dashin_dave
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 posted on 6/9/02 at 07:23 PM |
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BEC practicality?
hi ho, forgive me for yet another inquisitive newbie type post, but i'm looking into all the options and working out exactly what i want before i
make a start...
so heres a new set of silly questions..
firstly...
BEC reliability... read several stories on this, none of them particularly good. is it, or is it not, possible to have a BEC that runs reasonably day
in, day out???
secondly...
BEC carrying capacity... also read somewhere that while BEC's can produce really quick 0-60 times with one person in them, that it suffers badly when
carrying a passenger.... how true is this, and realistically, how much does a passenger or a bit of weight retard the performance of these cars?
finally.... what sort of fuel economy do BEC's get???
finally take two... a reply to one of my previous posts implied that BEC's were cheaper to insure than reasonably powered CEC's... correct??
absolutely last.. my situation is that i have a new baby and we have our nice little family car, which goes quite well considering its cheap to run
and insure nature, but myself and my partner are both studying at different locations, so in my looking to build a locost, i'm looking for something
fun that will be driven most days.. like at least 4/7... is a BEC practical? (please dont remark that locosts in general are not sufficiently user
friendly to use as day to day transport, as i've had some absolute shockers as d2d transport in the past, and think that the fun factor is worth
it...)
regards
dave
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Metal Hippy™
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| posted on 6/9/02 at 09:14 PM |
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You'll be pissed off when you get caught out by a rain storm.
Fun factor is pretty damn small in that situation I'd guess.
President of the Non-conformist Locost Builders Club. E-mail for details...
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 6/9/02 at 10:35 PM |
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wait until january and reconsider the fun you might be having..
atb
steve
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dashin_dave
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 posted on 7/9/02 at 03:00 AM |
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hehehe... maybe your right, i'm still yet to experience an entire UK winter... last few years i've only been here for a few weeks over xmas...still,
cant be much worse than a mini moke in south western victoria, australia, in the depths of winter... (of which my mate had one)
speaking of rain, how long does it take to put up/down the hoods ect on these??
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Metal Hippy™
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 04:27 AM |
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Hood? On a Locost?
A rare item indeed.
Some people have them, but as it's primarily a fair weather car most don't have the need of one.
President of the Non-conformist Locost Builders Club. E-mail for details...
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Wadders
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 09:43 AM |
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I feel a bit of a fraud replying to your post,as my bec's not on the road yet but consider the following.
Reliability - Jap bike motors are a marvel of modern engineering,and are generally bulletproof,the only fly in the ointment as far as i can make out,
is the fitment of mechanical reverse boxes (shame the japs dont make these as well!).
Carrying Capacity- have been a passenger in several bec's and they all make your eyes bleed 2 up, with/without windscreen.
Fuel economy-Like most vehicles i
guess this depends on how heavy yer right boot is.(Jap bikes run on a sniff of fuel)
Insurance-can't comment on this cos i've only ever considered a bec,and besides i'm an old git so it's not so much a worry.
Winter-Having past experience of running a bike as all year round transport ,i figure that a bec can't be that bad,although i suppose it's a bit
harder to reach the engine at traffic lights to thaw your fingers out!
Seriously only you can decide,try to blag a ride in as many becs/cecs as you can and then make up your mind.
Good luck
Al
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dashin_dave
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 01:22 PM |
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hoods maybe a rare item, but when your main argument for having a locost is that it'll keep my grubby little hands off 'her' car, then it becomes a
must have item... as you say, the concept of being caught out in the rain is not a pretty one....
robin hood/lolocost seem to have them in stock, or i hear some people convert MG midget ones or something?
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dashin_dave
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 01:31 PM |
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jap bike engines may be reliable when in jap bikes, but i did read somewhere about them having to be dry sumped in locosts, and/or blowing up with
regularity?? is there something in this?
economy i was just a bit dubious on, considering that the big bike engines i know of generally have 3-4 35-40mm mirukus on them, which i'd have
thought would suck gas at a rate of revs, considering the rpm bike engines seem to pull...
hmmm..... soo... anyone on this forum with a BEC located in the south anywhere????? someone nice and friendly who'd delight in showing me thier pride
and joy? 
or those with CEC's 
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Jasper
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 05:26 PM |
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Hi Dave
Where about's in south are you? There is a nice chap called Chris Gamlin gave me a ride in his. He's based in South London and Midhurst, you'll
find him on the yahoo bec list. Don't have a BEC for practicality, I think you would get fed up with it, specially in the winter, hoods offer minimal
protection from what I gather, and I'm not sure it you'd get much heating out of one either....seems a waste to me... but each to his own. Insuance
is cheap and so is tax, so have it as a third car!
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paulbeyer
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 08:14 PM |
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quote:
still, cant be much worse than a mini moke in south western victoria, australia, in the depths of winter...
Dave,
I spent 5 years in Oz, 3 in and around Melbourne and the Dandenongs. Even stood on the beach on Phillip Island in the middle of an Aussie winter
doesn't come close to a really icy winters day over here in January or February. Add to that the wind chill factor at 60 mph and you'll soon wish
you were back down under. 
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 08:50 PM |
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I used my midgets all year round,woolie hat and gloves on,hood down,luverly! 
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dashin_dave
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 09:01 PM |
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okey, well, i think jasper just hit on a key point with regards to BEC, at least a key point for me... HEATING... i think if winter is as bad as
people say it is, i'd like a nice warm FUNCTIONAL heater, which i dont think is an option for a BEC... so its back to a CEC for me then, i've just
got to track down the right donk. i will perservere though on using it as a second car when its finished,til i get so fed up with freezing my behind
off that i have to admit to my partner that we need a third car... unfortunately by that time, gosh, we'll already have a locost, which i wouldnt
want to unmake now would i?
as for hood down in winter, urhm... not likely.. as was mentioned in another post.. chill factor at 60mph.. no hat on earth is woolie enough for me to
cope with that... hmm...anyone tried a hood with a thick lining, preferably fur????
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Jasper
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| posted on 7/9/02 at 10:28 PM |
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Crash helmet with balaclava is the only way to go in winter ...... oh I remember by biking days freezing my ass off....
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 8/9/02 at 06:32 AM |
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It gets quite warm in a 7,no insulation etc,like sitting in a warm bath wakes you up in the mornin on your way to werk.
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scutter
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| posted on 8/9/02 at 11:33 AM |
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If your worried about heating the cockpit, get a couple of 12V heaters wire them up individually if your worried about drawing to much power.
Dan
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 8/9/02 at 03:58 PM |
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talk about practicality,went shoppin today ,me one babe,3 carrier bags and it was heaving
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Simon
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| posted on 8/9/02 at 08:30 PM |
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Wadders
"Fuel economy-Like most vehicles i
guess this depends on how heavy yer right boot is.(Jap bikes run on a sniff of fuel)"
One of bike mags took a Yamaha R1 to France and held throttle (fully) open as soon as they got off ferry to see how quick it could use a tank of
Petrol (approx 20 litres).
It did 54 miles (in 18 minutes).
My Hayabusa at constant 80 ish will return about 50 to the gallon. Bear in mind 7 esque car heavier, but probably has better drag co efficient (no
screen on 7!).
ATB
Simon
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Wadders
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| posted on 8/9/02 at 09:13 PM |
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Why does wanting a heater rule out a bec?
If its a water cooled bike engine,you can have a heater just the same!!
Al
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david walker
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| posted on 8/9/02 at 09:29 PM |
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Car engined sevens keep very warm inside the cockpit, even without a heater. The whole tunnel radiates heat! I have a heater in mine also. Haven't
got a hood (yet) but have been in sevens with a hood in terrible conditions and can assure you that warmth and comfort are not a problem.
I would think that bike engines do not push as much heat down the tunnel as car engined versions but see no reason why you cannot utilise a
conventional heater system.
I suspect however that the real BEC fans would not consider heaters, hoods, carpets or any other luxury - minimal weight, maximum power!
Dave Walker, Race Engine Services - 07957 454659 or 01636 671277
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dashin_dave
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| posted on 9/9/02 at 05:18 AM |
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good point again, power to weight really seems against BEC as a semi practical vehicle... apparently limited carry capacity, along with the fully
stripped out nature of a BEC count against it...
maybe its sacriligeous... but if its something i'm going to drive alot, then i'd like options like stereo, INTERIOR TrIM, heater and carpet. all
this is weight, which seems, as far as i can tell, a nemisis of torqueless high revvers
*and yes, cd players can be heard in open cars at 60mph... all you need is a big amp *
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Jasper
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| posted on 9/9/02 at 06:00 PM |
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No with a crash helmet and a barely legal box next to you with a bike engine screaming at 10k revs you won't!!! And it sounds like you should be
driving around in a something like a Morgan not a locost if you want the creature comforts....
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Wadders
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| posted on 9/9/02 at 06:09 PM |
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And it sounds like you should be driving around in a something like a Morgan not a locost if you want the creature comforts....
Yeah, and besides if you go for a bec there'll be no screen to hang your furry dice from!!
Sorry couldn't resist
Al
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dashin_dave
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| posted on 10/9/02 at 04:27 AM |
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hehe... what actually started my looking at kit cars ect.was a nice kit jaguar xk120 i saw out... then on recieving the catalogue, realised the 10k
required to build one was a bit out of my budget, and started to look at other options.. ie:locost. still, wonder how much dicking around with
fibreglass is required to scratchbuild one of them
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