Swann Series title later that year but could only manage seventh overall on a developing bike suffering suspension problems from the Assen crash.


The ‘Plastic Fantastic’s first race in NZ was on Boxing Day at Wanganui, 1983. With a new rear shock he won two legs of the Bryan Scobie Memorial trophy, the first win in the world for a kevlar-carbon fibre framed motorcycle, setting a new lap record.


Now living in Australia, Hiscock scored a hat-trick of wins at Gracefield a few days later to win the 1983 Pan Am Countrywide International Series.


Due to anti-apartheid laws Hiscock caused controversy in 1983 when he was placed on the United Nations blacklist of sportspeople who competed in South Africa.


The kevlar-carbon fibre monocoque chassis was built in Wanganui by Steve Roberts for Hiscock to compete in the World F1-TT championship. Roberts co-won the televised 1983 UDC Inventors Award ahead of 198 designs, for building the world’s first kevlar-carbon fibre racing motorcycle. In 1984, TVNZ produced a documentary about the machine.


The ‘Plastic Fantastic’ went on to enjoy considerable success in 1984 and ’85 at the hands of the late Robert Holden, after Hiscock had returned to live and race in South Africa.

[GregT]

There's been a lot written about that bike, some of it even correct....

I could well be wrong but I'm pretty sure there's no carbon fiber in there.

I know it was a wet layup with no bagging or pressure curing - while I was involved with the Britten there was a certain amount of talk about how Steve did it....and remember the dates, there was very little carbon fiber being used worldwide then let alone in NZ.

Steve's inspiration was the Lotus Elite which was purely glass fiber with bonded in alloy pickup points....which were known to tear out.
When Kevlar became available it was feasible to engineer load paths into a composite structure.

BTW there was at least one more taken off the mould - and Steve's probably still got the mould....

[posplayr]

There's been a lot written about that bike, some of it even correct....

I could well be wrong but I'm pretty sure there's no carbon fiber in there.

I know it was a wet layup with no bagging or pressure curing - while I was involved with the Britten there was a certain amount of talk about how Steve did it....and remember the dates, there was very little carbon fiber being used worldwide then let alone in NZ.

Steve's inspiration was the Lotus Elite which was purely glass fiber with bonded in alloy pickup points....which were known to tear out.
When Kevlar became available it was feasible to engineer load paths into a composite structure.

BTW there was at least one more taken off the mould - and Steve's probably still got the mould....

I remember having a commercially produced two peice carbon fiber/fiberglass mix windsurfing mast back in 82-83. It was around in sailing; I have no idea what was being used in motorsports.

BTW, There is a guy named George Greenough who splits his time (amoung other places) in Santa Barbara and Australia. He has been making sophisticated carbon fiber boards, mast and booms in his garage for many years. I have sailed with him and had him explain how he made his stuff and he is very accomplished DIYer.

Carbon fiber masts are pretty tricky because they are about 14 foot long, 3 1/2" (ish) OD tapered down to 1 1/2" tapered and optimize strength to weight in a flexible unit. Very exotic at the time (82-83 when I first saw them at the beach ). It looks like George started molding boogie boards with back in 1974 and other stuf as fasr back as the 60's. George has a lot of resources at his disposal; I thing his family is very well to do (Singer sewing machine fortune IIRC).

http://flexspoon.com/flexspoon-development/my-three-carbon-sisters