Drones Club Driver Bulletin of the Association of Moto-CycleKartistes

No. V~~~~~SORT OF MID- FALL 2001

The

Following last issue's cov-erage of the debut of theMysona-Alfa , this time we'reshowing off the latest new addi-tion to the fleet, the Type-59Bugatti-style CycleKart. The firstCyclekart (the Delage) was littlemore than an experiment, andthe second (the MG Magnette)

was a rush job as a proposal toSkip Barber for an off-track ac-tivity. With the Bug, the sheds atthe Drones Club (the "usine", aswe call them, were a-buzz withtalk of new features (none ofwhich, by the rules, are allowedto boost power, of course. Wehave an abhorrence of Escala-tion at the usine, —in order tomaintain close competition be-tween drivers, and not a spend-ing-race on the cars).

pounds, like all the others. Firstroad tests were sketchy, asMike's expression shows,above, possibly from the factthat the crew at the usine for-got to bolt up the rear axle bear-ings, allowing it to drift back andforth with the sound of a rockcrusher with a real challenge.

—Or maybe it was be-cause the crew forgot that thetires still had twice as muchpressure as we like to run. Soonall was straightened out, andthe car could demonstrate an-other new innovation. For thisone, the crew rigged up thesteering the way it's supposedto be (2 short tie-rods insteadof the full tie rod w/drag-linkwe've been using). The resultis a much better bite in the cor-ners

ners, which made the car feelmore agile, making the crewthink it was a lighter machinethan it turned out to be. This lay-out is a very easy retro-fit forthe existing karts.

Another great improve-ment came in the form of thenew cast aluminum, finned au-tomatic gear box from Comet,which is much stronger,smoother, and far easier to in-stall than the old sheel-metalfabrication.

"Sacre bleu, why cannotthese Kartistes, you know,leave well enough alone?!"

—The ghost of E. Bugatti

The first innovation forthis new generation of Kartesis a body that uses no foam-and-fibreglass steps.This is tocreate at least one model thatothers who don't like bathingup to their elbows in polyesterresin can build, possibly with-out causing a divorce.

The goal with the T-59was to provehow a kartewould look made out of flatwrapped sheet metal that canbe cut from patterns. Othernew wrinkles crept into thedesign as it progressed, asyou would guess (or maybeyou don't care). The crew atthe Usine did its best to cheatby making weight-savingmoves at every chance. But itcame out to be the usual 240

By far the most appreci-ated new upgrade (and easilyretrofitted to the other Kartes) isthe new in-cockpit starting set-up.Before, the Kartiste had toturn on the switch, set the chokeand pull of the starter from out-side the car. Then, to get it toidle, somehow reach the throttleinside to give it a blip beforeshutting off the choke outside,—meanwhile hoping that he (or,of course, she) (and in somecases, it) hasn't blipped it toohard so the transmission en-gages, sending the whole dis-play, except the driver, off downthe road, or into the roses,whichever is more embarrass-ing . But now a new, less

Historic Precedent: the Type 43built by Le Maitre's crew for hisdaughter (and later played withby club member, Shannon S.)

embarrassing age has dawnedfor Kartistes. Now you simplyslide down into the seat, pull-ing on your gloves, adjustinggoggles, and generally lookingcool in the silent, eager ma-chine. Then, with a quick ca-sual smile to the watching fash-ion models, you flip on theswitch with a little arrogant topspin, pull out the choke withcareless charm, and reach for-ward under the exhaust pipe topull the starter from inside thecar. Because your foot is al-ready on the gas, and thedash-mounted choke fallsreadily to hand, it's much easierto get the engine running withone pull. Very, how shall we say, con-

tinental? If you pretend the shotin the upper left isn't poorly lit,you can just see the lanyardhandle under the exhaust pipe.

Above, we see the alu-minum panels for the hood andboat-tail, ready for mounting tothe plywood torque-box.Below left, the body is tapedand ready to paint, about amonth after construction began.

The project was fun,even to the jaded and some-times sardonic crew at theusine.They'd forgotten how fast thekart parts go together (espe-cially with the new transmissionwhich installed the drive-trainfirst-try), and how light and easythe pieces are to deal with.

Next project is WhitneyStraight''s three-litre Maserati,later run to much success byPrince Bira and now PeterGiddings, and now captured instunning insulation foam andsurfboard resin, by the crew atthe usine.

Here, we see the realthing, of course, complete withhorse shoe stuck onto the wirescreen radiator protector. (leMaitre was inordinately found ofriding and had a saddlery at theactual usine).

And here, below, we seethe dwarfish fake (the car, notany of the crew) complete withwire screen radiator protector,but NO horse shoe. If any one(within easy Cyclekarting dis

tance)(If there is such a thing)just happens to have an old,scaled down horse shoe, (sayfrom a pony named "Percy")(one he's through with, ofcourse) the crew at the usinewill award the donee three freelaps in the new Type-59 Bugattikarte. Maybe four.

...Meanwhile the crew does more tracktests (with the right tire pressure)

In another stunning move, long-time Cyclekart driver andshwashbuckler with top Atti-tude-Clearance, Dave Larkinhas ordered wheel and axle fora new Karte to be based inSouthern California at a NewCyclekart track underway in

San Diego County. DaveLarkin, owner of Larkinland Ex-travaganza Acres, has alreadyrun kartes around his lake andhas countless challenging topo-graphical features to build hisnew track around. Northern CAclub members are already plan-ning an invasion of the "SouthTrack". Since there are now fourkartes in the northern chapter,and four Ford Explorers also inthe N.C., and since a Karte fitsnicely into an Explorer, a south-ern invasion may be looming.