For little racers with hands that have limited reach a lever that an adult can manipulate with little issue can be a serious obstacle. A prime example is the stock clutch system that comes with the CRF150R powered bikes. The lever is designed for a rider who is has good size hands and has the muscle behind it.

MiniGPX sponsored rider Peter Lenz who weighs a featherly 71 pounds struggled to pull and hold the clutch on the MiniGPX CRF150R powered RS125. This struggle intensified when hand fatigue set in after a couple sessions of riding. This is where CRG stepped in and saved the day, on multiple fronts.

CRG has been making unparalleled levers for the top teams in motorcycle road racing for years. Take a walk around the AMA paddock and most of the bikes are running CRG levers, for good reasonathey are the best levers on the market period. If copying is the greatest form of flattery CRG’s ego should be huge. Take a look around and you will see several copy cat levers on the market, none of which even come close to what CRG is doing in terms of quality, finish and overall usefulness.

While everyone who runs a CRG has a reason ours is quite simple. Their clutch products have good degree of adjustability, they bolt right up to any bike, and work flawlessly.

What isn’t as widely known is that the CRG Supersport Clutch Lever has a higher degree of mechanical advantage than a stock lever and that advantage is adjustable, what they call a Variable Leverage Ratio. In English that translates to the CRG Supersport Clutch Lever being easier to pull than the stocker unit and you can set that ease based on what they engine and rider require.

Add the fact that the CRG Supersport Clutch Lever has an adjustable reach which allows it to be positioned closer to the bar within reach of little hands, and you have a home run.

After installing the CRG Supersport Clutch Lever on our RS, Peter was able to reach, pull and hold the clutch with no issues. The once tough clutch was tamed in a matter of minutes by the CRG Supersport Clutch Lever’s superior engineering.

The CRG Supersport Clutch Lever retails for $239.95, but it can be found for less if with a bit of hunting. Your local performance shop should have them in stock and if they don’t they probably aren’t as on top of things as they should be.

Even for big hands, the CRG Supersport Clutch Lever’s performance advantages are well worth the investment.

Visit CRG at: ~http://www.constructorsrg.com~

Despite cold, cloudy, windy weather, the opening round of the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association’s 2008 series was greeted by a record-setting 44 entries for Saturday’s Shogun Motorsports Formula Mini Endurance race at Oak Hill Raceway near Henderson, Texas.

In Saturday’s 4 hour endurance race, which paid $700 to all four classes, Desert-Mice finished with a full lap advantage over second place finishers GMAN Racing 2, while Excel Racing finished third, another seven laps behind.

OnRoad OffRoad Racing win the Formula 5 division with an 11th overall finish. Meanwhile, KSDS claimed the win in the F6 class with a 21st overall and 3-Musketeers Racing topped all entries in the F7 division with a 24th overall finish.

The CMRA returns to action with round two of its series on March 22-23 at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas. The Cresson round will include a 2-hour Shogun Formula Mini Endurance race, and a full slate of sprint racing which will pay double points.

OMRRA has officially released their Novice school program. Riders in the 85 GP and under the age of 14 will now follow a different licensing program than the rest of the club.

~http://www.omrra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1292~

BBR Motorsports Announces Sponsorship of 1st Annual US Mini Roadrace National to be held August 1-3, 2008.

USAIR is hosting the event which is organized by Cam Morehead of M&M Racing and SEMRA (Southeastern Mini Road race Association).

This fast paced sport has seen quick growth with organizations sprouting up from coast to coast in the last few years. Race organizer, Cam Morehead, attributes much of the growth in mini road racing to the rising cost of racing big bikes. SEMRA has become one of the leaders in Mini racing and Cam, of M&M Racing, is well known for his R&D in the field of custom wheels, brakes, and suspension for the mini road race bikes. Together they have worked for the last year to ensure that every club can find a class in which their bikes and racers could compete. After visiting and evaluating tracks all over the country, Cam selected USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI. The facility is second to none and the staff and track have the highest level of professionalism.

BBR is supporting this event as a part of its ongoing commitment to help grow the sport of minibike racing. The company is enthusiastic about this big event and appreciates the efforts by Cam Morehead and the folks at SEMRA to make this dream become a reality. You can check out the event details, class structure and entry fees at the following web sites:

Event website: ~http://www.miniroadracingnationals.org~

BBR website: ~http://www.bbrmotorsports.com~

NSR/NSF Conversion Bike

I decided to build this bike because of my love of MotoGP racing. I have always preferred the power of a 4 stroke motor and instead of dropping the $4000 to $5000 dollars for a new Honda NSF 100 I decided to build my own and save a few dollars.

I started with a 2004 NSR50 which had a 63cc head kit on it. Because I planned on racing in the 50 Heavy class with SCMiniGP I had no use for the 63cc motor so out it went. I originally had thought about using a CRF50 style motor since I had worked with one before but had concerns of the head and the front tire coming in contact, plus if HRC thought that the XR100 motor was good for the NSF then who am I to argue.

I picked up a rebuilt XR100 motor and proceeded to look in to mounting brackets that would bolt right up. Unfortunately the only source I found for the brackets was thru an importer that would bring them in from Japan so I decided I would build my own. I used 1/4″ thick aluminum that I picked or from a local metal supplier. After searching thru several Japanese websites and auctions I finally found a few good images of the brackets to use as a starting point. A few polycarbonate templates later I had a finished bracket to start with. Getting everything lined up properly (angle of motor, rear sprocket position, enough space to get a wrench on the sparkplug etc.) took quite a bit of time and made me think about the work HRC had to go thru to get it right for the NSF.

Once I got the motor mounted I had several little issues here and there to deal with. I needed an extra long clutch cable but I was able to use the XRs stock clutch cable mount. I had to make my own manifold for the carb since all XR100 manifolds mount the carb at an angle which will interfere with the NSR frame. I prefer a MotoGP shift pattern so I made my own shift lever out of a cut down XR lever that I bent and reshaped. The exhaust was a different story and not an easy one! I originally thought about going under the tail like the NSF but after a lot of research on it I figured it would be more complicated than it would be worth. After reading the book MotoGP Technology I noticed that a lot of the big boys used a megaphone coming right out under the right side rear set so I decided to go for that look. Yoshimura makes a pipe for the NSF that is like this but it was extremely expensive and would take a long time to import. I was not sure what I would do and after several trips to muffler shops (and being very discouraged) I found a gentleman named Steve who owns a shop called All Tubes in San Marcos, CA. He is an extremely nice and helpful guy. His business is more focused on large production bends with aircraft companies, exercise equipment manufactures etc. but he liked my project and he welcomed the challenge Steve was a able to create a 1 1/4″ header pipe and a 1 1/2″ megaphone style exhaust tip. We cut down a pit bike muffler by about 4 inches and mounted it between the header and tip under the bike. At first glance it looks like we are running an open pipe but the baffle is hidden under the motor behind the fairing.

I went with a Mikuni 24mm flat slide carb that I got from Pro-Cycle up in Oregon but I will probably try a couple different carbs in testing. For wiring I used a Honda XR100 harness that I wired the NSR kill switch to. I am still experimenting with CDI’s and am leaning to the BBR model which I have been told is more suitable to road racing.

After seeing Austin Dehaven’s success on his RS125/ XR100 conversion I decided to contact Eric Dehaven to see what advice he might have. After getting a ton of great tips for the bike one thing he mentioned really caught my attention and that was the need of an Oil Cooler to keep the bike from overheating in the warm Southern California summers. After reading his write up on Austin’s website I decided to take on the project. Just like Eric I decided to go with an Earl’s Plumbing Temp-A-Cure model and stainless steel lines. I mounted it behind the front wheel just like the radiator on the MotoGP bikes. Because of the limited space I have and how close the cooler is to the header I used DEI header wrap to help keep the oil cooler from getting to warm and being counter productive. I did leave the oil cooler low enough that the cooling fins on the cylinder and head would still get fresh air flow.

Because I think the NSR body looks a bit dated compared to current bike styling I went with RCV211/NSF style body work from an importer from Japan and made my own taller custom windscreen out of clear 1/8″ polycarbonate. I had to create special mounting brackets to get the body in the exact position I needed to support my adult size. Most write ups on the NSF have mentioned it is slightly cramped for adults. I removed a large amount of the sub frame and used some more polycarbonate to close the tail since no exhaust would be exiting from this point.

I used Aim’s Mychron 3 for my data info; this is an older model but still works well and allows me to monitor RPM’s, Engine Temp and Lap times. I used their water temp sensor which I mounted in the stock oil drain plug (drilled out and tapped) this gives me an accurate Oil Temp reading right on my display while riding.

Because of the expensive body and since it is a track bike (she’s going down at some point) I decided to build some good sliders to help with the every so often mishap. I bought a 1 foot stick of Delrin plastic (what most sliders are made of) drilled it out and mounted it to the frames down tubes to create a true frame slider and hopefully allow the body to last longer. Delrin Bar ends where also added.

The suspension is stock for now but I did add a Shindy steering stabilizer and shimmed the fork bracket to make it fit the smaller NSR forks.

The bike will be out at the track for the first time in early February. I still have gearing and setup to work on but so far with a 16 tooth front and 43 tooth rear the bike pulls very hard and still maintains a nice top end. I would say that it feels comparable to the 63cc 2 stroke motor that was in it before the swap. The exhaust sounds amazing with a nice throaty note but not to loud to be an annoyance.

Overall I am extremely happy with the way the bike came out. I love the power of the 4 stoke and the comfort of the NSR frame. I feel that the motor is a great platform to build on. Depending on how the bike feels this season there might be a 110 kit and race cam in the future but for now I am focusing on getting as much seat time as possible and become familiar with the bike. Everyone that I have talked to about the project has been very helpful. A good friend of mine, Doug Burrows who help bring about the popularity of Radio Controlled motorcycle road racing spent several hours in the garage helping me get the bike to the point its at today.

List of things done and parts:

NSF/RCV211 style body and custom brackets adjust for adult rider

Custom Polycarbonate Windscreen

XR100 motor with custom aluminum brackets

MotoGP pattern custom shift lever

24mm Mikuni flat slide carb

Uni Air Filter

24mm custom manifold

Shindy Steering Stabilizer

Custom under bike pipe with Yoshimura Muffler

Ceramic painted clutch and flywheel covers

Earls Plumbing Curved Oil Cooler with Earls stainless steel lines and fittings

Oil Cooler Impeller upgrade

DID race chain

AIM Mychron 3 Data logger with oil temp drain plug

Hard Rev CDI

Vortex Racing Gas Cap

Gas Tank Vent Tube

Sprocket Specialists front and rear sprockets

Barnett race clutch and springs

Delrin Bar End and Body sliders

Renthal Race Grips

Carbon Fiber Rear Set Inserts

Dzus Fasteners

BBR Valve Springs

DEI Header Wrap

Several Custom parts here and there

People that helped:

Doug Burrows (friend)

Steve from All Tubes in San Marcos

Oil Cooler Project Instructions from Eric DeHaven

Website for more information:

~http://www.werner-racing.com~

Not much to say here or on the forum yet, but Canada mini racers have another place to frequent when waiting for the snow to melt ~http://jm-motorsport.net/forum/~

The fast little yellow Cobra competition mini cycles that for the past decade have dominated amateur motocross on a global basis are getting a new addition to the family, to be officially unveiled this weekend at the Indy Trade Show.

The all-new Cobra CX65 Supermoto SE is the top American motocross bike manufacturer’s initial foray into the world of competition supermoto. Based on the ultra-quick CX65, the Supermoto SE model comes equipped with custom race wheels and tires and catch bottle, with further options and accessories available to customize each bike to the rider.

“On any Sunday the Cobra CX65 Supermoto SE can turn a parking area and vacant lot into a father and son’s ultimate supermoto facility,” said Sean Hilbert, President of Cobra. “A few hay bales and a couple of orange cones and you your son have your own private Long Beach or Waterford Hills Raceway.”

Opening at $3998 (MSRP), the Cobra CX65 Supermoto SE will be available by special order only through Cobra Podium Level dealers.

AMRA

~http://amra.ca/racedates.htm~

April 27 – Calgary Spring Thaw Endurance Race

May 11 – Calgary AMRA Regional Round #1

June 1 – Calgary AMRA Regional Round #3

June 15 – Calgary AMRA Regional Round #4

August 17 – Calgary AMRA Regional Round # 6

September 14 – Calgary AMRA Regional Round # 7

September 28 – Stratotech Park AMRA Final Regional Round #8

October 12 – Calgary ENDURANCE Race

October 19 – Calgary Reserved make up date

CMRA

~http://cmraracing.com/schedule.asp~

February 23-24 Oak Hill Raceway Sat – Mini Sprints / 4 HR Mini Endurance

March 22-23 MotorSport Ranch (Clockwise) \tSat – Mini Sprints / 2 HR Mini End

April 12-13 Texas World Speedway Sun – Mini Sprints

May 9-11 Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (Clockwise) Sat – Mini Sprints / 2 HR Mini End

June 14-15 Oak Hill Raceway Sat – Mini Sprints / 8 HR Mini End

July 5-6 Mercedes-Benz of Sugarland Road Course (Clockwise) Sat – Mini Sprints

July 25-27 Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (Counter Clockwise) \tSat – Mini Sprints / 2 HR Mini End

August 23-24 MotorSport Ranch (Counter Clockwise) \tSat – Mini Sprints / 3 HR Mini End

September 27-28 Eagles Canyon Raceway Sat – Mini Sprints

October 18-19 Texas World Speedway Sat – Mini Sprints

CMRRA

~http://www.racecmrra.com/calendar.html~

February 9-10 Willow Kart Track

March 8-9 Grange’ Motor Circuit

April 12-13 Willow Kart Track

May 3-4 Grange’ Motor Circuit

June 7-8 Willow Kart Track

July 12-13 Grange’ Motor Circuit

August 9-10 Streets of Willow

September 6-7 Grange’ Motor Circuit

October 11-12 Willow Kart Track

November 8-9 Grange’ Motor Circuit

December 6-7 Willow Kart Track

CNMRA

~http://amra.ca/racedates.htm~

May 17 -18 Edmonton, AB

June 21-22 Regina, Sask

June 28-31 Calgary, AB

July 26-27 Vancouver, BC

August 2-4 Quesnel, BC

Aug 31-Sept 1 Saskatoon, Sask

GAMRA

~http://www.gamra.org/2008_schedule.htm~

March 15th and 16th Gulf Oaks Speedway

April 12th and 13th Gulf Oaks Speedway Double Header Sat/Sun

May 3rd and 4th Springridge Raceway

May 24th and 25th Bakers Creek

June 14th and 15th Gulf Oaks Speedway

September 6th and 7th Bakers Creek

September 27th and 28th Moore Park Karting Track

October 25th and 26th Gulf Oaks Speedway Double Header Sat/Sun

NMRRA

~http://nwmini.net/id2.html~

April 26-27 – MAC

May 3-4 – PARC

May 24-25 – MAC

Aug 30-31 – MAC

Aug 17 – MAC

Sep 13-14 – MAC

NWGP

~http://northwoodsgp.com~

May 4 – Road America- Briggs & Stratton MotorPlex

May 18 – USA International

May 31 – USA International

June 14 – Sugar River Raceway

June 29 – USA International

July 12 Sugar River Raceway

July 27 – Road America- Briggs & Stratton MotorPlex

August 1-3 – USA Int’l National Championship Event

August 23 – Sugar River Raceway

Sept. 6 – Sugar River Raceway

Sept 27-28 – USA International

Oct 11 – Sugar River Raceway

Oct 18t – USA International

OMRRA

~http://www.omrra.com/info/racers_schedule.php~

April 12-13 Portland International Raceway

May 10-11 Portland International Raceway

June 14-15 Portland International Raceway

August 2 (Saturday) Portland International Raceway

September 20-21 Portland International Raceway

October 11-12 Portland International Raceway

OYL – Tentative

~http://www.ohioysr.org~

April 26 BeaveRun

May 11 Circleville Raceway Park

May 31 BeaveRun

June 14 CRP

June 29 CRP

July 19 BeaveRun

August 17 CRP

September 6 or 7 CRP

September 20 CRP

October 4 CRP

October 18 (OYL Rain Date) CRP

SCMiniGP

~http://www.scminigp.com/races~

11/02/2008 \tCalSpeed Karting Race #9 Final \t

10/05/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #8 \t

09/07/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #7 \t

08/03/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #6 \t

07/06/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #5 \t

06/08/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #4 \t

05/04/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #3 \t

04/13/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #2 \t

03/02/2008 \t\tCalSpeed Karting Race #1 \t

SEMRA

~http://www.semra.org/2008calendar.htm~

February 24 European Rally School

March 30 Monticello Karting

April 13 Palmetto International Kartway

May 25 BTK Motorsports Park

June 28 Darlington Kartway

July 13 Palmetto International Kartway

August 1-3 \tUSA International Raceway – Mini Nationals

September 7 BTK Motorsports Park

October 12 Motorsports Park

SMRRC

~http://www.smrrc.com/Schedule.htm~

March 16 Stockton Motorplex Park

April 20 Stockton Motorplex Park

May 25 Stockton Motorplex Park

June 15 Stockton Motorplex Park

July 13 Stockton Motorplex Park

Aug 10 Stockton Motorplex Park

Sep 21 Stockton Motorplex Park

Oct 19 Stockton Motorplex Park

WERA

~http://wera.com/pages/yearlyschedule.htm~

See regional race dates on the WERA schedule page.

The Ohio YSR League (OYL) has announced their racing schedule for 2008.

OYL will be starting off the season at one of the best mini tracks in the country, The Wilson Circuit at BeaveRun in PA. If you haven’t been to BeaveRun before, you are missing out on some of the best mini road racing on the East Coast! At 8/10 mile long and 26 feet wide, The Wilson Circuit is longer and wider than most other kart tracks in the United States. Not only is the track great, the facility is top notch with camping trackside and showers on site.

OYL also races at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) in Circleville Ohio. This track is a 7/10s mile, asphalt road course that is very challenging and will test your cornering ability. HP numbers don’t really count here; you have to have good cornering speed to get around this track fast! OYL will mix it up and we race this track in either direction, makes it feel like a totally different track! CRP has such amenities as camping at the track, an indoor bathroom with hot water, track sweeper/dryer; computer ran registration and a concession stand. There is talk that the track will be expanding this year, so look for major improvements and a longer track to race on!

The Ohio YSR League is an independent, non-profit club operated entirely by volunteers from the mini road racing community, and are not affiliated with any other racing club, organization or business. Our goal is to provide riders with organized mini motorcycle road racing in Ohio at a reasonable cost. OYL offers competitive racing for 50cc to 185cc motorcycles, and 250cc (max displacement) two stroke scooters. Medical personnel are present at all race events to support an enjoyable race experience for all participants. For more information on OYL and if you want to join in on the fun, please visit ~http://www.ohioysr.org~

If you want to ask questions or see our 08 rules, OYL has a forum at: ~http://miniroadracers.informe.com/~

OYL 2008 Tentative Race Schedule

Saturday, April 26 at BeaveRun

Sunday, May 11 at Circleville Raceway Park

Saturday, May 31 at BeaveRun

Saturday, June 14 at CRP

Sunday, June 29 at CRP

Saturday, July 19 at BeaveRun

Sunday, August 17 at CRP

September 6 or 7 at CRP

Saturday, September 20 at CRP

Saturday, October 4 at CRP

Saturday, October 18 (OYL Rain Date) at CRP

Mini Road Racing is fun, lets keep it that way! – The Ohio YSR League

FastForwardRacing Season Opener Talladega GP

After 4 months of off season trackdays and testing, the 2008 WERA season opener finally arrived. FFR/CornerSpeed rider Nick McFadden started up right where he left off with a pair of wins in the 85GP class. Having replaced his stock framed Honda CR85 with an RS85 conversion, Nick proceeded to lower the TGP 85 lap record another 2 seconds from the fast time he set last season.

The beautiful February weekend, which saw the temperatures reach the high 60s, brought out over 225 riders to run the Mid-Central Regional. After getting off to a slow start, Nick found himself in 5th position going into turn one in Saturday’s 85GP race. Michael Scott on his CRF150 led the first lap while Nick moved forward. On lap 2 Nick passed Michael going into turn 2, but Michael was determined to hang tight until a transmission failure dropped him out of the race. 3rd place RedBull rookie Jesse Stevens moved up a spot, but finished 16 seconds back from Nick, with RedBull rookie Jake Mormon coming in 3rd.

Sunday’s 85GP race pretty much followed the same pattern. Nick was having a hard time getting his new RS85 off the line with the rest of the front row riders and had to work his way up to the front in the first 2 laps. Michael, riding a borrowed bike, hung tuff today though coming in 2nd 8 seconds behind race winner Nick.

Although Nick has been using his RS125 for trackdays and CornerSpeed schools, it was just prior to the season opener that WERA granted him a Novice license to race the 125GP class. Up until now, this was unheard of for a 10 year old.

Sunday’s 125GP/Clubman race saw Nick grid alone on the last row of the second wave. Prior to the race, Nick was visibly nervous about his “big” bike debut. His start was the norm for the weekend, but 2 laps into the 10 lap sprint he settled in just a few clicks above his practice pace. On the 2nd lap Nick started getting into the first of the Clubman riders while trying to chase down the 125s a few seconds ahead of him. By race end he had passed all but 2 of the Clubman class and finished about 11 seconds back from 125GP race winner RedBull rookie Jake Mormon and 12 yr old Garrett Gerloff.

Next on the schedule is another trackday/test March 1-2 back at Talladega GP and then on to Virginia International Speedway for the next WERA 125GP race, followed by 2 days of CornerSpeed Level2 school. VIR is one of Nick’s favorite tracks and has many test laps there on his 125. He says he will be trying to improve on his finish there. Till next montha