TOMOS riders enlist

[notsofast]

I figure since I am new to this moped thing, and I know I want to race, but don't really know squat about it, I should try meet other TOMOS owner/riders.

pics? racing mod tips? things to do to get an LX ready for the track?

I know I need to do some exhaust work or get a new biturbo all together. I am stripping it down and worry I am going to end up with something non street legal. I want to reshape the rear fender. Do alternative bolt on's exist?

Brakes, should I replace either or both my brakes to disc?

I also know I will want to replace my rear shocks to better motorcycle shocks. Any suggestions?

Anyone in Portland?

Thanks
Jeremie

[notsofast]

got you with the enlist thing didn't I? I was flying a kite when I wrote it.

gotta be one more tomos person.

[j2]

Patrick owns Ptown, and Jesse is the moped mechanic there, and they are the tomos dealer. I am sure between the two of them they can make your bike faster. Stop in there one day. I have never owned a tomos, but I have a few mopeds. better shocks cant hurt.
I can tell you that just adding a biturbo wont really do much for true performance. You will want to spend a little more and get a true expansion chamber, maybe a technigas or something better even.
www.treatland.tv/tomos-tecno-estoril-performance-pipe-a35-p/tomos-tecno-estoril-pipe.htm

www.treatland.tv/moped-black-adjustable-shocks-280mm-p/shocks-280mm-black-tomos-sachs.htm

If you decide to be serious about racing you should talk to the guys at ptown and come up with the whole engine tuning package, cylinder kit, exhaust, carb, intake and reeds, clutch etc. make sure you get everything you need and it all works together.

[jstephenson]

Here is the stuff you would be looking for if you wanted to race a tomos:

The suspension on a LX is actually pretty good already but if you want to swap over to the full disk brakes from a Streetmate then your looking at around $350 or so for the forks, wheel, master cylinder, and caliper. This is a bolt on mod and is a great addition for race purposes. I wouldn't worry about rear disk. In all reality it might be too much brake for the bike and end up being more of a hazard than a help.

The clutches in an A55 have weak padding on them and will disintegrate quickly on the track. They do it all the time on the street with a kit of any quality. The way around this is to have new pad material installed on them. Talk to Patrick at P-town. We have done this and it works great.

Second thing is the actual shifting of the transmission. When you start to change the powerband and output of the cylinder you will need to change when each clutch engages. This is tricky but can be done with simple tools and some patience. This part of the tuning will need to be done in steps to get the setup right. Again this accelerates the pad wear and would require you to change the surfaces.

The only native A55 kit is the Airsal 70cc. It is not a powerful kit by any kit standard and would not be close to competitive on the track. Luckily Puch cylinder fit on with almost no modification to the engine whatsoever. This allows you to run a lot of different high output cylinders on your bike. The problem with this is making a new intake and changing the flange on the exhaust pipe. All can be done pretty simply with a welder, hacksaw, and some time.

The best kit you can get without having to do serious case modification would most likely be the Polini 64cc puch kit. Again, anything will need a lot of work to make fit correctly and this one works best with the 4 pedal reeds on it, which may not even fit in between the frame. You could also go for the older Airsal A35 kit since it has reeds and is easier to fit.

If you want to go all out you can build a Gilardoni 75cc kit. This kits fits really well but requires the cases to be bored out to fit the cylinder skirt. We have one of these at Ptown and it works pretty well overall.

A biturbo is not much of a pipe in all honesty but again, there are not a lot of native options for a A55 right now. Motomatic will make you a custom high end pipe for your bike at around $300. Just tell them what cylinder, frame, and that you are racing, then they build one to fit your bike.

Tomos could be a good fast bike on the track, but like any other bike, it will take some money and an idea of what can be done with what you have.

[jstephenson]

Full racing spec unlimited build

Puch Gilardoni 74cc w/ head $210
Vforce3 reeds $130
Parmakit 24mm intake $37
Mikuni TM24 flatslide carb $109
Jets, needles, idles, for TM24 $40
Motomatic Destroyer pipe $300
HPI A55 internal rotor CDI $180
Clutch relining for both $80
Sprockets front and rear $50
EBR front forks and disk brake $430

Total $1566

None of this is with shipping mind you. And as the season wears on you will be spending more on broken parts, chains, tires, whatnotery. And whatever you need to make the bike look and ride the way you want. Plus the safety stuff. And whatever machining would cost to get that kit to fit.

There was a couple of guys running this setup at the Polini Cup last year. Don't remember how they did though.

[notsofast]

Thanks guys for all the info and suggestions.

Jesse, you may remember the silver Tomos LX (consignment bike) that Ptown was selling this past summer. Well that's the one that I have now.

I'll be making some more mods to my tomos over the next year for sure. Definetly want to be faster on the track. I like the Biturbo that's on the bike now. However the tip is coming loose. Patrick suggested I pop rivet the shit out of it. As far as switching out my front fork to a streetmate goes so that I can get a disc brake up there do you think its even worth it? Ever since I started riding a Mt. Bike with disc brakes its hard to feel comfortable with anything else and that goes for the moped as well.

Patrick was briefly telling some of the things that I would "have" to do in order to even get my bike track legal. Is there a list of all the things I need to do somewhere? Like he was saying I need to put some caps on my front fork bolts. Not sure what he was talking about. Anyways if an official or not so official list exists please point me in the right direction.

general question. Do people know that you can get a careless driving ticket while on a moped for standing up? I did it yesterday so that I could see and bee seen better by traffic that I was merging into on Belmont. Fucking Cop!!! First he tried to tell me that I was speeding. I laughed and said " it's a moped not a motorcycle, it only goes 35mph ( even if it does go 45). Guy was a total asshole.

my rant

[jstephenson]

For bike inspection stuff you would get off pretty light. You have to remove or tape up your headlight, taillight, remove turn signals, safety wire drain and fill, ideally install ca catch can on the carb, but unless you change carbs there are no overflow nozzles on the PHVA, remove mirrors, kickstand, make sure the brakes and throttle work properly. I think that would cover most of it.

[nerdspeed]

For coming out for your first race, I would probably spend your money on race gear, re-lining those clutch pads and some sprockets. During the Ohio moped races, we got the best guy at the track to try moped racing with a loaner tomos that was stock except for some MC11's & a biturbo. He finished 2nd in that heat, beating a Simonini Grande, a 70mph Derbi, a 90cc Minarelli, a Gilardoni Puch(me). The point is, the slowest part of any bike is the guy sitting on it & you can do A Lot with talent.

[notsofast]

I'm working on the talent. I ride about 40 miles every dry day we get and increasingly wet ones. I love cold morning's into downtown over the Burnside bridge and up Barbur out towards Washington Square. I'm hoping my cycling and snowboarding skills will come in handy.

I am curious to see how my bike (with a quick tune up) will do against what's out there right now. If I am not mistaken PSRA is in it's second year. How many moped racers do we have exactly at this point? I am thinking that it might be best to just make sure what I've got is working and get out there and let it hang out. If something breaks or just doesn't work right then I'll start making the big changes.

From youtube I found this guy www.LanceCampeau.com (paddyfitz I was telling you about him and said I would pass his name on, he does how to videos on Tomos)
He made me think that based on what's out there my Biturbo is the best for me. Body weight, riding style, faster overall but slower off the line. Somewhat "disposable". However I have never been on a big go kart track, especially with a moped. Not sure that I don't want something like a Techigas. Of course I will get a custom exhaust once I can afford it. Right now I need to focus on a race suit.

Any advice on where to look for a race suit? I prefer buying one that I can try on before buying. Anyone got a suggestion on a local shop? Ptown should start carrying a couple race suits. I like that idea. Get rid of some of the Corazzo jackets and put in a rack of suits.

Bummer about PRI. I wonder how much the bicycle guys pay when they use the track. It's been about 5 years since I have gone up there but I think they still race.

So what I want to know now is who is working on finding us a good local Portland track? Seriously is there nothing? Shit lets just go make left turns on a high school track. Last one to fall off wins. I think Franklin is about to get shut down! What about Larurelhurst park?

All right that's enough out of me. I got enough 2 stroke fever.
Jeremie

[paddyfitz]

Jeremie!
Your head is in the right place. ;DIt's true - riding ability will level a lot of the playing field.
As far as gear, Drat is on this board as well - and he has a ton of knowledge about gear and access to some stuff that may be about your size. You might shoot him a message and find out what all he's still got.
I have also seen some stuff on CL & eBay. Knowing your size and paying attention to brand/quality will work in your favor. Knee pucks & double stitched seams are going to be your friend. You might shoot Drat a message just for the advice in looking for stuff.
Keep the fever.

[j2]

I have been buying cheap race suits off ebay to supply potential riders. I currently have three, if you want to come over and try on on to get an idea of what size fits you then give me a call. You can google size charts for different brands. a 42 dianese fits differently than a 42 agv, so trying them on is best. post up your height, weight and waist size and I can give you some general advice.
J.J. [phone]

[notsofast]

J2

I am 5'10", about 150lbs., waist is 32-33.

How much are you selling your suits for? I just got a $513 ticket on my moped last week. That's gonna set me back for a minute.


Jeremie

[j2]

That is a huge ticket, what the heck were you up to? If you go into court they gotta reduce it, that is crazy. I got a ticket for speed racing on my vespa, luckily they knocked that one down. 78 in a 45 . oops. I find racing has given an outlet to my need for speed. Patrick and I were talking about how it has helped out our street riding manners.
Anyhow, you might do well to pick up the Dianese one piece suit I wore last year. I am 6 foot 170 and it was just a tad snug on me, probably fit you perfect. It is a super high quality suit and is in good shape. and sexy.

[notsofast]

Oh I love sexy! My wife might be more ok with it too if it's really sexy. How about I come check it out this Friday anytime? Won't be able to pick it up right away if it does fit though, with that fat ticket and all.
This might seem like a stupid question but hey I have never worn a suit before. Are you suppose to wear something under the suit other then your jungle tamers? Like a fire suit or something? My dad races stock cars in Cali and has to wear a full pajama looking thing for fire protection.

The ticket is better explained in person. I'll say this though. It didn't help me telling the cop that his attitude is one of those reasons people hate cops. But in all fairness to me he was a bit of a prick! I know ooops my bad.

Hmm let's see now I know you gave me your number in another post. I'll find it somewhere....

thanks
Jeremie

[notsofast]

J2

FYI
I found your number! Would Friday work? Also my number is 503-351-5658

Jeremie