The Bike That Made Mouse Roar
Mini factory Kawasaki KX80 for $3000
Mouse McCoy has been a minicyde racing personality since he dominated the 60cc Junior Cycle classes years ago. Mouse rode for the Yamaha factory as the 60cc World Champion, then he switched to the Honda factory team when he moved to the big bikes, but Mouse's string of victories stopped at Yamaha. There was a long dry spell that had people wondering what had happened to Mouse McCoy. Was he really very fast? Why couldn't he win? Was he all ad hype?
For $3,000 you can fly through the air just like Mouse McCoy. Well that may take a little practice, but your bike will be capable of it.
Perhaps they never would have known the answers if Mouse had stayed put in the comfortable confines of a factory ride, but Mouse became a privateer, switched to Kawasaki, paid his own bills, and was lucky enough to get hooked up with the DMC C-27K Kawasaki.
Some serious manhours have gone into guaranteeing that the DMC C-27K has the best of everything. It is re-worked from the tires up.
Suddenly Last Summer
Suddenly Mouse McCoy was a hot property: winning races, setting the fastest lap times at Ponca City, and lighting the mini world on fire again. The same kid who the pundits had written off. The same kid who hadn't made a mark since he was ten and 11 years old. The same kid who had had a factory ride since he was a Pee-Wee rider. Mouse is back on top! Let's look at the bike that made Mouse' roar again.
How does a former Yamaha and Honda factory rider Mouse McCoy feel about hit DMC C-27K? He thlnks it's the best bike he has ever ridden, and the results are startlng to prove that point.
Indside The C-27K
Dave Miller Concepts (DMC) has become the premier minicycle mini factory in the tough world of NMA racing. DMC is small, personal, and a little more than slightly eccentric. But his machines are the fastest, most successful and trickest on the National trail.
The C-27K's porting Is available lor $150 and, when mated with the unpalnted, hand-welded pipe, this is one KX80 that gets up and goes.
DMC takes a stock Kawasaki KX80 and strips it to the ground. The frame is carefully checked, cleaned, reinforced and painted. The stock plastic is chucked over Into a corner and discarded. The motor is opened up and spread into a thousand pieces. The forks and shock are set aside for special attention. DMC docs something to every piece on the KX80 to turn it into a C-27K.
What would make a factory rider give up his bikes and turn privateer? For Mouse McCoy, it was the DMC Kawaski KX80.
Motor Magic
As the motor lies in a heap on the workbench, the cylinder is pulled out for creative porting. The exhaust port is altered and reshaped. Transfers have the shape changed and the port timing varied to meet the demands of motocross. Extensive work goes into the intake port to contour it for proper power. The C-27K cylinder porting is available for all Kawasaki KX80s for $150.
Oval mufflers are in this year, but seamless oval mufflers are in anytime. DMC will manufacture oval mufflers for minis for $49, but don't expect the ultra-sano polished job like Mouse has.
DMC mates its porting to a special KX80 pipe. The pipe has proven to be a major source of power increase all by itself. In conjunction with the DMC porting, the pipe ($125) livens up the powerband to the point where clutch work is a thing of the past. Just step on the accelerator and go.
A dayglo seal and handmade aluminum gas tank give Mouse all the working room he needs. The "Rat Patrol" sticker is In reference to gunning down the enemy.
Inside the C-27K bottom end, DMC replaces the crank seals with Yamaha seals, and surfaces and faces all of the gears. Surfacing the gearbox improves the shifting immensely. DMC does not shim the gearbox, but they do recommend hand-working the shift forks.
Ignition timing is advanced. The carb runs a 122.5 main jet, standard needle jet, and standard pilot, and the needle dip is set in the richest position. This jetting is recommended for DMC's locale and not necessarily for yours.
DMC uses the stock airbox, because they have found that it works best in most conditions. Perhaps the trickest part of the engine kit is the oval aluminum silencer on the end of the DMC pipe. Constructed out of aluminum alloy, the oval silencer retails for $49.
Suspender Suspense
On the front of the C-27, DMC believes that the forks are close to being right but need a little help. To dial the front in for 120-pound Mouse McCoy, DMC runs the stock damper rods, ten-weight oil at a higher level than stock, and ATK fork springs. For Mouse, the ATK kit consists of one main spring, one short spring and one spacer in each fork leg. Action is very good.
While DMC offers complete shock rebuilding and revalving for the KX80, the C-27 features the standard shock (with a complete oil change), the spring set at the lowest setting, and, most importantly, the shock reservoir piston has been reset to the top one-third of the reservoir. Out of the crate, the shock piston is often totally out of sync.
Miscellaneous
The DMC C-27K's gas tank is hand-formed, hand-welded, and handmade from the word go. Retail cost a excruciatingly high. It comes stock on a complete C-27K, but it would set an individual buyer back more than $500 to duplicate It for his KX80. Fenders are European Yamaha plastic from a YZ250, while the radiator wing and side panels are one-offs built for DMC. They are available for $15 for the wing and S25 for the side panels.
DMC's selected rubber for most hard tracks is Bridgcstone M22/23s. Stock gearing is used for fast tracks, but most of the NMA circuit requires two more teeth on the rear.
If you wanted to buy a complete DMC C-27K (the day-glo orange seat, hand-formed tank, white plastic, reworked suspension, hot-rod motor and sanitized tranny). you would have to lay out approximately $3000.
What Does It Cost?
How does the bike work? Mouse McCoy was the hottest rider at the Ponca City National Championships until a broken ankle sidelined him within reach of the NMA Championship. Mouse is back on the track again and is currently leading the NMA Western Region points race (which means an invitation to the 1984 Race of Champions) and the CMC Trans-Cal series.
For more info contact DMC, 3921 -F La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807; (714) 630-8822.
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