Sounds real nice in theory and on paper, but in the real world they lose a
lot of luster in a hurry. A Westfield 7 showed up at one of our MG club
autocrosses a couple years back with the 135hp Hayabusa in it. The owner had
fits trying to launch it and it was very amusing watching the club hotshoe
in it when he had managed to talk his way into the driver's seat.
There are two problems with the concept. First, HP is fine, but bike engines
tend to have little or no torque until they get the revs pretty far up.
Second, this is exacebated by the lack of a flywheel. The transition from
sitting still to in motion is difficult, to say the least. A blast on the
track, but I can't imagine trying to commute in one ;-))) Even a Mini or a
Spridget is a lot heavier than the bike the Hayabusa was designed for and
therefore requires significantly more torque lower in the rpm range than the
engine produces.
A very fun toy in the right sandbox, but much harder to justify than a
Spridget. It is nice that there is something that makes the Spridget look
practical....
David Lieb
1972 RWA Midget
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