OzVMX Forum

Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: VMX247 on March 13, 2011, 11:44:51 am

Title: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: VMX247 on March 13, 2011, 11:44:51 am
take up this race discipline-lawnmower racing...and I thought the poms and yanks had some crazy idea's.. ;D

Ride-on lawn mower racing is becoming an increasingly popular sport, with about 30 drivers expected to compete at an event on the Sunshine Coast today.

Sunshine Coast Mower Racing Association president Gary Boegheim says male and female drivers will be competing at the Pomona showgrounds.

The mowers can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour and Mr Boegheim says he loves the sport.

"I've been racing for 25 years now in different forms of motor sport; I got into mowers once I first got married and had a family," he said.

"I couldn't afford to keep racing speedway(vmx  ;) ) so I got on board with the mowers and it's cheap, it's good fun and just something different."

Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: QLD779 on March 13, 2011, 11:58:08 am
Alli. You have way too much time on your hands. ;D
The sidecar boys in QLD have been drag racing their rideon mowers on new years day for years. They have a start grid marked out, out front and race their souped up mowers. ???
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: oldskool on March 13, 2011, 12:27:25 pm
yanks do have crazy ideas they have been lawnmower racing for years.some of there racing mowers can get speeds over 100kph.cheers gary
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: crash n bern on March 13, 2011, 04:27:23 pm
I watched a show on some outback town about 15 years ago.  They had annual mower races.  The reigning champion had a Morris 1100 motor in a mower.  Well on the show a newcomer turned up.  Had a long beard and a triumph singlet on, driving a Chamberlain tractor named Lindy.  He had shoehorned a 351 clevo' into her with upswept drag pipes and a mower deck bolted on the bottom to comply with reg's.
When he took of it wheelstanded, threw him off the back and careered towards the crowd.  The bloke took off after it, leapt onto to the back grabbed the wheel and pulled her hard right just before it hit the barrier which was only a rope fence.  Spectacular.  He got the trophy

Talked to another bloke who had participated in riding mowers to the Cape.
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: TooFastTim on March 13, 2011, 06:52:58 pm
Any sport that was supported by the late Oliver Reed has my support..(hic).
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: firko on March 13, 2011, 07:44:41 pm
On the same theme, I saw a great piece on the telly about electric wheelchair races in the USA. A race series has been set up where old folks representing their convalescent home get to compete against racers from other old folks homes on a course set out in a car park. The course is a bit like a gymkarna course with witches hat chicanes and other obstacles. They race two or four at a time and the old folks take it very seriously, some of them tweaking the motors, fitting wide go cart slicks and trick metalflake and flame job paint schemes. According to the TV piece there are a dozen or so teams involved and the interest was growing so quickly they were going to soon have to start grading competitors.

What a great way to inject a sense of fun and competition into the lives of bored old people and give them a sport/hobby that isn't going to tax their energy too much yet give them something to look forward to. I thought it was brilliant.
                  (http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-8/1062154/breeze4_double_b_2.jpg)
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: ted on March 13, 2011, 08:01:33 pm
Firko....So can i enter you in the first race at the Alroy Tavern carpark meet.

BTW When is the charity auction
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: Curly3 on March 13, 2011, 08:53:50 pm
Electric mobility cart racing, wait until most of the original VMXers have hung up the boots.
With today's networking capabilities it won't belong before theres is a national title event.
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: ted on March 13, 2011, 09:29:48 pm
This could be big....Darren could sponsor it with his stand up chairs

Firko on pole, me on the second row ( coz i`m a little younger ) and the fast guys start on Rooty Hill Rd. Two laps of the carpark and last in shouts
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: firko on March 13, 2011, 10:37:13 pm
Quote
BTW When is the charity auction
Unfortunately Ted we've had to put the Show'n'Shine on hold until we can find a suitable date. We were set to go on March 26 but Slakewells soiree in Armidale had been planned for that weekend which we'd overlooked. After some enquiries and checking of calendars we decided to go with the following weekend April 3 and booked the pub and started the ball rolling. The morning I was going to announce the new date Shaun popped onto the forum announcing the Pre 90 meet for Dargle, buggering our plans. All of the following dates in April are taken up with various other events and personal committments and Easter has us going to the HBBB.
As it stands right now, the calendars looking a bit busy so until we can fit it into the scedule consider it gone for the moment.
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: brent j on March 13, 2011, 10:51:46 pm
I watched a show on some outback town about 15 years ago.  They had annual mower races.  The reigning champion had a Morris 1100 motor in a mower.  Well on the show a newcomer turned up.  Had a long beard and a triumph singlet on, driving a Chamberlain tractor named Lindy.  He had shoehorned a 351 clevo' into her with upswept drag pipes and a mower deck bolted on the bottom to comply with reg's.
When he took of it wheelstanded, threw him off the back and careered towards the crowd.  The bloke took off after it, leapt onto to the back grabbed the wheel and pulled her hard right just before it hit the barrier which was only a rope fence.  Spectacular.  He got the trophy

Talked to another bloke who had participated in riding mowers to the Cape.

There was a Morris 1100 powered mower in Darwin many years ago, the owner/builder also had a supercharged V8 powered burnout bike, jet powered bike, flathead V8 powered BBQ (the rotisserie!) and a short wheelbase Blitz truck with Holden running gear right through it. The Blitz was recently repowered with the jet engine from the bike.
The guy's name is MAD for obvious reasons. ::)
The 1100 powered mower was capable of well in excess of 130km/h and if I remember rightly it steered by brakes! :o

I’m not too keen on racing my ride on mower but with four wheel drive and pivot steering I’d be a starter for an off road trial type event!
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: VMX247 on March 13, 2011, 10:56:50 pm
I’m not too keen on racing my ride on mower but with four wheel drive and pivot steering I’d be a starter for an off road trial type event!
[/quote]

geez thats a flash one brentj  :D  I can't wait till we actually have some grass to mow and do some roll backs on the wet grass  ;D one of the best 1200$ we ever spent  8)
cheers A
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: Power Stand on March 14, 2011, 12:47:08 am
Apparently there are a few short comings to lawn mower racing, races get chopped short and riders get chopped off at the knees if there are protests. Slashing is a problem with hacking made worse when accidents happen. Bad cuts are often but leaving no lines between mowers is preferred. If you are caught trimming then you are left to the edges. The elite riders are always pruning weeding out the competition just to flatten the grounds. Whipper snipers are given there own class to keep the numbers cut back. These young trimmers are kept sharp so it’s not so blunt hard for them.

You are safer on dirt bike than with these rotating blades men.  ;D
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: KTMaico on March 14, 2011, 09:30:36 pm
Husqvarna still chasing a World championship  :D
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: mx250 on March 15, 2011, 10:34:57 pm
Now we're talking...... ;) 8)

(http://i323.photobucket.com/albums/nn458/mx250syd/OzVMX/martin-aircraft-jetpack-4.jpg)

After nine prototypes Martin Aircraft have an accurate expectation for how much a jetpack will cost, and suggest that at $86,000 it is pitched at the level of a high-end car. As sales and production volume increase they expect this to drop to the price of a mid-range car. A 10% deposit buys you a production slot for 12 months hence; progress payments are made during manufacture with final payment due on delivery. Details and a deposit contract are available from their Martin Aircraft's website.


http://www.gizmag.com/first-commercially-available-jetpack/14423/
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: VMX247 on March 15, 2011, 11:02:51 pm
quote:OK,V4 2 stroke-sounds like a converted outboard engine,possibly direct injected. You need something like that in this application for it's power to weight ratio,or you'd have no useful endurance at all. But if he wants to go another step,the plated Wankels that are slated for the Moller Air Car would be a better option. Actually,I seem to recall that a similar vehicle using them has been looked at already.
Clever little dicks some of these Kiwi's, check out the late great John Britten's V twin Race bikes-possibly the only Motorcycle I'd ever have unprotected sex with.  :o

Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: Power Stand on March 15, 2011, 11:55:59 pm
quote:OK,V4 2 stroke-sounds like a converted outboard engine,possibly direct injected. You need something like that in this application for it's power to weight ratio,or you'd have no useful endurance at all. But if he wants to go another step,the plated Wankels that are slated for the Moller Air Car would be a better option. Actually,I seem to recall that a similar vehicle using them has been looked at already.
Clever little dicks some of these Kiwi's, check out the late great John Britten's V twin Race bikes-possibly the only Motorcycle I'd ever have unprotected sex with.  :o



This thing is powered by 4 CR500 barrels, there is a youtube clip with it on the dyno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceeyrmn2Pj4


What else would you use? Hate to see it with expansion chambers
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: VMX247 on March 16, 2011, 12:16:33 am
quote:OK,V4 2 stroke-sounds like a converted outboard engine,possibly direct injected. You need something like that in this application for it's power to weight ratio,or you'd have no useful endurance at all. But if he wants to go another step,the plated Wankels that are slated for the Moller Air Car would be a better option. Actually,I seem to recall that a similar vehicle using them has been looked at already.
Clever little dicks some of these Kiwi's, check out the late great John Britten's V twin Race bikes-possibly the only Motorcycle I'd ever have unprotected sex with.  :o
This thing it powered by 4 CR500 barrels, there is a youtube clip with it on the dyno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceeyrmn2Pj4
What else would you use? Hate to see it with expansion chambers

Stuffed if I know- I just like the bit about the Kiwis being clever dicks and the unprotected sex with that Britten bike  ;D  Anyway I dont see em racing here in the west in the near future..VMX will do and if that fails its on the ride-on lawnmowers we go  ;)  ;D
cheers A
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: oldskool on April 11, 2011, 06:32:48 am
lawnmower racing some will be on the today show this morning some time.they were filming at beenleigh show grounds some pretty powerful stuff got some photos on my phone will post when i get home tonight.350 twin 2 stroke powered pretty much a yamaha banshee converted to a lawn mower no suspension very low and very quick and also a four cylinder 4 stroke i think it was around 750cc powered :o i want one.cheers gary
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: Tim754 on April 11, 2011, 01:05:44 pm
What strange people would build 750+cc 4 cylinder off road machines?? Tim754
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/tdee754/754/754200403.jpg)
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/tdee754/scc.jpg)
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/tdee754/scc1.jpg)
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: VMX247 on April 11, 2011, 01:41:51 pm
What strange people would build 750+cc 4 cylinder off road machines?? Tim754

Now aint that the NAKED truth   ;D  ;)
cheers A
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: DR on April 11, 2011, 02:58:42 pm
For the past 7 or 8 years I've been on my ride-on up to 6 days a week during summer months ::) Just purchased a brand new 15.5hp engine a couple of weeks back and not for what I'd call chicken feed :(  Enough time and money wasted on the bloody things already in my eyes. Like Bobcats and forklifts, good fun for a day or so but then the novelty wears off. Old dirt bikes, 40years+ and counting and I still can't get enough! No contest ;)
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: Tim754 on April 11, 2011, 03:15:38 pm
Hmmm here is a thought for ya Doc...  a Suzi too.... :D
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/tdee754/Stuff/mower381a_19.jpg)
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/tdee754/Stuff/mower381a_12.jpg)

Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: Freakshow on April 11, 2011, 03:32:25 pm
Not really a jet pack is it ? i mean its not running on jet fuel ?


its kinda like strapping a petrol powered ultralight to your back.

I wanna see the wooosh and the stream of vapour..............  ( but more that 26 sec worth.)
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: DR on April 11, 2011, 04:11:51 pm
jeez Tim that's a bloody beauty! And a 2 smoker in stereo to boot ;D Alas, it would be a pain to get through the average garden gate which presents a major woe :( nice thought though thanks mate..I have my GTS185 twin sitting doing nothing :P
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: oldskool on April 11, 2011, 09:32:12 pm
Here's a couple of shots from the lawnmower races yesterday.
The green mower in the photos is the one with some 4 cyl 4 stroke motor in it.
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll355/x_Insane_Emperor_x/10042011084.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll355/x_Insane_Emperor_x/10042011085.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll355/x_Insane_Emperor_x/10042011086.jpg)
(http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll355/x_Insane_Emperor_x/10042011087.jpg)
Title: Re: VMX all too much for you ??
Post by: VMX247 on April 11, 2011, 11:02:21 pm
Thanks oldskool for the pics,keen as mustard arent they  :P  ;D
Its always great to see some other form of entertainment/sport.
My mum always says to me "Bikes are so blokey".
My reply is,"Mum so is football (AFL)".
There are some wild women in football-crazy fans  :o ....anyway VMX will do me for the time being  8)
cheers A