This Royale RP26 FF1600 has been fitted with a Kawasaki ZX-10 (997cc) motorbike engine with a chain drive to a Mini differential.
Royale RP26 Kawasaki ZX10
It uses the standard FF1600 Royale's rear uprights, suspension and driveshafts.
The heavy cast iron disc brake calipers have been replaced with lightweight alloy motorbike calipers on all four wheels.
The car has also been given wings and slicks.
The car was converted in 1998 and has been used for sprinting down in the Suffolk region of England.
I acquired the Royale in October 2001 and have started to list all the things I want to improve/modify.
The car had been lying without use for about a year so the clutch plates had all siezed and the battery has seen better days.
In order to free the clutch I had to remove the engine side cover (not easy as a chassis rail ran very close to the casing).
To get access without the need to remove the engine, I have modified the offending rail by putting a 'dog-leg' in it, so in future clutch changes can be made in-situ.
I have also treated the engine to an oil filter change and some semi-synthetic oil.
What else needs done?
There is a bit of play in both rear hub bearings.
There is an oil leak from somewhere up by the water pump.
The oil cooler has not been installed.
The battery needs replacing.
All the rear suspension has been painted a horrible gloss black.
I think it would look a lot better in nickel plate or silver epoxy powder coat.
Similarly the chassis rails and floor panels have got the same black paint.
I will paint the chassis grey and fit new alloy panels.
The accellerator pedal has been moved too far from the brake pedal. I am likely to miss the brake and I cannot 'heel and toe'.
The gear lever pivot is a bit worn resulting in some lost travel.
The bodywork and wings are very orange. I think I will paint them red (same as my Hawke).
The wheels seem a bit narrow for the sizes of tyres fitted.
(Rear has 8 inch rims with 9 inch wide tyres - should be on 10 inch wide rims)
(Front has 6 inch rims with 7 inch wide tyres - should be on 8 inch wide rims)
The tyres are Hoosier R25 compound all round and are about half worn.
These tyres and rims will probably do for wets if I get them hand cut to an intermediate pattern.
A new set of Superlite split rim wheels would look good.
I have taken a few measurements of the suspension set up, most dimensions look ok apart from the rear tracking and the front ride height.
There appears to be too much toe-out (Total of 7/16 inch toe-out) - as a comparison, the Hawke used 1/16-1/32 inch Toe-in per wheel.
The front ride height is way too high but if I lower it much, the supports for the front aerofoil may be too low.
(There needs to be at least 40mm ground clearance).
I may have to modify the mounting arrangement for the aerofoil and possibly make it removable so that the car can get on and off the trailer without damage.
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