Capt. Lew Laurito at MSILSF Land-Speed 2010
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Sept. 29, 2013 -
PRLog -- Sidecar equipped motorcycles and scooters, commonly referred to as
"hacks", or
"outfits", are generally seen mated to large-displacement two-wheelers. The added weight, greater rolling resistance, and the additional braking power required to slow a much greater rolling mass seemingly suggest that size (displacement)
does indeed matter.
"Not so!", says Scootermeister Spears, a highly experienced MSILSF extreme endurance racer with a preference for 2-stroke power. When queried about a 2-stroke's unsuitability in racing sidecar circles, Spears is quick to defend the inordinately loud and smokey engines that are his passion. "Of course they don't have the brute torque of a 4-stroke, and I concede the noise and smoke can be terribly annoying. But racing a 2-stroke takes much greater finesse, constantly massaging the throttle to maintain power, and braking without any assistance from the engine is a skill set unquue unto itself." Spears has been tweaking 2-strokes since 1961."This isn't like the olden days when we had to worry about sticking top-ends. Maxima Racing Oils, nitrogen-charged gasolines, and liquid-cooling has virtually eliminated seizures," says Spears. Among the pre-entries, Spears' closest competitor, Capt. Lew Laurito, is also racing a 2-stroke, a Vespa P150 Vintage Shifter single-cylinder air-cooled scooter, mated to a Globe Sidecar. Both men will be racing in Sidecar Class I (50cc to 250cc), and hope other "hack" racers will enter the fray before entries to this first-time event close early next year. Detailed information about sidecar entries may be obtained from Spears aesracingltd@
hotmail.com, or from Motor-Scooter Land-Speed Federation's website:
www.motorscooterlandspeedfederation.org.
