Tigcraft Visit, and the origin of a new Project!

After we got back from France in late July, I phoned up Dave Pearce, who owns Tigcraft manufacturing, and arranged to pay him a visit. I came for the sole purpose to see his bikes up close, and to "interview" him for awhile. I had hoped to get the article published in a Motorcycle magazine in North America. I still haven't heard back from any of the zines I sent the draft and pics to, so I guess that won't happen.

Turns out Dave is one of the friendliest, smartest, and modest guys I have ever met. His "factory" is a shed smaller than my garage, and the sum total of all of his equipment is a lathe, a tig welder, and a tubing bender. Of course, he has 2 frame jigs as well, one for his minimonos, and one for his classic racers he builds.

Near the end of the visit, I asked specifically to see a the frame he built for a very rich US customer that actually owns a real Ducati Supermono, as well as a spare supermono engine. When he was mucking about in the rafters, he also pulled down a Supermono frame he built for the MUZ factory in the early 1990s. It was designed to house a Yamaha 660 single. He offered it to me for 200 pounds... and threw in rearsets and a seat in Kevlar! I couldn't refuse. I actually dragged it "home" to Ickleton in a makeshift bag, through the tube stations as well. The next problem was how to fit it as carry-on baggage... and it fit in the spare rucksack we were going to leave behind! No extra duty, no extra baggage costs... it was meant to be!

Once home, I set about finding some of the parts I would need to turn it into a rolling chassis, and eventually a supermono streetbike and/or trackday machine. First, I was able to get wheels, forks, and triples from an Ebay.UK seller off an RS125. Its from a 2008, so it actually has a radial front caliper, and the wheel design does not have traditional spokes... I have to flip the rear wheel in order to use a traditional LHS drive countershaft, so the rear wheel won't look weird compared to the front.

Based on Dave's suggestion, I also got an Aprilia Pegaso rear swingarm. Steel, relatively light, and if I get an MX engine (more on that later), I can use the rear swingarm pivot point on the case as an engine mount, already squared up to the rest of the frame.

My hope is to use one of the two swingarm dogbone bosses as a lower rear shock mount. A Honda Hawk NT650 shock should work, as its design is linkageless, with the requisite 1200lb spring to suit.

The frame design is full 4130 chromoly steel, with all the joints tig-welded. Thankfully, a short trip to Brandon Bearing got the upper bearing race, and the triples went in as easy as pie. Nice!