The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

My most recent build completed, the 'funny front end' Bimota Tesi 1D with hub centre steering.

Tesi Unfaired1 by mike michael michaels, on Flickr

tesi4 by mike michael michaels, on Flickr

Build blog info and more detailed images here:
https://miksmodelkits.wordpress.com/201 ... 906sr-112/;

Build video series on my youtube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitsWBh ... 633zvo810H;

Cracking build of a beautiful motorcycle. Hub centre steering never really took off - did Yamaha also try it? - and I suspect that perhaps the system didn't really offer anything over conventional telescopic forks other than more complexity and expense. Bimota never troubled themselves over how expensive their products were though!

Thanks,
There are supposed benefits to the handling, (separation of braking and steering forces) but I don't think the track benefits ever won over the cost differential.
Conventional forks are simply far far cheaper, even high end units like Ohlins when compared to the many precision parts required to make a hub centre steered bike.
Yamaha did indeed make a production model, the GTS1000, more of a tourer than anything, Bimota certainly were never designed and built for the cost conscious, however, hub centre steering goes right the way back to the early 1900's with the British made James and a little later, the Ner-a-car, then a 'shed builder in the UK had a good play with it and the ELF racing team in the 80's, if you watch the video build series, I partially cover the history of hub centre steering in video 1

Beautiful Bimota,m1ks.

Beautiful work. A complex looking machine.

Nigel

Thanks.

i can remember Ron Haslam racing the hub centre steering machine and if i remember right it had a single sided front i can`t remember if he got anywhere with it, you have done a cracking job the model looks awesome i built this kit a few years ago i remember i had an issue with the decals not forming to the curves and ended up having to paint the red sections which did not work all that well your build has worked out a lot better than the one i built, infact the one i built went straight in the bin, very well done on an awesome model

Thanks Syd,
That's a shame yours got discarded, you could have always made a 'special' from it.
If not for Microsol, there's no way you'd get those decals to behave, it was apply, shape, smooth, add microsol, smooth, move the decal, gently move it back, smooth, nudge it again, take a step back, breathe, think about swearing, calm down, re approach etc but worth it, I did consider painting the red panels but there's just no way you'd get the pinstripes right.
Yes the ELF racing ones were single sided swingarms, (which were developed for endurance racing to facilitate quick tyre changes), but have a downside which is added weight.
It's certainly the fiddliest of all the bike kits I've built thus far but was a fun challenging build.