Sometimes very expensive, cold, rattly, often damp and very impractical----or the most fun you can have whilst dressed?
Until relatively recently i never saw the point in these cars. Then i drove a few and they suddenly seemed like a very good way of getting almost bike-type thrills out of a car.
I now have a nice black Westfield Seight (3.9 V8 Range Rover engine) and it's stark staring mad to drive! Pulls away in gear three of it's five ratios with ease and the performance under 120 is amazing. Nox, would you ever own something like this, do you think?
we have a guy at work who commutes all year round in a westfield! 2.0l pinto engined I believe.
Also have a mate who has a Panther, he bought it to replace an MGB in the early 80s and after losing touch with him I saw him last year - he still has it and its got 107k on the clock!
I was in the process of starting a wide bodied westfield, with cycle wings and the choice at the time for me, was between the 1.6 crossflow ford engine or the more expensive for me the vauxhall 2.0 16v engine and more work. It was to be green with yellow nose cone. Had to give it up due to family commitments Might take on that kind of project again now my kids are getting older it is just a pity I sold all the parts I had sourced for it.
____(OO=[II]=OO)___ (O=0000=O)
Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? ...He's a mile away and you've got his shoes.
The chap in the Westfield turns up looking like a pilot from WW2! All he needs are the goggles and cap!
I'd say his choice of the pinto is a good one, its a strong engine and can be tuned very cheaply - I used it in the stock car, mild cam, 32/36 weber and uprated valve springs - only cost about £100 to do and would rev up to 7k no probs but kept going all season.
I considered building a Caterham in my early 20s. Had on & off ideas about doing this over the course of a year.
But then I asked myself "why would I do that?"
Having been a motorcyclist since the age of 16 (13 on the track) I dont see the point in the Westfield or Caterham.
It is like the LCC Rocket in 1991 which was £39,000 - a kings ransom in those days. Why would you buy one, when a motorcycle is infinitely better?
The Rocket even had a 1000cc Yamaha FZR engine & transmission. Yes, it was designed by Gordon Murray, and yes it looked like a 1950s Grand Prix car, but its still no motorcycle.
Westfield use motorcycle engines too.
None of these will match the dynamics and ability of a sports motorcycle.
£9,000 will buy you a brand new Kawasaki ZX10R. That is the option I would take, by a very long way.
Originally posted by Noxide: The Caterham R500 Superlight is the first and only car to have actually scared me. The acceleration is just so fierce, so obscene it's just madness.
Great car, but can't afford one, sadly. The nerest thing to motorcycle thrills, Oli.
The one vehicle i had with more violent acceleration than a Caterham R500 was my lightly tuned 2004 Yamaha R1. 165bhp, 165kgs, 0-60 in around 2.7 and 100 in 5 flat. A nigh-on 200 mph top speed meant that even something as awesome as a R500 would get chomped up terrible once above 120 or so.
Totally agree Bamford. Shame the Hyabusa is very old hat now, and is too bulky and unweildy - let alone ugly!
You can get 0% finance from motorcycle dealers these days. A 180BHP ZX10R would be my choice. Very light, incredible to ride, very easy, effortless and the performance is breathtaking. Ive never, ever driven/riden anything so composed or fast.
The ZZR1400 would be better for you, in that case. Much more comfortable, for one thing. 200 mph out of the crate, for those autobahn moments, 0-100 in 5 seconds, perfectly good enough handling-wise and the tall top gear ensures decent economy even! I have ridden one and it was much better handling than i had predicted Palmy.
Yes I am sure it handles well enough and is a good tourer. The 1100 was very good 10 years ago but went on too long, and the 2002-06 ZZR1200 was a damp squib - much rather have a used ZX12R.
Maybe I ought to look at a sports tourer this year.... Always liked the handling & performance of a sportsbike so I have stuck doggedly to it, and considering it is a sportsbike it does tour very very well as long as I stop every 80 miles for a stretch - usually this can be coincided with refuelling.
Ive had my current Kawasaki 5 and a half years, which is the longest Ive ever kept a bike. Usually i trade in as soon as the 1st MOT is due...
i love the retro looking yamaha xj1300 and such like.....lovely bikes...iv always promised id treat myself to an old fj1100 0r fj1200 one of these days...oh, and actually get a licence, something that i never seemed to bother with as a young irresposible rebel without a clue.....
I used to go out on the XJ 1300 with a mate with a Suzuki GS 1400, a very similar bike.
I would say that if you really fancy 2 wheels Bggbn, look at an early Suzuki 1400. Great value now and even though very low on power for a big bike, an effortless engine in a well made bike.
got a big soft spot for the v-max.....i adore the simplicity of earlier jap air cooled cross frame fours...id love an old zedthou, or gs1000...hell, i even like the old air cooled bmw plodders....which reminds me, i saw one of the rarest bikes around the other week, an early ninties bmw k1....so dated now, but what a machine....based on bmw's firs water cooled bikes i think, this was their take on the superbike....it was a glorious failure and outdone by jap bikes costing half as much, but what a gloroius failure..
It's a pity you can't see some bike photos sitting here. You'd love one of them. A 1996 V-Max, fitted with a paddle rear tyre for sand dune racing and cruising! Jeez that was a hoot.
Might take on that kind of project again now my kids are getting older it is just a pity I sold all the parts I had sourced for it. 
