Motors  

The original Nuova Faor was designed for .12 Novarossi pullstart motors (C12). Due to the position of tank in relation to carburettor and fuel line routing, it is difficult to get any motor running at it's peak of efficiency, so expect to run the motor cooler than normally used in a car. Early starting and running problems were caused by use of too cold a plug and high oil content fuel. Now it's pretty much accepted to fit OS A3 instead of the standard plug. Attempting to start the bike while in a level plane with a rich setting can very often lead to hydraulic lock, caused by unburnt and ejected fuel oil in the exhaust running back down in to the cylinder. This problem was partially overcome by using NF's new exhaust which has an oil catchment bubble and drain. Run this drain through fuel hose to terminate at the exhaust outlet. See photo gallery . Or just simply plug it and drain it later. Starting the bike while in the vertical plane will help keep oil drained away.

SF 501

The Nuova Faor SF501 kit actually includes a motor - the Sirio .12. Don't expect reliability here though, I and many others have had much trouble including multiple broken pullstart cords, one - way bearings slipping (they are actually too small!) and air ingress problems. The motor itself is also well down on power. The Novarossi is in a different league entirely. Suitable replacements include almost any .12 motor and some .15s with slide carbs, although throttle linkage and clutch adjustments may have to be made on those with lever carbs. Recommended are the OS .15CV and CVX, Picco XP15, Novarossi LS15. The latter (at 1.7hp) is not recommended for racing as it is so overpowered, but great fun if all you want is wheelies and powerslides, but bear in mind the bike won't last long with this sort of power, expect many highside crashes, flips and multiple cartwheels! The bikes are tough, but not that tough.

 Taming the NR 15 is now one of my passions, the incredible acceleration is way too much for the Nuova Faor, but is just great fun attempting a good lap without the front rearing up or wheelspinning too much. To do this, it is recommended to limit the throttle travel, either physically or electronically on the transmitter, to 35 - 40% initially. At this setting there is still more power than a good .12 and the chance of major crash damage is limited. Then with a grippy track and gentle throttle control, this can be increased to whatever limit you can cope with.  Both on board video clips on the video page have the NR15 throttle set at betwen 40 and 48% max. The rearview clip was taken early January on a somewhat damp and greasy Halifax track, producing lots of wheelspin with clumsy fingers. I was also testing new lightweight clutch shoes with heavy springs and I am confident this is the way to go. However, I wasn't expecting any wheelies. Just a couple of small ones are evident, but at the end, a completely unexpected and very quick wheelie sent the bike into a fast mid air spin, both camera and bike batteries flew out amid bits of lexan, exhaust, fuel tube etc. A MAJOR wipeout! And time for another camera.

SF 506

The latest Nuova Faor is the 506 and comes with a Picco .12 engine. Also side exhaust and slide carb, this little motor is a screamer. Coupled with the 506's 12t clutchbell, you will have more than enough power on the track to win races and occasionally pull wheelies without trying, but you will need to change the exhaust for the 501. See the video clip HERE The Picco can come with the settings too lean from the factory, so start by opening out the high speed needle screw to 5 turns and the low speed screw head 1 - 2 mm above the housing.

Some old advice on breaking in the motor and setting up the needle valves etc HERE

  Handling 

The first thing is to make sure that the steering is set up well. Using springs or silicone, make sure that when you move the front wheel by hand from right to left, the springs/silicone take up much of that movement and only allows the servo to be moved slightly, if at all. Tightening the springs/ shortening the silicone results in sharper steering, while lengthening the silicone/ softening the springs results in slower steering. Turning the rake adjuster screw in will sharpen steering response, unscrewing will have the opposite effect. And don't forget the most important point in setting up your bike - the steering has to be reversed, that is turning the transmitter stick or steerwheel to left equals front wheel turning to right. For a detailed steering setup article look on the Skipton site HERE

And if you're bike has a tendency to fall left or right and not want to go straight, read this HERE

For new drivers the main handling problem seems to stem from the rather high centre of gravity – whilst this is fine for high speed cornering, slow hairpins take some finesse to get right. Also, unlike the electric, the rear swing-arm position is not adjustable. For best handling and ground clearance compromise, set the rear shock to equal a swingarm angle of about 25 degrees (from the side chassis bottom) with no load on the shock. This should reduce to about 15 - 20 degrees when the bike is sat on the track under it's own weight.

The 506 forks are supposed to be oil damped, but are difficult to get a reliable damping from them, so a reasonable solution is to add grease to the sliders and dispense with the oil and balance tube. The plastic brake discs actually work surprisingly well (with a high torque servo!). The only noticeable problem I found was at slow speed they tended to lock the front wheel fairly easily. In my opinion the 501 setup was better.

Another problem is wobble and weave under power caused by

a) chassis not rigid enough - make sure there is no flex in any direction, inc. swingarm. A double sided swingarm extension should be available soon. Also make sure the chassis is built (or re-built) correctly. See same link above for the best advice. A common problem is a slight bend in the rear axle and / or squashed inner hub spacer. The newer silver non anodised single sided swingarms are also prone to indents by the axle head. If the bike has a bad tumble, check all these areas and make sure the wheels are in line before venturing out again. The 506 comes with a dual sided swingarm which although quite heavy, is a good solution to these problems.

b) rear shock not built correctly / damping oil too thin (use 7000 wt in the standard shock, or block off all holes in the piston and drill a 1mm hole, allowing the use of regular 40 - 90 wt oils.). Shock tops are available with foam volume compensation in a reservoir built in to the body. These do away with the diaphragm, are much smoother and mean much less re-builds. Well recommended.

c) rear tyre squirm - try a denser foam liner and / or strengthen tyre with layers of cloth matting glued to inside. This is not normally a problem in winter!

d) no steering damper / damper too light - fit a suitable 1/10 car shock with no or light (10-15wt) oil (I used a RC10 front shock). This is the most important item to fit to a powerful bike, it gives you much more confidence to use the power and start enjoying the bike.

TYRES

Handling and grip can be transformed by using the right rubber. Nuova Faor kit tyres are perhaps best left on the shelf unless you are using additive. Aftermarket tyres are available as follows:

PMT 100 front and rear - a good all rounder, will grip all but the dampest tracks, but not for really cold use.  PMT 200  front and rear - for winter racing, on damp and wet tracks, or even a warm day, but a greasy track. Use one piece dense foam inserts in both - available from Nuova Faor or GRP.

GRP soft and X soft - similar to the PMTs, but they also come with orange inserts. A little less grippy, but good to have in the spares box.

  CLUTCH / GEARS 

The standard clutch can be improved by fitting different clutch shoes which will allow the clutch to slip more at low speeds. New shoes currently under test. See Motors above. These are lightweight Mugen shoes with strong springs, allowing the motor to spin faster before complete engagement. My earlier fears that slow speed corners would be undriveable soon disappeared. After a while I was able to give it more throttle than I usually do coming out of the corners without the rear stepping out or wheelspinning on a damp track. This gives the driver much more confidence. The only downside is lack of engine braking while coasting around hairpins, the bike just wants to fall in more. But this is something you get used to, blipping the throttle slightly mid corner helps and within 5 minutes of practice it ceased to be a problem. Come summer and dry tracks, this should really be an advantage.

The 13 tooth clutch bell, as standard on early models, is a bit high geared for normal track use, unless you have a low revving motor. Newer versions of the 501 and 506 come with 12 tooth clutchbells which are ideal for all but the longest straights.