How to control a basset
Content
Sports stroller on the track 120 horsepower, 190 kilograms, height 80 cm!
The opinion of Remy and Fred, two-time champions of France and 3 participants in TT
Baset is just a UFO on the motorcycle planet. In terms of its dimensions (width cannot exceed 1575 mm and height of only 800 mm), lines and neat aerodynamics, the car breathes pure speed and is in contrast to any concept of festivity. Compatible with a monkey placed on a half-square-meter piece of sheet metal, use your body to keep the car on the runway and at crazy speeds. We shudder at the pilot, get stuck in the hull, rest on our knees and especially on the engine in a driving position that feels so awkward, clinging to steering wheels that deflect even less than the Ducati 1098.
It was during a free ride day organized on the Vaison Piste by the Central Team structure, which also allowed us to understand how a sports stroller based on the Suzuki Hayabusa works, that we arrived at what constitutes the climax of speed on three wheels: the Basset.
To do this, we turned to Rémy Guignard and Fred Poo, French F2 champions in 2014 and 2015, and with the three entrants in the Isle of Man tourism trophy, their credit (where they are in the top 15 each time). Please note that only F2 is allowed in TT (short chassis and 600 4-cylinder engine allowed), because the organizers think that F1, their long chassis and 1000 engine are too dangerous in this case.
Humble and ponpon
And yet, when we start a conversation, we expect to meet superheroes, burn their heads, and find a couple who wouldn't go wrong in the bridge championship. It is not that we do not place the highest emphasis on the bridge, this noble discipline, but the calmness, simplicity and humility of our champions are truly overwhelming.
Selected shapes. Remy: "Franchise, it's convenient for him." And there you look at the thing, the narrowness of the places where he has to insert his legs, the lack of padding (not even a roll of foam) where he lowers his knees, the thin plastic shell that separates his chest from the engine, the low steering angle ... and you think that is still hurts.
And there Fred adds more. A sparkling blue look and morphology that is nothing like that of a plunger, Fred then explains to you that the basset is, no, not so physically for the hands, and that in TT it is not difficult because there are large rows and you spend a lot of time on waiting for it ... more than 240 km / h ...
There, as a journalist, you think you just got it wrong about clients. Nice, definitely a little crazy, but definitely too normal. And before you surrender, you must put down your notebook, pencil and get your final weapon. Fishing.
You notice Fred's rubbed skin and ask him how many barrels she has already made with it. For any answer, you will know that with this leather it has been thrown out once or twice, but if it looks rotten it is mainly because of the signs of wear and tear that the bassetts are putting on you.
Oh yes, basset, it's still serious! Here is a video of our two friends on TT to illustrate our statements: http://www.youtube.com/embed/aLKvnbrONdg? Rel = 0
Do you want to be a Shariot?
Listening only to his courage, Den therefore climbed behind Remi. I am who hates being a passenger, so here I am for the guy who does TT. Courage or unconsciousness?
What is striking is the space on board: cramped. A small aluminum plate and the famous "survival bar" that has already been found on Hayabusa-based sports strollers. Not to mention, it's a Spartan. To gouge the legs out, there are 4 small, hard plastic studs at the bottom, and two notches in the fairing (or rather the fuselage) allow it to hold. The monkey usually gets a circuit breaker attached to the wrist. This is not offered to me. For me, perhaps the intense joys of the ejection seat?
First problem: how do I fit 188 cm into this thing? Remi come with me as best you can. I get a simple advice: you can move to the right, for the left I will take care of it ", because I am too tall to be able to move easily and especially quickly, since the promiscuity of the seat forces my knees to touch Remy's left leg, which prevents him from braking. First of all, do not move, first of all, do not collude. “If I die, I slap you on the back,” I told Remi shortly before leaving. "Don't worry, I am easily accessible!" - he answers me. Here I am sure.
The good news is that the Vaison Piste runs mostly right, so there isn't much work to do. And let's go for a few laps. Despite the 120 horsepower of the Honda 600 CBR engine, the acceleration is maintained, especially since only two small plastic blocks stop me and I'm hooked like a damn man on my survival bar. The first pif-paf is over in no time, and the basset is already attacking a series of right turns: I push to my feet, struggling to find a notch, and gravity starts to take effect in the first left lift.
The problem is, I'm not there on the left. Then I feel the outer wheel rise and Remi controls the whole thing, and especially the trajectory, shifting the bast. I cling to my survival bar, opening all my pores to soak up this moment forever: lateral and horizontal drift, with F2 climbing the coast in one second.
Lux, in a long series of right-hand turns, confirms the extreme rigidity of the car, and the speed of the passage has nothing to do with the Hayabusa seatbelt, already impressive. Remi does not throttle and stays in constant acceleration in this section, while we have to let go a little with Hayabusa. And there I discover that in addition to lateral forces, you are exposed to longitudinal forces on the base: you have to fight, cling to the car so as not to be thrown out during acceleration, and also force you not to switch to braking. And this, especially since Remy increases the pace through a few turns.
Back in the pits, Fred actually explains that you have to anticipate as much as possible, use the momentum of the machine in your mind, and use your legs more than your arms to change position. All of this makes sense, but gives rise to tremendous respect for the exercise it represents, especially since digging a little, we learn that it is not uncommon for a monkey to be “shamed,” which means in their language that it has been thrown away or a little abused in a car. And this happened to Fred during the last TT when they hit a sidewalk that they didn't see while they were fighting for another Basset.
The hardest part is keeping up the drifts
For Remy, who raced a motorcycle (French Endurance Championship, French Cup, 3rd Ducati Cup) and who first came to Basset as a monkey to help a needy rider) and who seriously started Basset competition in 2010 after buying a car in 2007,
“Because it will end up lifting anyway, because if you increase your speed and adjust well (on Bassets you can adjust the nose gear and undercarriage deflection and pinching), it will happen to you in left turns. After that he remains driving, there is a small piece of technology and a lot of senses. "
