Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Please share your secrets! What mods have you made to your TRX?

Moderators: trixynut, Mincehead, dicky, phuk72, Jak, Kevtrx849

Curmi.
Site Sponsor
Posts: 78
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:29 am

Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Curmi. » Sun Sep 06, 2015 11:41 am

HI guys. Now its my time for me to do something for the TRX community, just as mark with the over size valves, and brian with the cdis and other things. Thanks to these guys. Iam not a tech head so I can't contribute much, so this is my bit.
I contacted Andrew Cathcart, manager of the re-opened iconic business Vee Two. For sure the inquiry was for my self, but turns out some of us may have a rare opportunity to acquire some of the cams that have been off the market for a long time, and was a must do mod for tuned bikes back in the day.
This Is the reply I got for everyone to see, and just wondering if theres any interest out There. Obviously we don't know exact cost, just need to know if theres any guys keen to find out where this goes. Then we can go from there, and also get refreshed on the specs.

Ill be the first to put my hand up. :cheers:

Hi Adrian

Thanks for your enquiry. You’ve hit at my heartstrings, as I’m very much a fan of the TRX, and would like to produce some of these cams again.

Brook and I have recently restarted Vee Two to concentrate on bevel-drive Ducati motorcycles.

We have recommissioned our Vee Two camshaft grinder, and have been grinding up a stock of each of the different cams for the Ducati models that we specialise in.

Although there are currently no plans to make up a batch of the TRX cams, I do have the tooling for the cam grinder ready to go, so I could do a run in my free time. It would involve me machining up some specialised two and three lobe blanks, but I could do a small batch if the interest was there.

As far as the specs of the cams are concerned, they were designed with Brook (the owner here at Vee Two) whilst OVER racing were developing my Dad’s factory Yamaha TRX racebike – affectionately known as TRiXie. My Dad Alan campaigned the bike in the BEARS Championship and the BoTT European and World Championships over several years with great success. I’ve attached a couple of photos of the bike.

I am making a road-going replica at the moment, so will eventually need some of those cams to fit to the spare race-bike engine that I’m using for the project. If you could get a few orders together with any of your fellow TRX owner mates, I recon it’d give us the push to do some over a couple of weekends in our free time.

The race engines in TRiXie were modified street engines, and had titanium conrods, billet pistons, extremely lightened cranks and FCR’s, but used stock sized valves with these camshafts. The grind isn’t too extreme as to be useless on the road, as Brook designed the cam profiles and timings for torque rather than absolute power.

As far as performance is concerned, the cams work great with a free flowing exhaust and decent carbs (preferably FCR’s of course), and are the ultimate addition to a big bore kit. There would be little or no difference to a stock setup, but if you’re interested in cams you probably already have done the rest…

Hope that helps. Let me know if you can get some interest with your TRX friends on TRX850.com (I’m on there as well), and I’ll see what kind of costs would be involved in making some. It’d have to play second fiddle to the setup work that we’re doing here with bevel-drive Ducatis, but I’m sure I could organise something in the coming months.
An interesting read.
The bike (Alan Cathcart) that these cams were designed for. Now that's Trx850 nostalgia.
Image
Image
Image
Image

My bike i want the cams for.
Image
Image

User avatar
Kenny
TRX-Enthusiast
Posts: 288
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:04 pm
Location: Evesham Worcestershire UK

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Kenny » Sun Sep 06, 2015 12:54 pm

I would be interested if the price is right.
My bike maybe a dinosaur but it still has some bite & has a mighty roar.

Sometimes I wake up grumpy ........ but usually I let her sleep in

cobbadiggabuddyblooo
Site Sponsor
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:19 am
Location: Brisbane,Australia

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by cobbadiggabuddyblooo » Sun Sep 06, 2015 1:39 pm

Well done Adrian,
Good man.. =D> =D>
I remember reading a while back on Andrew being involved in the revamping of V2.
I'm sure you've started something rolling here mate. :wink:
laughter is the best medicine

Trixed
TRX-Enthusiast
Posts: 341
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:07 am
Location: Brisbane Aus

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Trixed » Sun Sep 06, 2015 4:02 pm

I get one of these cams too. The rest of the bits are on the bike already.
It is time to rev your hearts!

cobbadiggabuddyblooo
Site Sponsor
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:19 am
Location: Brisbane,Australia

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by cobbadiggabuddyblooo » Sun Sep 06, 2015 7:01 pm

The Nojima system would love them Udaysen :D :D
laughter is the best medicine

alextrx850
Site Sponsor
Posts: 2149
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:36 pm
Location: brisbane AUSTRALIA

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by alextrx850 » Sun Sep 06, 2015 9:16 pm

I'll be up for a set thanks.
Boosting the torque for mid range would suit my needs well.

phil108
Site Sponsor
Posts: 143
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 12:53 am
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by phil108 » Sun Sep 06, 2015 9:27 pm

Count me in too, I'd be up for a set of them for my rebuild engine :D

User avatar
Killerwhale
Site Sponsor
Posts: 3797
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:41 am
Location: GBG/Sweden
Contact:

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Killerwhale » Sun Sep 06, 2015 10:36 pm

Why not

User avatar
drix
Site Sponsor
Posts: 555
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:25 pm
Location: London/Surrey - UK & Valenciennes - FR

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by drix » Mon Sep 07, 2015 11:12 am

I'll be after some cams for some upgrades and to keep myself busy during those long UK winter months! :lol:

What sort of timeframe are you looking at here?

Cheers
Adrien

User avatar
ricr378
TRX-Enthusiast
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 10:04 am
Location: Canungra, Queensland

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by ricr378 » Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:35 pm

I might be interested if you are getting some made up. It is not like these things come up every week.

Curmi.
Site Sponsor
Posts: 78
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:29 am

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Curmi. » Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:43 pm

So there is some interest as I new there would, And we have more information to help you all decide. We also have a rough price of 1200 aus dollars for the pair, and that's if were lucky. A bit pricey I know ,to most it will hurt like me, but I was expecting it! Back in the day I remember reading they were sold for eight or nine hundered when they where readily orderable . But that was 15 or so years ago. But if you read on you will understand more maybe, that its not that bad considering this may be the last chance to aquire this kind of development for our bikes, which has past. Remember this is not your own cam regrind (kent), this is a full custom made camshaft made from scratch! And possibly never have the opportunity again.
Everyone is to there own needs, and maybe this doesn't suit. But for me this is the last piece to my puzzle, as i want to optimize all the top end mods I have done, and continue racing with all my stock bottom end. It hurts don't worry, but I am to far in with this trx to pass up this opportunity. Iam not a ducati man myself, but this is my classic racing ducati, as iam a Yamaha man.

So iam staying in, now we will see if anyone is in as deep aswell.

Consider your options, don't want anyone making the wrong decision and regreting it!! Iam not trying to convince anyone! If it doesn't happen life goes on. I would hate to be the source of peoples regret.

PLEASE READ ON and make your evaluation. Take your time. If Any questions Andrew will sure work out.
And remember Andrew doesn't need to do this to make money, he just loves the trx, and has a fond history with it. And wants to do something for us guys that are fond of the bike to. Brook the owner has probably moved on, and doesn't care to much for it.

Thanks guys, Now I suppose we take the poll again more seriously, and if we get enough people on board we can all work it out next steps with Andrew. Cheers




Hi Adrian

As far as interest is concerned, I’d probably need five sets to make it break even. I’m not interested in making any profit, as this is a “for the love” project for me, but it’ll be slightly expensive to take time away from bevel-drive stuff here, and we’re currently working seven days a week to meet demand of our parts.

As for performance, it’s a little difficult to find exact figures on the development work that was done at the time, as Brook and Mr. Sato of OVER were designing cams for the TRiXie racer, seeing how they performed on the track, and then changing the dimensions to try and improve the design. They then both decided to use what they had learned during that process to make street/race cams for the general public.

Brook and Sato came to the design that worked best, and then agreed to make cams for their customers. The only thing is that someone decided to import OVER stuff to Australia from Japan, so the same cams were being sold by two different manufacturers…

It’s a good thing that Brook and Sato were mates and could have a chuckle about it. Certainly, back home in England, the Vee Two items were the ones that everyone went for.

The dyno graphs that I’ve found in the file show a measured improvement 9.9bhp at the rear tyre with a camshaft and carb re-jet on a totally stock customer development bike, and just shy of 20bhp when used with a free flowing pair of cans. Considering the increase in duration, lift and overlap I’m sure that you’ll see a healthy return on your heavily modified machine.

Not at all sure about costs at the moment, but we currently sell bevel-drive cams for $1200 for a pair, so I’m hoping that I can do five sets at the same cost if I machine the blanks myself using a lathe at a local shop in Busselton that my mate owns.

Not sure if you could do a group-buy or something on the forum, but whatever you need from me to answer anyone’s questions or help with anything, just let me know.

I’m going to be visiting England for Christmas and New Years’, and arrange to ship the spare OVER race engine back to Australia so I can strip and analyse it for wear before reassembling for my TRiXie replica streetbike that I’m building.

I’ll take some photos of her when I’m back home and post them up.

Anything else, let me know. I’m so happy to be doing something for the TRX community. I seriously love these bikes, and owe a lot of my learning about engineering in motorsport by being on the Yamaha team.

Kind regards,
Andrew Cathcart

cobbadiggabuddyblooo
Site Sponsor
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:19 am
Location: Brisbane,Australia

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by cobbadiggabuddyblooo » Mon Sep 07, 2015 1:11 pm

Your right Rich, they don't come around very often and it may just be a 1 off order like sandunes run of oversize valves.
Just be mindful these will be made from billet blanks and not just a reground std cam so budget for this. Just like purchasing FCR's , the V2 cams will be money well spent and a worthwhile investment that will hold its value if looked after for those chasing the performance option they offer. :wink:

Udaysen, Rich and Alex, I've got what you need in the garage to slot your cam sprockets and dial the cams in if you need a hand at all. :wink:
John with the buggy motor sounded interested too when i contacted him today as he was looking at having a set made locally by Ivan Tighe.

As Andrew said, he's a busy man and if he takes this onboard, it will be done in his spare time so dont expect them tomorrow as its only a preliminary at present.
Something to be appreciated, someone looking after the troops in the trenches. 8)
I'm sure he will be impressed by the arrousel of interest so far.
laughter is the best medicine

User avatar
Kenny
TRX-Enthusiast
Posts: 288
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:04 pm
Location: Evesham Worcestershire UK

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Kenny » Mon Sep 07, 2015 2:51 pm

Im still interested as I want to get close to 100 reliable ponies as possible with good midrange punch. I dont want to loose much in the way of lowend though and I really dont want to spin the engine much higher than std either.
Can you ask him what losses there were with these cams and at what rpm they are designed for please? Will they be ok with 1mm over valves and a big bore kit too?
My bike maybe a dinosaur but it still has some bite & has a mighty roar.

Sometimes I wake up grumpy ........ but usually I let her sleep in

User avatar
Killerwhale
Site Sponsor
Posts: 3797
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:41 am
Location: GBG/Sweden
Contact:

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by Killerwhale » Mon Sep 07, 2015 2:57 pm

Kenny wrote:Im still interested as I want to get close to 100 reliable ponies as possible with good midrange punch. I dont want to loose much in the way of lowend though and I really dont want to spin the engine much higher than std either.
Can you ask him what losses there were with these cams and at what rpm they are designed for please? Will they be ok with 1mm over valves and a big bore kit too?
¨
qurious how these would perform in my 900 enjun....

User avatar
drix
Site Sponsor
Posts: 555
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:25 pm
Location: London/Surrey - UK & Valenciennes - FR

Re: Vee two cams!!! Any interest.

Post by drix » Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:01 am

A bit pricey but as Cobba says, it's an FCR type upgrade whereby their value prob won't move much should one need to sell in the future for whatever reason.

Same questions as Kenny here abt draw backs for road use etc. planned setup here will be +2mm inlet/exhaust valves along with an 878 or tdm900 pistons/barrels/rods kit.. If no issues foreseen, then I'd be in! ;)
Last edited by drix on Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post Reply