Swap Bike for Westy???

[Cleggy the Spyder Man]

Hi

I recently swapped my ducati 999s to follow my westy dreams.

did my first track day in it this weekend at cottesmore and had a fantastic time.

its great to think you can mess up a corner and spin or go on the grass then just cary on. on a bike its usualy game over and its going home in bits and you are off to hospital. been there and done that.

it set me back 5k with a 1700 xflow (not the fastest in a straight line) but did come with disks allround, rac roll bar, lsd, new recon type9 box and some other bits.

have got a 2.0 16v redtop to fit over the winter plus need to change the wheels and ged some nice seats so will probably end up costain around 7k in total.

I have no regrets about swapping it for the bike  

yup you looked like you were having a lot of fun    

[FILFAN]

Hi

I recently swapped my ducati 999s to follow my westy dreams.

did my first track day in it this weekend at cottesmore and had a fantastic time.

its great to think you can mess up a corner and spin or go on the grass then just cary on. on a bike its usualy game over and its going home in bits and you are off to hospital. been there and done that.

it set me back 5k with a 1700 xflow (not the fastest in a straight line) but did come with disks allround, rac roll bar, lsd, new recon type9 box and some other bits.

have got a 2.0 16v redtop to fit over the winter plus need to change the wheels and ged some nice seats so will probably end up costain around 7k in total.

I have no regrets about swapping it for the bike  

yup you looked like you were having a lot of fun    

does that mean out of control and lucky to get it home in one.  

dont think my tyres had fun though they are now slick with canvas showing. i need to take a pic of them

[Conehead]

Not that I have any money yet as the bikes have not sold, Anyone know anyone who wants a bike? Mine are very good!

Back to westys have seen this for just under 7k would that be a good spec?

My Webpage

[Speed Freak]

do you know if you want a wide or narrow body???

Not sure what build you are, or height for that matter, but is definately something to consider...

Car looks alright.. Hard to tell too much on pics.. Certainly wont go "unseen" in a car that colour!

[FILFAN]

I would ask for a good discount as I think they have had it for around 6 months. Remember seeing it when I was looking to buy one.

[Conehead]

Like I said need to sell up assests first  

really getting the feel for these westies now..

zx6r for sale

Yamaha XJR 1300 for sale

[markcoopers]

The blue one in Bristol is described as 1996 sei. However this is a wide tub, so is a SEIW. The rear wheels look tucked in though, so would carefully check which type of wide, as there are a few versions. This might be a westfield designed wide that was their case design with an English diff and bespoke half shafts. These are a bit limiting in terms of ultimate power and will take some fixing if you break it, as the shafts are bespoke. If so haggle hard as they are perfectly good but just have this limitation. Other wise it just might be the rear wheel offset as the Arches look fixed and std size. Carbon bits are nice. Spa dash can be a sod to calibrate with the original senders, so would want to check the dials and if loss talk to the chap that fitted it, did they use the correct senders etc. Spax shocks are ok so don't get me wrong here, but they are old and have not been or fit for a look time. I would check that they do not leak and do still adjust......many seize up over time. The car has obviously been upgraded over time which shows some investment and care which is good, but I would want to see receipts or if the upgrades were all used purchases.....just want to know, not that this devalues it you understand.

XE is a bit Alien to me, but check when last on a RR for the carbs to be set up and adjusted, and what ignition is it running, aftermarket ecu or just the original points or a luminition type thing.

Lastly 1996 is a while ago, so check chassis for rust. Check under fuel tank, and rear chassis rails by the wheels, check to see if the blanking plates in rear wheel arches are fitted to seal the tub and chassis, likewise the front ones where the bulkhead and tub meet. These stop crud getting in between the two and rusting the chassis out behind the tub.

But on the whole not a bad car.

[chazpowerslide]

We need to change your avatar to "Mr Helpfull"

Now tell the truth, he needs at least 200BHP in a road car and upwards of 250BHP for the track    

Chaz.

[brindle]

I might be the odd one out, but I went from a GSXR750 to a 2.0 Zetec westy and I have to say that on the road I never got close to the same buzz.  I know of another guy who has spenf ££££ chasing the gut wrenching acceleration of a proper bike and just about found it with 300bhp.  However..... on a track its a different kettle of fish.  I dont believe anyone who says they can ride their bike to its limit, unless its written in their last will and testament and has already been read out.  But in a Westy, the cornering and stopping is incredible - better than any bike and you can keep pushing till you lose it and in time find the limit of the car (within your own skill level of course).  You cant push a car or a bike that that on the road, so the real fun I had on my bike was winding it up through and out of corners, still makes the hair on the back of my neck go funny thinking about it......  My 2.0 car was very well set up engine wise and it pulled in 2nd like my GSXR did in 6th.

What would I buy next - I'm sussing out Megabusas if that tells you anything!

[brindle]

P.S. I'm not saying you need mega HP to have fun, the only thing generally I ever found quicker than my westy on track - were quicker westys / caterhams etc with better drivers.  I think that I just wanted to make the point that most people who have never ridden a big bike will tell you how unbelievebly quick a westy is - and they are - for a car.  But its certianly not BIKE quick.  I know quite a few ex bikers who have the same opinion.

Just hoping to help!!

[Speed Freak]

Then buy this engine and put it in a westy!

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=93352;

0-60 i recon itd beat a bike-cos lets face it the theoretical times of 1. something seconds arent really doable in a bike-Unless you like sitting on the road whilst the bike drives off!

[perksy]

Propably best not to mention locost on here mate, whilst we are quite charitable that kind of talk just brings out the kid in us all and we will end up finding silly pictures of them and making fun.

Sorry Mark i'll have to disagree with you there

There are some very well put together Locost's out there

As i'm sure the many Westfield owners that have been overtaken by Stu's (stu999) Locost on trackdays will testify    

Just my opinion of course    

[brindle]

Then buy this engine and put it in a westy!

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=93352;

0-60 i recon itd beat a bike-cos lets face it the theoretical times of 1. something seconds arent really doable in a bike-Unless you like sitting on the road whilst the bike drives off!

Now thats getting there but still wouldn't touch a proper bike in a straight line (apart from the first 100 feet or so anyway) - but I agree, 0-60 times are real b*ll*cks - but as a comparison to a bike, the V8 Atom with 500bhp on the top gear track v a proper bike, wasn't pulling away from the bike in a straight line, the car did the bike through the corners - as per my previous statement.  I reckon a good westy will beat any bike in a cornering / braking test.

[lippydave]

Then buy this engine and put it in a westy!

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=93352;

0-60 i recon itd beat a bike-cos lets face it the theoretical times of 1. something seconds arent really doable in a bike-Unless you like sitting on the road whilst the bike drives off!

Now thats getting there but still wouldn't touch a proper bike in a straight line (apart from the first 100 feet or so anyway) - but I agree, 0-60 times are real b*ll*cks - but as a comparison to a bike, the V8 Atom with 500bhp on the top gear track v a proper bike, wasn't pulling away from the bike in a straight line, the car did the bike through the corners - as per my previous statement.  I reckon a good westy will beat any bike in a cornering / braking test.

Not many cars are super bike quick in the real world in terms of acceleration......

F'rinstance my mate has spent a small fortune developing his LS V8 Cerbera. It weighs 1238kg with half a tank, and makes 530bhp at the wheels! It is truly bonkers in terms of in gear acceleration, However at the drag strip at the weekend, the LS was running pukka drag radials and took all day to get down to a standing quarter of 10.7 (which is f. impressive for a roadgoing car!).

My mate Todd was also along for the day on a new stock Yamaha R1. He'd never been down the strip before, on his third ever run he hit a 10.7 quarter without much effort.

(Now bear in mind at a recent Rockingham trackday the

LS Cerb was having new Nissan GTR's for breakfast  and they were driven by race instructors....).

Yes a 7 type car will be a giggle, but unless you have well over 300bhp you won't come close to a superbike's acceleration...Oh and you can't hoik yer car up onto the back wheel at 130mph,  

Iin fact you'll struggle in the majority of 7's to see the far side of 130mph 'cos of the (s***e) aerodynamics....

Not saying 7's aint a hoot, but it's a different kind of buzz from a pukka superbike....

[matt nossiter]

Ive got a honda sp2 , kawasaki zx7r and a megabusa . The Westfield is used almost entirely for track days and the bikes for the road , I dont think you can really compare the straight line performance of a fast bike to a fast car , the bike is in a different league , but the Westfield is better on the brakes and cornering in my ( humble ) opinion and is easier to drive fast than the bikes are to ride fast around a track