THE GPV-1
As a kid
I always wanted to ride motorcycles and I have been obsessed with motor
sports in general, F1, MotoGP, and NASCAR and so on; anything with a
motor and wheels has my attention. The short version of the story is I did have
an opportunity to ride dirt bikes when I was younger, it was for a
summer and that was it. So when I saw the Venom GPV-1 it was love at first sight and I had
to have one.
I have
been in RC for quite some time mostly in the traditional forms of it
like off road, touring cars and air planes. RC bikes are new to me and
very interesting as to their scale details compared to the 1:1 version. After
much research and forum surfing I ordered the GPV-1 last October; I know
it is almost October again and I am now writing this...
Ok, when
I ordered this bike I know the stock electronics weren't going to cut
it so I ordered the Team Novak Mongoose
Brushless System and a Venom 2S
Lipo battery pack. This setup was selected to keep current with today's RC
trends for run-time; low maintenance and I have always had
success using Team Novak systems throughout the years. Racing the
GPV-1 is not in the cards as there is no organized racing series (or tracks for
that matter) in NY for RC bikes, so this will be strictly for the parking
lot.
Testing - Sunny & 70 deg:
Since this is my first opportunity to sample the GPV-1, I am convinced that going brushless was the right move, what a bike it accelerates like a missile with the Novak system. On my second battery pack I made a few adjustments and it was a much better session.
The bike accelerates nice and smooth (after making a few radio adjustments expo, endpoints, throttle speed), and the Novak system is “SWEET” (did I mention this already). The first adjustments were thicker shock oil and 1+ mm of droop. The rear end settled down nicely with more grip in and out of the corners.
The front end has been my challenge; trying the track strait lead to a few adjustments on the steering-link springs. After finding the sweet spot, I gained a much better feel coming off the corner onto the straits. My test track was a clean blacktop with corner dots to make nice infield with two sweeping corners (I should have mentioned this first).
The only downside was changing the battery pack for the next run; "too much work Venom". So since I has the bodywork off I decided to make a rake adjustment to 64 deg. This setup proofed to be great on the sweepers but a little slow on the infield left and right turns.
Overall I am happy with the GPV-1's performance and the fun I had, it brought back that first time RC feeling and "I like that".
My addition for RC bikes is growing and I don't want it to end!
Since this is my first opportunity to sample the GPV-1, I am convinced that going brushless was the right move, what a bike it accelerates like a missile with the Novak system. On my second battery pack I made a few adjustments and it was a much better session.
The bike accelerates nice and smooth (after making a few radio adjustments expo, endpoints, throttle speed), and the Novak system is “SWEET” (did I mention this already). The first adjustments were thicker shock oil and 1+ mm of droop. The rear end settled down nicely with more grip in and out of the corners.
The front end has been my challenge; trying the track strait lead to a few adjustments on the steering-link springs. After finding the sweet spot, I gained a much better feel coming off the corner onto the straits. My test track was a clean blacktop with corner dots to make nice infield with two sweeping corners (I should have mentioned this first).
The only downside was changing the battery pack for the next run; "too much work Venom". So since I has the bodywork off I decided to make a rake adjustment to 64 deg. This setup proofed to be great on the sweepers but a little slow on the infield left and right turns.
Overall I am happy with the GPV-1's performance and the fun I had, it brought back that first time RC feeling and "I like that".
My addition for RC bikes is growing and I don't want it to end!
