Mojave
MOJAVE
CYCLE WORLD IMPRESSION
TROUTMAN and Barnes, the firm that builds cars both furious and fashionable, now has turned to two wheels. Of their new project, the builders said: "Our aim was to make it as simple as we could-without a bit of trash."
That aim was true. Dick Troutman and Tom Barnes, with third partner Doug Mayes, who have built the Scarab racing cars for millionaire Lance Reventlow, the first Chaparrals for Jim Hall and the Samauri for
Pe-te Brock, now have scored a bullseye with the Mojave, their new motorcycle. The Mojave is a specially carburetored Honda 450 engine in a strong, light frame; the Mojave is a motorcycle of ultimate simplicity and cleanliness in design, yet it exudes durability, the look of speed, and agility for off-road operations.
The powerplant, with one exception, is the 1967 version of the Honda 450. Major exception to the standard foremat is a massive two-throat Weber automotive carburetor, with one 40-mm throat feeding each of the 450’s cylinders. The carburetor, located just beneath the saddle, and equipped with a slim Filtron polyurethane foam filter unit, delivers its fuel/air charge to the engine through a pair of specially fabricated induction pipes. (Throttle twisters, beware! The Weber has accelerator pumps and delivers a huge load of fuel on each twist of the grip.)
The transmission is the standard 1967 Honda four-speed unit.
The Troutman/Bames/Mayes frame is a double loop design. Viewed from the top, it appears to be a very well braced A. From the steering head, top tubes extend rearward and downward. A longitudinal brace extends rearward from the steering head to the first top transverse brace to provide added rigidity. The bottoms of the downtubes and a pair of cross braces form a rectangle in which the engine is secured. The downtubes rise rearward to meet the top tubes; a pair of struts provides triangulated support for rear shock absorber mounting and the swinging arm pivot point.
The Mojave frame is entirely inert gas/high frequency electric arc welded. All tubing, with exception of steering head and swinging arms, is 4130 chrome moly steel of 1.25-in. outside diameter, and 0.049-in. wall thickness. Gussets, and engine and shock absorber mounting plates are of 0.125-in. sheet steel. The swinging arm stock is 4130 of 1.375-in. diameter and 0.95-in. wall thickness.
The desert machine mounts a Ceriani front fork, and Girling telescopic shock absorbers and coil springs at the rear. Wheels and brakes, front and rear, are standard Honda items.
The Troutman and Barnes rear axle mounting is unique. Rear axle bushings are inserts splined to match grooves in swinging arm bush carriers. The bushings are drilled off center to provide approximately 0.75 in. for adjustment.
The builders have given a great deal of thought to selection of equipment for the desert machine. The front tire is a Japanese Dunlop 3.50-19 Trials Universal; the rear is a Japanese Bamford 4.00-18 of deep block tread pattern. The simply executed fuel tank/saddle combination, clean and functional in that it did not intrude on rider acrobatics, is fiberglass, designed by Charles Pelly of Pasadena, Calif., and built by Gary Osko of Gardena, Calif.; tank capacity is 2.5 gal.; and saddle upholstery is heavy, textured black vinyl. The ribbed Doherty grips are fitted to wide, straight Hellings and Stellings motocross style bars. Levers are off - the -shelf Honda CB 450 items. A thick ribbed cast alloy bash plate protects vulnerable engine cases. Side shields, flanged at the top, where they join the saddle/tank, are secured each with a single, large Dzus aircraft fastener. Ignition components are standard Honda manufacture; circuitry has been reworked to accept an AC magneto.
After a day in the dirt with the Mojave, the machine was determined to be better suited to the TT course and/or desert riding than for motocross work. Attempts to accelerate hard out of tight motocross course bends showed the maneuver to be difficult, if not nigh onto impossible. Overall, the Mojave’s handling characteristics were acceptable, considering the machine’s comparative heft, 328 lb., wet. The Honda four-speed gearbox, with its large gap from first to second, simply was unable to cope with the demands of scrambles riding; in longer desert runs, in which the rider could hold the transmission in second gear, or higher, little difficulty would be encountered, however. The new five-speed transmission from Honda would be fit for any work, and would solve the Mojave’s gearing problems.
The Mojave’s brakes are direct from Honda. As they were set up on the machine ridden to gain impressions, the rear brake `was too severe, excessively touchy, and tended to lock well before the rider was ready for a lockup. Rear brake pedal position on the prototype model was a bit high for effective use, but this has been rectified on production models.
Desert ready, the Mojave leaves the Troutman and Barnes Culver City, Calif., shop at $2145. The Mojave, of course, is nonroadable, strictly a rough-country runner.
However, on the drawing board at Troutman and Barnes, there are plans for a lighting system equipped, fully licensable street version of the cactus crusher.
Dick Troutman, Tom Barnes and Doug Mayes probably will build this machine “as simple as possible—without a bit of trash.” Just like the Mojave.
