Best W/C 49cc Racing Bike For $1400 Or Less.

Alright, I have been carefully studying this sites forums for over a month now. I currently have a cheapo Cag but I would like to have a machine that will hold its own at the AMMRA races that are heading my way this summer. I have a max of $1400 to spend and right now that buys me a pretty mean C1 with all the mods. I don't think that I am naive to think that I can get at least 10hp out of a C1 for $1400 and that is for a brand new bike and my choice of color. Now I could of course scout around for a used B1 Origami for that price but I don't know how easy it is going to be to find that bike in good condition used for under $1400. Furthermore, when I really study the issue it appears that the B1 stock only outputs about 10hp to the rear wheel anyway so it seems that the two would be comparable. I know that there are other European bikes out there that people are also racing that they think would be much better bikes for the $1400 spending limit that I have and so that is the reason for this post.

If you had only $1400 to spend on your one and only race bike for the 49cc limit watercooled class, what would you pick? Which bike would you think is the fastest? Which one is the best bang for its buck? Which one handles superbly? Which one has the best resale? Which one has the widest upgrade path and the most reasonably priced parts?

I realize this can't be scientific and it comes down to peoples opinions. My hope is that 3-4 months from now when I am at the starting line, that I feel good about what I am sitting on and not wishing that I would have looked a little harder to find a better bike for the money.

Thanks to anyone who responds to this thread. Consider this thread a shoot out of all possible race bike options under $1400 (new or used). I am sure that this will help others with the same question as well.

If you have $1400 cash right now, I would shop around for a used Euro. There is a 13HP GRC GP for sale *right now* on a different forum (CF) for $1500. I would have bought this bike if it had been available when I bought my Banshee GP copy...

-kb

I agree for $1400 you should consider a used Italian and that GRC GP
is a great buy for the price. So far for the $$ the Banshee seems to
be the best purchase if you want to go Chinese from what I have been
reading on this site.

Thanks for the info. Just curious how you know it is 13hp? I don't see hp mentioned and aren't there different hp flavors of the GRC GP? How does the GRC brand compare to Blata, BMS, DM, Polini etc?

c1 with upgraded carb is 9.5 hp. For the cash you have get a banshee or a used euro

GRC's are excellent bikes. Some say that the GP frame is too stiff, but everybody has different tastes. The seller says that the bike is a 13HP 40cc open. There were a few other good bikes in your price range... Frank Toth is selling a super fast Blata Elite WRS on this site for only 1600...

You say that $1400 is your max, but I wouldn't buy a Chinese bike over a Euro bike over a $100-200 difference...

-kb

What he said.......

If you got the money, go Euro. And that is coming from me, who has spent enough on a B1 rep to have bought a secondhand Origami B1.

My original max was $300 : ) So far I have justified my way all the way to $1400. I am at the point where I am not going to be able to afford gear if I go any higher (or Xbox games). Gotta set a limit at some point if I don't want debt and so I have to find something shipped for $1400. Stop helping me justify spending even more : )

Are we talking about Sal45 or Whiteknight? Sal45 says sold at the bottom of the thread...I have no idea what the hp rating is on Whiteknights bike but it sure looks nice.

pbnut

If you want to race, be competitive and have a machine that is hand assembled by skilled craftsman that have a passion for racing your best bet is to purchase a used Euro. Look at how many are racing the real Blata B1 Origami? Very very few due to it's weight and poor handling in comparison to ZPF, DM, BMS, GRC etc. Same goes with the SHO copy. Very few race the Orig bike that it was copied from due to its poor handling. Once you purchase the copies, spend $160 on tires, $200 on clutch/housing/gears, $200 plus on pipe, $100 plus on Carb/jets your almost at $1400 with a $700 buy in price for the replica bike that was welded/assembled and QA/QC by workers that do not care about the items they produce. What do you think the tolerances of the replica bikes are? After all the mods you have a bike that have a very low used value. Used Euro bike are all over for the same price that are in great condition.

What bikes are good open class bikes? In my opinion they are:
DM, BMS, ZPF, GRC, Blata, Frank G’s R-1 but they are too new to have any open class used bikes out there.
Most all bikes will be running Polini Series 2 w/c engines with 5 port heads. The heads will be made by Polini, Mallosi or BiZeta.


I purchased a 40cc 203 ZPF Mallosi 5 port head W/C, 14 hp dual chain drive, damper, 3 piece billet wheels, new PMT T41 tires work of art with $300 worth of spares and tools for the bike for a whoppin $820 shipped to my door. Granted that was deal as the bike retails for over 3 grand. Used this bike should be in the $1800 to $2000 range.

One of our racers purchased a used BMS 40cc Bizeta 5 port BiZeta head 14hp bike for $1700 which retails for $3200 and typically should be in the $2000 to $2400 range.

These are just a couple examples of what is out there in used Euro bikes.

Hope this helps.
Mitch
Team NWminiMoto

Thanks a lot...I just shifted gears. Now I am looking for a good used DM, ZPF, or GRC....haven't heard much about BMS though. I am kinda leaning towards a GRC RR 8.5hp or 13hp...I just hate thinking that whatever I end up getting I will regret purchasing because there is a "better" bike that I will want...I wish I could try stuff before I buy it but I can't so I have to rely on what I read on these forums and it is almost impossible to make a decision on what to buy.

Glad to help.

This is BMS's 2 year of production so they are pretty new in the US. This is what they have already achieved in year one (2004).

BMS is proud to announce that we have won the French Championship 2004 with 3 official riders finishing 1st (Alban BIANCHI), 2nd (Jérôme RICHARD) and 3rd (Max HANUZET) for its very first year Racing ! We have only 1 category in France, which is 50cc with no engine restrictions.

BMS is also proud to announce his victory in England, in the Northern and Southern Championship with 3 young UK riders (2 twins of 8 year old and 1 boy of 12 year old) in 4.2 class, one of the most famous in the UK. We finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd of one championship (can't remember if it is the Northern one or the Southern one) and 1st and 3rd of the other one.

I love the GRC, DM and ZPF's as well.

Where on earth can I buy a BMS or find them used?..maybe you could give me a few keywords to put in google to avoid filtering probs : )

pdnut
I sent you a pm