[MrFlippant]

What makes an avid slot racer shake in his boots at the thought of having to race? A Scalextric Moto GP bike. They are easily the most difficult "cars" to keep in the slot. What could possibly make them worse? CHIP them for SSD!

This race is pure evil. Although it's an IROC race, everyone was given some practice time with a bike to get the feel for them. I found the best way for these to run smoothly was to cut the power WAY down (50% of a fixed 13.8v PSU using PB-Pro), AND turn OFF brakes. The F1 type motors in the bikes have a ton of torque, and will not only launch at high speed with the slightest twiddle of the trigger, but also stop on a dime. The result of the power reduction and brake disabling was actually a much smoother, more manageable beast to drive. Now that we have them so that you can make a lap without coming off or getting stuck, at least if you drive carefully, we put four of them on a two lane digital track! EVILLLLLL!!!!!

This video is unedited, full length, and then some. It will probably be really boring unless you want to pretend you were there and have a lot of time to waste. ;-) Enjoy!

 

[MrFlippant]

Hehe, yeah, that was me. ;-)
The biggest problem with marshaling the bikes was when someone would knock their rider off. It's only too bad I didn't put blue-tack on their butts BEFORE the race, rather than after.

 

[MrFlippant]

Yeah, they're the Scalextric "stiff as a board" type. I had wanted one (just one, really) for a while, but then my LHS put them on sale at $10 each. Well, I walked out with 4 of them, of course! Chipping them was a tough choice, knowing how quirky they are to drive, but I'm a sucker for quirky and challenging, so I did it. Fortunately, someone already figured out how to chip them, and I followed their guide almost precisely. I think I'll bring them to a friend's house this Wednesday and see how they run on his 4 lane analog routed MDF track.

 

[MrFlippant]

Good! I hope that the video is more ENcouraging than DIScouraging.

Anyone who watches more than one heat will see several times when all 4 racers make it through multiple laps without crashing. It's especially fun when a couple are very close together or passing.

My son likes them even better with the magnet removed. It pops off easily. With low power, no magnet, and no brakes, they take longer to gain speed and slow down, plus they kind of tail out in the turns. They are even harder to keep in the slot without that downforce, though.

They're not everyone's cup of tea, though. You can quite clearly hear one of the guys suggest an IROC rule that bans Moto GP bikes. ;-)

 

[MrFlippant]

Hehe, it seems to help. the hard part was getting it on there. Some guys don't like it when you try to put stuff on their butts. I told them it was to help with their driving, but they didn't believe me! They kept jumping out of the way! The NERVE!

 

[MrFlippant]

Yes, that's where the computer screen is that people turn to look at and use the mouse and such on it.

Glad you enjoyed the races.

I admit, sometimes I'll rewatch videos like that just to bring back the memories of how it felt.

There's another one where I had a group of analog guys over, and it's well over an hour long. Lots of great racing in that one. It's the "PSSRA at Rainier Raceways" video in my YT videos.

 

[MrFlippant]

Sweet! I'm curious as to how well they work. As you can see, with the right driving, you can get a Scalextric one moving quite nicely. I've never seen an SCX one being driven in real life, and ads are always hard to believe.

 

[MrFlippant]

Plus, if you chip them and run them on a digital track, I doubt the fancy leaning system will still work. There's clearly some magic at work in those adapters and controllers. Magic that is unlikely to work through the digital system.

 

[MrFlippant]

certainly could be. I'd love to know more about how they work.

 

[MrFlippant]

Definitely some kind of digital chip in their controller and bike. It had to be, but the switch on the controller gives it away for sure. Something has to have intelligent control of the servo controlling the lean, as well as the speed of the motor. This is why it will be impossible to chip and retain the leaning function, at least with currently available parts. Someone like MIH might be able to make a controller and chip that can do it all, but I just don't see much demand for it. ;-)