[Da Vols]

I'd be interested in reading the on-going review on more serious slot track venues. I have the Ducati and one thing I will say is that they are damn fast...in a straight line. A roughly 3 foot straight doesn't even begin to show it's speed...my track has an 8 foot straightaway and it still has more top end on hand.

However, making it turn left and right "out of the box" is not going to make folks happy...especially those brand new to slot racing - sorry, being a motorcycle rather than a car is no excuse for it's ill-handling - and the statements of adapting one's driving skills to it and/or just doing some tuning - a new person will know how to do neither and will not be very happy after spending around $250.00.

I have found that it's more at home on my banked (2/30) Carrera oval (7 foot straights) - but still requires the added weight on the runners to exit the turns. I've given up trying to get it to run on my Classic road course...even with an added magnet and weight it's not my cup of coffee (hey, I'm a Yank!). For those that have access to a drag strip, this may be it's real "home" as I said it really flies...just add some wheelie bars...

One final point, I really believe Scalextric needs to redo it's "box art" on the sets as it is very much "misleading" - the bikes DO NOT LEAN as depicted. Once again, think of someone brand new to slot racing, but very much into motorcycle racing...sees the race sets in their hobby shop with the artistic rendering of modern day racers in motion leaning thru the curves...opens the box and sees a pair of bikes that are excellent in detail...then puts in on the track and quickly finds out that after going around the first turn (if it gets around the first turn) that it does not lean!!! Yes, the "box art" is very misrepresentative of what they actually are capable of...indeed.

Scalextric has another 8 bikes they are planning to release in the future...I hope they read all the reviews/forums on their latest offering and hopefully make some changes for them...a stronger and lower magnet and also a redesign of the runners (weighted) would be a great start, especially if they could be retro-fitted to the existing models.

Scalextric has and will continue to offer great slot cars...perhaps too "over-magnatized" for some, but that's easily "fixed"...in my opinion, they offered these bikes a wee bit too soon...should've waited until this new baby was walking rather than still crawling.

 

[Da Vols]

QUOTE In fairness are the bikes ment to be going around banked curves as supplied in the sets?

Actually, since Scalextric doesn't give a description of the track in the sets, I have no idea if the "banked turns" are even included...perhaps someone with more knowledge can answer that. Also, since the Scalextric banking is only 10 degrees - that might not make them handle better compared to the much steeper Carrera's.

An aside, running on the Carrera banking does give them the "appearance of "leaning" thru the curve. Maybe Scalextric should re-think these bikes and come out with some "vintage" motorcycles from the 20's & 30's that used to race those high-banked "board" tracks back then!

 

[Da Vols]

QUOTE No surprise since that's the track (Sport) they were designed for.

Actually I think they were "designed" for routed tracks...

Very unusual for Scalextric, but the stock magnet has little or no "downforce" - so the "plastic" track its raced on has little effect in that category. I can understand purists pulling out the "ruler" to see if a car...bike...is truly in "scale" proportions...but to measure slot width and inner liners is very telling of the poor stock performance of these bikes. I agree that Scalextric should have offset the guide so that the tires didn't run in the "slot"...though I'm sure that would have lead to raging controversy too, but the bike probably would handle better if they had. Also, since the tire is of a "soft" compound, every section of track is going to slowly eat away/groove these tires as it passes over the rail connections...again, no matter what "plastic"...though I'd say Classic will be on the low end for "mileage" as their connections are far from "smooth".

That's why I think routed tracks may be their ideal setting since "weight" on the runners rather than magnets make them much more controllable, coupled with the seamlessness of a copper taped routed track.

Though it's nice to know that they will include the banked turns with the sets - I just don't think 10 degrees will make much difference. My Carrera 2/30 banking is much steeper and though the bike "likes" going into that kind of turn way better than a flat curve, it still deslots on exit in stock condition. Adding the weight on the runners does resolve that problem...but unlike my slot cars, the bike requires braking before entering the turn - the cars can go flat out into them with just a "blip" to set them up for the exit of the corner.

Now, that's not really a bad thing as a banked Carrera oval with slot cars is a bit boring from the driving skills side...racing the bike does make you pay attention more. Though my lap timer is on the fritz for the moment, my cars can turn 1.5 seconds on the 30 foot oval easily in the inner lane - I'd estimate the bike is a good .5 seconds slower...and that's a lot on such a fast track.

Still, no matter what any of us may come up with as the perfect fix for these bikes in the end...the bottom line is WHY did Scalextric with its reputation of making excellent RTR's release these bikes with such ill-handling to the public? Unless their testing facilities are far from the real world, they had to KNOW this? Did they think that it would be acceptable to make them ultra-fast down the straightaways, but have to "walk on eggs" through the corners...again, in stock condition?

Put bluntly - ALL of us, from seasoned experts to those brand new to slot racing have no problem going flat out on a straightaway...it's the handling of the curves that we are always "searching" for that ideal control/set up - that these bikes are "testing" our abilities to the "nth degree" just to get "acceptable" handling...well, I need not say more.

 

[Da Vols]

Okay, I'll agree about the lack of tire mileage on a routed track too...however, the lack of plastic track joints and the smoothness of a routed track should make it more favorable for the bikes. These slot bikes "accent" every nuance of a plastic track compared to a slot car making for a very "nervous" looking machine as it traverses the circuit.

And from a "tuning" standpoint - other than a complete redesign, adding weight/magnets seems to be the only thing one can do...at the moment one can't change tires or wheels, or change the gear ratio, or change the motor, or change the guide (though modifying it for "depth" might help), can't lower the "body" for better COG, etc., basically outside of weights and/or magnets all our known "tuning" tips are pretty much useless for the Moto GP's.

To me, I think the only "salvation" for the bikes is that Scalextric reads all the feedback on all the forums/reviews and goes back to the drawing boards and comes up with a (hopefully "retrofit") solution...Revell-Monogram "listened" and the new LE Daytona Cobra NOW has 3:1 gearing!!!

 

[Da Vols]

Seth - I must admit that that is the smoothest running "bike" I've seen - compared to the SCI Forum videos.

However, I must ask, what is yor fastest lap time for a slot car in comparison to the bike???

 

[Da Vols]

Thank you Seth for that info - if I could get my Ducati to be that smooth on my Classic track it'd be a keeper, however, it's way too jittery for my taste.

Wonder how these Scalextric bikes ran???

 

[Da Vols]

Seth - Don't know if it is proper etiquette to mention that "USA auction site" so I won't post the link, but if you happen to be there, just search for "motorbikes" under "slot cars" and it should pop up (at least for next 12 hrs or so). Not much of a description on them though...not even scale???

By the way, is your bike "box stock" - hard to tell from the video.