Hi Guys,
Someone give me an honest answer on what a BEC is like on a motorway or on a long trip.
Planning on a BEC Fury for my next car, but want to take it to France.....
Any info would be grealty appreciated.
Pat....
Been discussed before me thinks (search alister NI )
i've been on a motorway in one, provided the diff ratio is long (howling engine gets a bit much) its not too bad. Maybe the fun factor made me
put up with the wind, but it seemed ok. Rain isnt too much fun though. best avoided.
Hi Pat,
From our experience, if you're currently or previously a biker, then the sound (just a different sound!) will be no problem. I'll be honest
(I was frank earlier!) we tend to avoid motorways not just because of the high revving nature of the engine but also becasue of the buffetting (those
tables strewn with sandwiches are annoying!) and the gawking that goes on. If you're driving at 70mph the revs are 7,000... if your car will do
it - try it! After 45-50 minutes this, you'll be ready for a rest... besides, 7's are not designed for motorway driving...
Try and find an alternative A or B road.... much more fun! 
or even get a really good helmet, I used to have a roof lemans helmet and it blanked out most of the sound
Its tolerable, to get from A to B but not really enjoyable........ even with a helmet. IMO
Noisy and boring - helmet needed so can talk to passenger, and very loud. Also very wet if your driving back from a Kit Show up north !
I wouldn't recommend it - which is why I'm building a CEC next with screen and sidescreen, so I can cruise in comfort down through Europe
Hi Pat
Sorry havent emailed you back yet. Been away from home 'puter which is where I pick my hotmail up from. Will try and send you stuff at
weekend.
Back to the question .... I have done two trips to LeMans and been on lots of longer trips round UK eg 200mile+ round trips to Harrogate, Exeter,
Donington, Snetterton etc. Mine has only an aeroscreen but it works to keep the wind, stones etc out ouf my face. I rarely wear a helmet other than
on track or if it's very cold just a beanie hat or similar. A Half tonneau or a soft top will probably make it more practical. If you go for a
fury or stylus with a full screen its even more civilised. The noise is about the only negative but some quality earplugs sorts that out. I dont
know of anyone with a combination of hardtop and bike engine but my gut feeling would be that the resonance would make it uncomfortably loud
inside.
I have a mate who's done well over 12k in his BEC fury in the last 18 months.
Just my 2p worth
Cheers
Jim
love it, motorway or not, did Le mans 2 up with camping gear no prob, no different to a cec, the wind is the main prob if any
i had mr isons exhaust in my ear for the lemans trip,i recon my pinto powered car is harder work on a journey than the isonblade
I followed Jim (sometimes a little too closely for comfort ) down to Le Mans this year and I would say a lot of it is dependent on your car of
choice. Jim's Pheonix all enveloping aeroscreen and high sides give a hell of a lot more protection than my Locoblade. Whereas Jim did it
intirely in a Beanie, there is no way we could have done the same. Therefore id say that if motorway driving is a big consideration then choose your
car / aeroscreen combo wisely - in fact Id say an aeroscreen like Jims is actually probably better than a full screen
cheers
Chris
quote:
Originally posted by Jon Ison
love it, motorway or not, did Le mans 2 up with camping gear no prob, no different to a cec, the wind is the main prob if any
If I had to use the motorway every day for 50 miles or so then a BEC isn't a great idea, but for one off trips it's fine. For a long
journey I would consider fitting taller tyres or bigger wheels/tyres to get the gearing up but as has been said before, get good wet weather
coat/trousers (the rain hits you then drips into your lap !) and earplugs and helmet and you can do as many miles as you could in a CEC.
Mine is surprisingly comfortable actually, not something I expected at all.
You're right - no difference between a BEC and CEC in a standard locost - just that 95% of BEC's keep the weight to a minimum because of the
tack of torque and so don't have wind/side screens and heater - that's what makes the real difference.
When I go out in Hicosts beats it's just much more civilised (he'll hate me saying that!), warm, no wind buffering, and you can talk.
That's what I miss with my BEC.
Now if I had a busa engine and more torque I would go with the full weather gear..... but for the same money I can have an S2000 engine, so no
competition for me.......
quote:
Originally posted by theconrodkid
i had mr isons exhaust in my ear for the lemans trip,i recon my pinto powered car is harder work on a journey than the isonblade