Hello From a New Member

[Tempest1961]

Hello there,New member here just saying hello to everyone.I have been a long time fan of the NSU Ro80 ... and have decided its finally time to find, buy, own and restore one..... and forums like this will be a wealth of good advice and support.So to all you Ro80 owners - pipe up and throw some advice my way - its all appreciated.CheersGary Smith

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Gary, Welcome to the forum and good luck with the Ro80, I don't think you will find many with the rotary engine still in them,(if memory serves, most owners turfed out the rotary lump and replaced it with Fords V4),rgds,J.B.

[Tempest1961]

Hi and thanks for that.Replacing the smoothest engine around with one of the roughest wasnt the best of ideas IMOH...lol. And it would seem that lots of them have reaquired their rotatries or been fitted with Audi 4 cyl engines....which is probably the only acceptable compromise. So thanks for the good wishes.

[kanonkopdrinker]

Hi GaryHave you sourced a car yet or are you still looking?I have a 1973 Ro80 - still with a NSU Wankel engine.Don't forget, from next year, the 'Historic' class of free VELs will include all vehicles built in 1973.What do you need to know?CheersDavid

[Tempest1961]

I am in the process of sourcing a car. I am in contact with Phil Blake, who seems to know most everything. And a few other Ro80 owners have given me advice on parts supply and what to watch out for when buying one. Generally any advice and experience would be welcomed. These cars need saving and the more people that are interested, the more that will be saved. I have no idea how big a part of this forum the NSU owners are..... And it would be good to find out. I am out in North wakes, and seem to be away from an owners......anyone on here local to me?.

[Tempest1961]

There was a request on her to swap an Ro80 for a wankel engined motorbike. Did that ever happen, is the car still around. I am still finding my way round this forum.... Is there a section showing the members cars and bikes?..... Would love to see some.

[FloridaMike]

Hi and thanks for that.Replacing the smoothest engine around with one of the roughest wasnt the best of ideas IMOH...lol. And it would seem that lots of them have reaquired their rotatries or been fitted with Audi 4 cyl engines....which is probably the only acceptable compromise. So thanks for the good wishes.

Had a Saab Sonnet with that Ford V-4. You are right on the money, that "engine" was one of the most appalling, overweight, underpowered lumps of DetroitWonderMetal (cast iron) I think I've ever had the displeasure of owning. As a further bonus, the steering column shaft was extremely close to one of the rear plugs and it was almost impossible to get a plug wrench onto it - so the dealer didn't bother! A tuneup consisted of three new plugs and hoping #4 would soldier on for another 25,000 miles. I made a wrench to access the plug . . .Of course the rest of the car wasn't overly impressive either, the only thing it had going for it was the fiberglass body which wouldn't rust here in Florida. The floor pan and mufflers, however, weren't made of fiberglass. Finally, the car was a lovely shade of pre-barf airsickness nausea green.It went away with an ex-wife, and she lent it to someone who promptly and thoroughly crashed it. Ah well. Motorcycles are better.Best Regards,FloridaMike

[Tempest1961]

It sounds like it deserved a thorough crash!!......tho i do admit that some of the odd 70s colours that the car came in, do have a certain appeal.......maybe get myself a pair of flares and paint it primrose yellow?....lolIn this country, and our pechant for coating our roads in salt.... The cars biggest weakness and repair will no doubt be rust. The engine can wait. And who knows?... By the time my car is restored, maybe a neat little electric engine could be slotted in......now theres a thought!!.....is an electric motor classed as a rotary?....or am i instantly banished?.....lol

[FloridaMike]

Well, I'd say an electric motor is in fact a rotary, just not a gasoline powered rotary.In October of 2012, a friend of mine got me a pit pass at Daytona for the electric Grand Prix race. This is no small accomplishment - it is easier to get an invitation to speak to the Pope or to Vladimir Putin, they are REALLY protective of them. The Stasi has nothing on Daytona Speedway for bureaucratic stonewalling.Anyway, the race was set at five laps because of battery capacity considerations. There were six bikes entered, two Brammo (US), one Munch (Germany, the guy who got me the pit pass), and three independents, one of whom (with team) had come all the way from Australia to race.The Munch averaged 161 miles an hour (!!!!) for five laps - and finished a close second, one of the Brammo bikes was even faster. Another Brammo was third, the Australian guy was a very distant fourth, and the two others DNF'ed.What was amazing was that the race was almost totally silent. All you heard as the bikes flashed past was a slight whoosh of wind, tire and chain/belt noise, that's it. These things are wickedly fast, and in a few more years will utterly rule the racetracks - all that's needed is better batteries, and they are coming.Pit row was interesting, too. The e-bike crowd was quietly clicking away on laptops, nice and clean. The gasoline bike crowd was grease-spattered, loud and profane. Some of the gas bikes were very nice, there was a wonderfully tidy Z-1 and a couple of BSA Gold Stars, a gorgeous Trident (which didn't race) and some others - but these guys were the walking dead and they didn't even know it. I have seen the future - it is electric, and it is on the way. All we need are better batteries. Everything else, brakes, suspension, chassis, etc. is already here.I also rode two different non-race electric bikes around in the pits. People don't hear you coming, so sometimes you have to honk or say something - then they jump out of the way, startled. The two bikes I rode had tremendous torque and acceleration, I think the Brammos and the Munch bikes would be quite capable of wrinkling the pavement in a hard start.Best Regards,FloridaMike

[Tempest1961]

Thats fascinating. I was semi serious when i suggested electric propulsion for the Ro80. Mines got a tired engine thats not going to be addressed until the end of the restoration..... So i will explore that option more fully then. Already in the UK a few of the classic car mags occasionally highlight people converting their cars to electric..... An MG TF springs to mind. It would make the Ro80 a short range vehicle, but that suits me as it will keep or improve the cars other and natural attributes of smoothness and refinement.

[Robert14]

Hi,try this homepage - sorry only german.http://www.ro80club.org/RegardsRobert

[Tempest1961]

Thanks, i will translate it and see what its about... Cheers.

[johnbirchjar]

I think wev'e been down this road before re: "how quiet electric vehicles are" manufacturers will have to build in some noise,especialy for bikes,(if car drivers can't hear a noisy old Hog on open pipes what chance an electric bike ,)rgds, J.B.

[FloridaMike]

I think wev'e been down this road before re: "how quiet electric vehicles are" manufacturers will have to build in some noise,especialy for bikes,(if car drivers can't hear a noisy old Hog on open pipes what chance an electric bike ,)rgds, J.B.

Agreed. I had read about this situation (comatose drivers/pedestrians), but it is quite startling when you experience it as the driver/rider of an electric vehicle. These people - and there were more than a few of them - were TOTALLY unaware that there was an EV closing in on them. Remember also, these were not doddering, deaf old fogeys (defined as anyone ten years older that you/I/we are) but active enthusiasts at a motorsports event, walking around in the pits where a LOT of traffic from all directions can be expected.I was going to suggest playing music as a warning system, but that will probably lead to some spotty teenager on a half HP (375 watt) electric moped, top speed 20 mph, playing Ride of the Valkyries as he wobbles along, drunk, at 3 AM. Oh, the humanity . . .Best,FloridaMike

[kanonkopdrinker]

I am old enough (just) to remember trolleybuses in West London ........ and they were known as 'whispering death' for the very reason that they were so quiet.David

[Dell Boy]

Electric bikes are lapping the Isle of Man T.T. Zero carbon race at over a 100 m.p.h. with a 160 mph top end. The lack of noise is making marshalling very difficult as you have no warning the bike is approaching. Modern race bikes are dangerous enough with there quiet (race) exhaust note giving only a short period of audible warning before being upon you. There isn`t any with the zero carbon bikes but they are amazing & have come on in leaps & bounds performance wise, in the past five years.Derek Fox.

[andy588tt]

Hi I agree with Dell Boy we need to be careful marshalling at the IOM. I remember the electric bikes at the IOM the first time outing with lots of sniggering around the circuit now a few years down the road and they are fast, even the big boys are racing them. To me they sound like those large electric kiddies toy cars that the child sit in from the eighties very plastic. The zero race is great fun to watch but because of battery life they only go round once. I suppose in time the far east manufacturers will put a loud speaker on these bikes to simulate an engine now that would be funny . Till then I will suggest when next in pit lane 2014 to put a stiff card and a cloths peg to the frame and rear wheel for those hard of hearing Ride safeAndy

[Tempest1961]

Any more Ro80 owners out there?

[johnbirchjar]

While still at primary school,myself and school buddies used to fix(can't remamber how we did it)old bus tickets to the front forks of our push bikes so they would strike the wheel spokes as we rode along,faster meant louder Happy days J.B.

[Charles Wilson]

Good Review Article:http://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histori ... history/CW

[Tempest1961]

Thanks....very interesting.