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Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike By Steve Bagshaw
About Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Project 2012-07-18 04:00:39 +1200
Follow us at our moto-3-project blog.We are going to try and find the next World Champion young Kiwi motorcycle racer, but we need a bit of help to get them on their way. The World Championships have unfortunately all gone to the dark side and are now using 4-stroke motorcycles (Moto 3). For our young rider development and racing programmes we are now a little behind the ball by still using 2-stroke 125cc GP bikes. But the 2-stroke bikes will be out of date in the next few years. So we need to change to remain relevant and to go give our young riders the right skills on Moto 3 type motorcycles.
We can't afford to buy a factory Moto3 motorcycle, they cost either $35k or $70k!!! So we will do it the Kiwi way and design and build our own Moto 3-type bike, called a GPMono, for us and for the world, the Innovative Moto Developments, IMD250.
We have some funding we need, but quite not enough to develop all of the components. So we are looking for extra support of $5500 so that we can purchase a second engine and have performance modifications done to it. Help us develop a local GPMono race-bike industry and allow us to start to build a path for young Kiwi riders onto the world stage and a bike that might just take on the world. We are hoping that all you motorsports and motorcycling fans out there will want to help us on our way.
We have assembled a team of expert New Zealanders to build and develop all the major components including: the frame, performance engine modifications, suspension, exhaust and ignition systems; and to assemble a good GPMono motorcycle, track test it and go racing with a leading young rider, hopefully two. We know that some of our technologies will be equal to or even superior to those being used even in the world championships. We are confident that our GPMono motorcycle will be competitive in the global national championship market. Currently there is only one competitor in this market segment and we are confident that our motorcycle will be superior to their bike and that we will be able to establish a small manufacturing industry supplying the global market.
Without your help it is less likely that we would be able do the things we need to do. We look forward to seeing you all at the race track or at our garage where you can come and check on progress and have a cuppa or a beer and shoot the breeze.
Comments
The People Behind Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Steve Bagshaw
Project admin
Dr Stephen Bagshaw BSc, MSc, PhD, PostGradDipBusAdmin.Steve is a career research scientist in Nanomaterials chemistry, a science educator and small business owner/operator.
Steve is proud to be of Maori descent from Te Arawa, affiliating with Ngati Terawhai, Ngati Rangiwewehi and Ngati Pikiao. He grew up in Kaikohe in the Far North attending Kaikohe West School and Northland College and Auckland University. He took his PhD degree in Materials Chemistry and had Post-doc stints in Michigan, USA and Montpellier, France. He has worked around the world in Australia, USA, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Singapore and UK.
Steve has been riding motorcycles since 1985 and racing motorcycles off and on since 1988. He has competed at national level in 250cc Production (10th) 1990; 125 Grand Prix (6th 2000/01, 7th 2001/02) and 250 Grand Prix (3rd 2002/03 250GP Tourist Trophy; 2nd 2002/03 250 GP Grand Prix; 2nd 2002/03 250 GP; 1st Round 4, 250GP NZ Superbike championship 2004/05, 3rd 250GP Grand Prix 2008, 1st 250GP Grand Prix 2009). His preferred machine is the Honda RS250 with the Yamaha TZ250 a close second. He has had many road bikes including TT250, CX500, GPZ600(x2), GT750, NSR250, VFR750(x2) and most recently Kawasaki ZRX1200. He recently restored a 1973 Yamaha FS1 "Fizzie" and now races a Post-Classic 1989 NF5 Honda RS250.
Steve is an experienced research scientist and science educator with developing skills in small business ownership and operation. He has obtained further education and knowledge of business methods, marketing and branding. He gained some experience in small business management running Racing Links Ltd with Mr Martin Dunn from 2003 to 2005. He has gained significant experience over the past 5-6 years in organising and operating motorcycle racing events and trackdays for Victoria Motorcycle Club of Wellington (VMCC). He has been a committee member (1998 – 2004) and club secretary (2000-2004) of the Victoria Motorcycle Club of Wellington (VMCC) who run what are now possibly New Zealands biggest motorcycle racing events.
He has recently taken on a successful organisational and mentoring role with Team Kiwi Challenge 2007 where four young riders and three mechanics travelled to the Australia MotoGP event in Australia to compete in the National 125cc support events.
Steve has now sucessfully mentored 21 students in Moto Academy NZ.
Updates
IMD iM250 racing at NZSBK Round 4, Hampton Downs, March 5-7 2016.
07:36PM Sat 13/02/16 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Well, it has been a while since I found the space to update progress on the IMD iM250 project here. There have been regular updates on the Facebook page, but I guess not everyone looks on there.
We had an up and down NZSBK 2015 with young Australian rider Tayla Relph on the iM250 Mark 1.2. She rode really well and we just missed a podium in the NZ Grand Prix by 0.2s, which was pretty exciting. The two north island rounds however where a disaster with minor mechanical issues plaguing each round.
Moving on to better things, 2016 sees the launch of the IMD iM250 Mark 2.0. The bike has a new generation engine and swingarm and a host of other small changes. We will be racing the bike at Hampton Downs in March 2016 where we plan to take podiums and race wins. Our rider, Dave Manuell from Auckland has two NZ TT titles to his name and wants another!!
If we go well we will go all out to find the resources to get the bike to Australia in April for ASBK. If not, then she will go in to the shed to wait for next summers racing or be sold to one lucky buyer.
Hope to see as many supporters at Hampton Downs as possible.
Thanks again.
Steve
IMD iM250
Comment on this update:
New Zealand Superbike Championship 2014
02:01PM Sat 28/12/13 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Hi there everyone. Well, after an very eventful year of bedding in, set-backs, development, rider training and incremental improvements we are launching the final stage of development with a full NZSBK campaign.
Marc-Antoine Jacquet will be racing the bike in the 125GP/GP Mono class at Ruapuna (Christchurch) 4/5 Jan, Levels Raceway (Timaru) 10/11 Jan, Taupo Circuit (Taupo) and Manfield Park (Feilding) the last two weekends of March 2014.
Marc-Antoine has really develped well after coming to us with only 6 races under his belt. In fact on his Hyosung 250 he took the 250 Production lap record at Taupo circuit. On the IMD250 the competition is a bit tougher, but he is getting closer to the front every outing and indeed was running in the front group a couple of times this winter.
On the bike we have had a few engine issues with old parts or incorrect replacement parts (non-KTM parts that we were advised would be fine but were not). But we now have two good engines that seem to be working well at around 42hp @ 11-13.5k rpm. The bike continues to handle perfectly, so we are confident that Marc-Antoine will have a good championship in 2014.
Consistency is the key to good results in the NZSBK championship and Marc-Antoine is consistent and will get much faster as the championship progesses.
It is great that we can talk more about development of our rider rather than the bike, as with the exception of ignition ECU and exhaust we have finished most of the bike development. The potential that is in the Kelford Cams tuned engine will not be fully realised until we can do those two things. Perhaps we will have them sorted by March.
If you can make it to any of the NZSBK rounds this summer, don't forget to come and have a chat and check out the bike!
Cheers!
Steve
Comment on this update:
She is finally done!
08:55AM Tue 13/08/13 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Hi again everyone. Well, the past 4 months or so have been furiously busy in and around the IMD250 garage. Not only have I been getting to grips with my new job at Opus Research, but I have been busy busy busy tidying up loose ends on the bike and getting engines sorted out.
Unfortunately during our testing we have suffered 3 engine failures, due to old engines and aftermarket parts. The first was a piston collapse by an old piston that caused significant damage. The second was a valve failure by aftermarket valves that also caused signficant damage. The third was a big-end failure, again due to an old crankshaft, but not much damage resulted from that.
So we now have one engine with new crankshaft, bearings and piston and one engine that has been fully refreshed and not only that, but has had the crankshaft polished and the cylinder head ported, flowed and valve seats set. This engine should be good for the extra power that we need.
I have also been busy making versions 3 and 4 of the fuel tank. The final version is a copy of a Honda shape and made from Carbon/kevlar. It looks good. The previous version just didn't look right.
The bike has had some carbon fibre bodywork fitted. Not all of it just yet, that costs $$, but some of it. A quickshifter has been fitted and a lighter battery pack. The bike weighs in now at 82kg and is making 41 hp at the rear wheel. Not bad for a first prototype. We have a few things in mind that will bring the weight right down into the mid 70's and the new cylinder head should push us up towards the 45hp bracket.
So while Marc-Antoine Jacquet has been amping to race the bike, we have run only a few laps due to the engine failures and bad weather. But now, she is all finished and ready to go.
We will be at Manfeild on 24 August and then (hopefully) at Ruapuna on 31 August.
See you all there maybe!
Steve
By the way, you can now follow us on Facebook. Just search Imd250 (note lowercase letters).
Comment on this update:
IMD250 is going racing!
09:02AM Thu 07/03/13 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Hi there everyone.
Well, it might have been a wee while since we last updated here, but believe me, we have not been sitting on our hands.
We have made three new tracktests at Manfeild Park with small number of different riders and we tried one test at Hampton Downs. Unfortunately the test at HD didn't last very long when after 3/4 of the first warm up lap the piston decided to hop out of the engine and did some damage. Oh well, such is motorbikes eh?
But the other tests have all gone very well. We have ironed out a few issues with design, construction and assembly and now we think that we have the package pretty well sorted out.
I have been flat out building a fibreglass fuel tank and cover, engineering the 2nd iteration of the exhaust pipe, dyno tuning, engineering carburettor parts, ordering parts for engine rebuilding, repainting various parts and planning our assault on NZSBK 2013 Round 5 at Taupo Circuit on 22-24 March. I have also launched a Facebook page (IMD 250) and a new website, www.imd250.com.
Currently there is not too much info up there as we are applying for design and trademark registration, so as soon as they come through (fingers crossed) we will get some pics up. We have some awesome arty shots courtesy of RichardBan photography.
At Taupo we will have NZ championship race winning rider Glen Skachill from Wellington riding the bike AND we will be having an official launch of the motorcycle at Taupo on the evening of Friday 22 March at The Shed on Tuwharetoa St sharing the time with the NZSBK Meet the Riders event.
We hope that as many friends of the IMD250 project will be able to make it and share the celebrations with us.
Thanks to everyone.
Steve and Martin.
Comment on this update:
First track session videos
12:45PM Sun 30/12/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
The IMD250 lives and performs really well.
Young Tyler Lincoln (15) tested out the IMD250 at Manfeild Park in November.
Performance of the bike was really good, handling is awesome, speed looks good, but engine vibration is a bit too much.
Videos (not great quality) are here:
Just added YouTube videos of IMD250 running at Manfeild Park with Tyler Lincoln at the controls.
http://youtu.be/1N7__RJaFjA
http://youtu.be/Zr4f9qxMKnc
http://youtu.be/3xjMGs1rKw0
Comment on this update:
The bike is taking shape.
08:55PM Fri 02/11/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Well, we are about 90% complete with the new Innovative Moto Developments IMD250 race bike. The bike was on display on 27 Oct at Taupo Circuit for people to check out. Lots of people had a look and were impressed with what they saw.
So let's hope the bike goes as good as it looks!!
Pics are available here:
http://www.motoacademy.co.nz/gpmono-moto3-project-blog/
Cheers!
Steve
Comment on this update:
We made it!!!
10:04PM Sun 26/08/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
HUGE thanks to everyone who has pledged so far. It is so exciting and gratifying that people are so willing to pledge and assist with our project. As mentioned, the bike is looking and feeling great, so we are all really confident.
Thanks again!!!
Steve and the IMD team.
Comment on this update:
IMD250 rolling chassis
09:53AM Sat 25/08/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Hi everyone. Some of you will have been at Manfeild Park today to see the IMD250 rolling chassis. The roller is about 90% complete with just a few bits and pieces to finish, then I will get it to finish it off. Check out the Moto Academy NZ website for some photos.
We are on track for our October testing dates.
Huge thanks to Scott and the crew for all their work. We also got some photos for Bike Rider Magazine where we will feature in an up-coming issue. Thanks again.
Comment on this update:
Slight delay during mock-up and swingarm modifications
11:00AM Tue 21/08/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
As is normal with projects of this type, progress has been slightly delayed by a design issue that was foreseen, but not fully understood until it came time to mock-up. The integration of the rear engine mount as part of the swingarm pivot (thus maintaining the overall length of an RS125 NX4) and the larger distance from the bike/engine centre line to sprocket, has resulted in a need to modify the swingarm to achieve optimal configuration. This modification will not change the characteristics of the suspension or linkage system nor the final geometry of the frame with regards to the original RS125 specifications. GPR have already made similar modifications to previous incarnations of their design. These modifications are therefore part of the design that we had hoped we might not need, but had planned for just in case, so we are confident that it will all work out as required.
We are still planning to be able to show the rolling chassis at Manfeild on Sat 25 August.
Comment on this update:
Rolling chassis nearly complete
06:08AM Mon 13/08/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Hi everyone. Well, around two weeks AHEAD of or project schedule (no, that does not mean Scott can slow down!!) the rolling chassis is nearly complete.
If you slide on over to the Moto Academy NZ website blog you can check out the latest pics of the chassis as it takes form around the engine.
I am looking forward to it being my turn to get my hands dirty assembling the bike, making the airbox, modifying the tank and mounting the ignition, mounting fairings, shortening cables and making sundry other parts.
Thanks again to all those who have contributed!! Please urge your mates to get involved.
So we are on track for October to have our bike running.
We have also secured our test rider. We are happy to welcome Glen Orwin of Auckland as our test rider. Glen is a two year Moto Academy NZ student, VMCC 125GP champion, twice top ten NZSBK 125GP, current #4 NZSBK 125GP and NZTT winner. He is a very well rounded rider and one who can provide good feedback and follow the instructions we want for testing a new bike.
Choice!!!!
Comment on this update:
Wow!
12:18PM Tue 31/07/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Wow, over 50% now and still going. The response is amazing. Thanks to everyone, again!
Steve
Comment on this update:
New Reward
10:43PM Sun 29/07/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Hi everyone.
Given the success so far of the project, we have decided that we will provide an additional reward. It is one we were thinking about earlier, but didn"t know if it would fly.
We will prepare a set of fairings for the bike for display purposes, in our team colours, and prepare a sticker of each pledgers name. The size of the sticker will be commensurate with the size of the pledge.
The pledger can then come and put the sticker on the bike at the launch party. We will place it if you cannot attend.
We will use this set for display purposes and as an emergency set if we need them!
Thanks to everyone.
Steve
Comment on this update:
Thanks to everyone so far!
10:38PM Sun 29/07/12 on Kiwi Moto3/GPMono Racebike
Wow, one weekend and we are already at about 25% of our target. That is fantastic. I am really humbled.
Let"s hope we can carry on this way and reach our target early??
Thanks to everyone, and one pledger in particular, you know who you are.
Steve
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Kiwis are the worlds best motorcycle engineers. We have a bunch of them together to build a new racebike. We need a few more bucks to mak...