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While other manufactures have
rubber-mounted the engine and separate reverse box, DJ is the first that we're
aware of (and apologies to any other manufacturer that does do this already) to
use a sleeved propshaft which further takes out the harshness often associated
with bike drivetrains. We're also unaware of anyone moving a fuel tank from its
conventional position under the rear boot, but DJ has developed a tank which
drops in to the area where a conventional car's gearbox would have been
(obviously leaving space for the propshaft). Not only does this optimise weight
distribution but it also moves the tank away from any potential damage in the
event of a rear impact. So DJ may have been late coming to the party, but the
company has certainly brought along some fancy pressies…
Not least
of which is a turbo charged Suzuki Hayabusa engine! As the most powerful
production motorbike engine currently available, in its 152bhp (at the rear
wheels) normally aspirated form it's hardly a slouch, but bolt on a turbo and
the results are pretty bonkers.
Bike specialist, Holeshot Racing
(tel:0113 257 6644), is the company behind the new installation and the
company's Hayabusa test bike has been receiving rave views in the mainstream
press.
Surprisingly, there are hardly any internal modifications to the
engine, save for special pistons and heavy duty cylinder studs. The clutch gets
beefed up and you can opt for a higher fourth and fifth gear (something that
was going on to the Dax after our visit). Otherwise, it's external mods, such
as additional injectors mounted on the plenum chamber and an additional ECU.
The turbo itself is a modified Mitsubishi sourced item (of EVO Origin) and
you'll also need an intercooler. Supply Holeshot Racing with an engine and a
cheque for £4000 and you'll be waking up to over 350bhp. Holeshot's own
test bike develops a reliable 389bhp at the rear wheels!
Save for the
slightly daft plenum chamber sticking out of the bonnet of the Rush, this is a
really neat installation, although with an intercooler, large aluminium
radiator and also an oil cooler, things get pretty serious up ahead of the
engine. The second car we drove was a more conventional Fireblade-engined car,
and here everything looked even more simple and fuss-free.
TIndeed, it
was this Blade-Engined car we drove first, just to run ourselves in before
jumping in the Busa-engined machine. This one was built by Gary Sanders, DJ's
test driver extraordinaire and the company's production engineer. It was he who
developed the paddle gear change and his car has endless one-off fabrications
such as the welded aluminium centre tunnel, column shroud and other bits and
bobs. Built on an absolute shoestring, it also shows what can be achieved by
the competent builder. Gary's engine was found for under £500 and his car
represents an investment of just over £5000 to the average man on the
street (if you were to use a conventional chassis and front suspension).
Sat on 17" alloys, the Rush looks absolutely spot-on. The lack of a
windscreen gives the car a squat, aggressive stance, while Gary's also modified
the front side panels to increase airflow around the engine but also to further
accentuate the car's wide, ground-hugging look. It's an idea that has been
followed through into the Busa car and has now been developed as a standard
option for all model variants, including a fibreglass version.
Inside
the cockpit, the Blade-engined car is stripped bare, with no carpeting and
simple fibreglass seat shells which have been drilled out for both visual
effect and weight saving.
The paddle shift gearchange is an immediate
visual attraction - a sort of custom cow-horn affair that immediately adds to
the sense of occasion as well as the sense of fun. The scuttle-mounted central
fuel filler cap reminds you of the novel tank position, while Gary's aluminium
upper side panels for the cockpit offer additional wind protection. The
stripped back seats are surprisingly comfortable and the driving position is
nigh-on perfect - the cow-horn gear change seems so utterly natural that one
wonders why all the other manufactures have been so slow to catch-on. The lack
of even the most basic wind deflector makes goggles an absolute must - the
Blade engine fires up and we're away.
As the very first bike-engined
Rush to hit the road, Gary's car has been something of a prototype, and its
lack of rubber mounting or fancy propshaft are immediately felt (or at least
they are when you drive the Busa car). There's quite a lot of drivetrain
clunking going on here as you make your way through the gears - not excessively
so but enough to be a little tiresome. Add in an aluminium centre tunnel and
complete lack of sound deadening trim material and this is a pretty raw
environment. For all that, the ride seems assured. The fancy camber
compensation front suspension soaks up bumps easily but because it uses
standard Rush springs, it remains just fractionally on the firm side, certainly
in comparison with a highly compliant ear set-up. |
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