Cox Slot Motorcycles?
These drawings were lifted from a slot motorcycle project when Philippe de Lespinay was at the helm of the R&D department at the COX Hobbies Company. They have never been seen before by anyone other than the Cox New Products Committee in 1973. Interesting to compare these ideas with the features of the current Scalextric bikes…
This motocross set was a project that only saw the prototype stage. The special track has an under boxed section in which a counterweight attached to a steel wire allows the bike to stay straight up, and to lean in corners. The complete set even features a hot dog stand…that was the power pack for the set!
The bikes are just set over a conical pin and can actually “crash” if jumped too fast!
They actually lean in corners due to the counterweight action. Incredibly enough, the prototype oval track showed that this worked rather well!
The HO-sized motor drives a crown gear on the same shaft as a friction drive to the rear tire. The motor was a bit too high on the prototype and we had to place it in a lower location to make the system work. Not quite Valentino’s Yamaha, but this was drawn over 35 years ago.
The controllers are in fact the only survivor of this set. In 1970, they were originally devised for a Riggen 3-lane HO set that never saw the light of day. They include twin resistor bypass for brakes and full power, just like the later Parma Turbo and most electronic controllers of today. The handles were designed to fit perfectly in one’s right hand, never mind left-handed racers!
You may see on top left, the prototype of the Parma Turbo, devised in 1972, and the Riggen prototype controller built in 1970. Same internal features but simplified on the Riggen/Cox unit.