1993 Lotus Sport Monocoque

[yakboy]

So by now you have probably read my rambling account of how I acquired this bike. If not...….

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=390990

Firstly I need to understand how a British Superbike made in the US by SP Systems ended up in Poland. A clue may be in the picture below

This picture appeared on a German bike forum a few years ago. The bike has obviously had a paint job but sports the same XT752 groupset and crappy pedals that mine has which date from 2003-2004.
The website on the side of the bike is www.otto-bikes.de which now seems to be a big sports retailer but translating the threads it seems to be that they may have imported some frames and made them up. The one in the picture looks like it was for XC racing. Mine has decent kit for 2003, with Mavic Crossmax wheels, XT groupset, RaceFace seatpost , Bontrager carbon bars and stem, Chris King headset, front and rear Magura HS33's and Manitou Scareb forks but as you can see from the picture they do not sit well with the frame, (well I think the Crossmax's don't look too out of place but need some skinwall tyres on to breakup all that black)

So as regards to my plans for the Lotus, I feel no obligation to return it to the Lotus Sport (British Eagle ) spec as it was never that bike. However it does need some quality 90's parts that are more sympathetic to the wonderful frame. I have specific idea's about most parts and also the overall look I am going for.

If you think 1980's Lotus F1, you'll get the idea

So Carbon, titanium and gold (Titanium Nitride). Most parts sourced will be 90's but I think I will have to go for a couple of newer parts (although they will be repro's of 90's parts), if they are to be in good enough condition to nitride.

I have inspected the monocoque, there are a few chips in the gelcoat and a few small cracks in the gelcoat too but these do not look structural and as I spent most of my late teens and early twenties racing, breaking and repairing Carbon Kevlar Kayaks I am happy to do minor repairs to carbon. I will post more pictures as I start to strip the frame and I have a few dilemna's that I will need help with.

So if anybody is after an M752 XT groupset and some forks give me a shout ….and of course THAT saddle !!

 

[tangent]

Awesome, it would of been an honour for my RC36s to end up here!!!..am really pleased you have found a set to suit your perfect project. Am going to dig out my old copy of Mbi and read the review! Super Rad!.

 

[yakboy]

Re:

Hope you can see where I'm going with the build tangent and why it would have been a travesty to strip yours of their original bits

 

[Retro Spud]

Made for a great read your - how I got it thread

on a side note
is it my eyes or have you got odd sized wheels, the back one looks flipping massive :shock:

 

[yakboy]

is it my eyes or have you got odd sized wheels, the back one looks massive

That's funny I thought exactly the same thing when looking at the photo. Must be some sort of optical illusion as both wheels are 26" and have the same non descript rubbish tyres on

 

[tangent]

Re: Re:

Hope you can see where I'm going with the build tangent and why it would have been a travesty to strip yours of their original bits

maybe , what an epic project, and the story of the discovery too, which I have now caught up with!
brilliant.

 

[mk one]

Really looking forward to this.

One of the most memorable cars, the JPS Lotus. I was lucky enough to see one of them at the Goodwood festival of speed years ago, cant remember if it went up the hill. probably. as one of the criteria of displaying a car there was it had to go up the hill, no matter how rare. Got some photos of the car somewhere, unfortunatly i had just ran out of colour film and had to use black and white, which really only mattered on this car as one of the best stand out features is the black and gold!

Used to love that event before it went comercial, can remember standing behind a formula one car, Ferrari i think, wondering why everyone had ear defenders on, until they started it :shock: it was sooo loud, and ticked over at revs that sounded like it was about to blow, awesome

mark

 

[Peachy!]

Love this bike and dream of having one myself one day. Looking forward to your updates

Ps That’s Mario Andretti’s Lotus 79 from 1978..... nothing 80’s about it... (sorry i’ll get me coat) :facepalm:

 

[kingoffootball]

I'm looking forward to seeing the updates on this. The post on how you got it was great and I think the JPS scheme is an excellent source of inspiration.

 

[yakboy]

Love this bike and dream of having one myself one day. Looking forward to your updates

Ps That’s Mario Andretti’s Lotus 79 from 1978..... nothing 80’s about it... (sorry i’ll get me coat) :facepalm: