Kyosho Viper speedboat

[SMOKE-DOG]

Snatched this off the bay when I wasn't even looking for a boat. Can't even remember what I was looking for... Kyosho something? Found this. Came RTR with full radio gear, batteries, and the box in good shape. It looks either barely used or very well taken of. No cracks or anything in the hull.







The radio gear and that mechanical speed controller are being replaced, of course. It wasn't painted, so I'm going to strip all the decals off, sand, and paint it. Not sure if I'll go with a racing livery or a sparkly boat paint job.



This LeMans 360ST comes stock with the boat. Anyone know the RPM on this motor?



These goofy looking dudes are coming out of here. I'm going to replace them entirely with a cockpit interior or at least their heads with Tamiya ones.



Got ponds all around me. This thing should be fun.

[Coelacanth]

This LeMans 360ST comes stock with the boat. Anyone know the RPM on this motor?

The 360ST is a powerful little motor, but non-adjustable. I found this image on the 'net somewhere and saved it for future reference. It comes in handy!

I would guess the RPM would be in the neighborhood of 18 - 20k.

[Lowgear]

I had one of those back when we had a pool. I was surprised how fast it was.

[losiXXXman]

Cool find. I remember those from the tower catalogs. I'd kind of like to get into a powerboat sometime, and that looks like just the ticket (have to keep my eyes peeled!). I had a Thunder Tiger Victoria Sailboat for awhile, but never could get the hang of sailing, it just felt like slow motion. I think some of the scale boats out there look cool too.

[shane]

Great find. I'm looking for one to make into a bait delivery system for fishing.

[losiXXXman]

go to the bay NOW shane $55 BIN free ship!

[shane]

I'm broke

[CamplinP]

Slap a 5700kv motor and lipo in that baby.

[Lonestar]

Cool - I remember the viper from an old Graupner (german Kyosho rebadger/importer) catalog from when I was much younger

The 360ST is closed end 550-based "stocker" - doesn't rev that fast, but has 550-sized torqued.

Which means it's perfect for a submerged prop system like the viper's... Don't go any higher HP than this without seriously thinking about water cooler the whole system though. I've done quite some hp-ramping experiments with my Kyosho WaveChopper the past couple of years, and although there were the odd chuckling moments (overpowered boats ARE fun) I've melted a couple of mills and a couple of speedos.

So don't overdo it

Paul

PS: for the record... my wavechopper is now equipped with 3s lipos and a 3000kv mill + 120A controller... all water cooled... and it f'n RIPS!!! haha... but it took me 3 yrs of fiddling to get there

[SMOKE-DOG]

I thought about brushless but I don't plan on spending too much on this one. Might just keep the 360ST in there but was wondering if a Trinity '87 Monster Horsepower would work better. Not sure which has higher RPM but it sounds like the 360ST has more torque. It looks like I can water-cool the motor and ESC for only a couple bucks looking at what Tower has to offer. This is my first boat so I don't know too much about upgrades. Should I change the prop at all? Would a slightly bigger prop make for higher speed?

[Lonestar]

I thought about brushless but I don't plan on spending too much on this one. Might just keep the 360ST in there but was wondering if a Trinity '87 Monster Horsepower would work better. Not sure which has higher RPM but it sounds like the 360ST has more torque. It looks like I can water-cool the motor and ESC for only a couple bucks looking at what Tower has to offer. This is my first boat so I don't know too much about upgrades. Should I change the prop at all? Would a slightly bigger prop make for higher speed?

boats draw insane amounts of current... way more than cars! Submerged props like on the viper are super-inefficient, so anything bigger than the 360ST will require water cooling I'd say, the challenge is the water pickup in most cases and the waterproof-ness of the whole thing. When I was using brushed, watercooled motors in my wavechopper, if there was the tinyest drop of water in the hull (and there always was) the mill would suck it in and then bye bye brushes in 30seconds

Trinity Monster HP stock vs. 360ST won't make a huge diff

if you go up in prop, yes it'll goo quicker but you gotta make sure the mill has the torque...

It's a trial and error thing, really - lots of fun, just make sure you have a swimming suit under your pants when you go experiment at the pond with your new toy haha

Paul

[murphy3428]

The best motor you could use for this would be Graupner 600bb SP 7.2 with ball bearings. The shaft drive on this boat wont handle a brushless set up. You could also use a cordite motor aswell both are good marine brushed motors. A larger prop will give you more punch off the line but less speed on the top end also will cause your motor to heat up more but you will need to resise your prop once you change your motor out.

[SMOKE-DOG]

Thanks for the info. More than likely I will keep this motor in it for now. I will try to find another prop that fits just to have something to experiment with. I stripped all the decals off and am about to sand and paint it as soon as I figure out what color. I will put a thin bead of waterproof silicone around it cause I don't know if its still sealed 100%.

[Dirtdiver]

If your going to stay with brushed motors, try and find an old RC Hydros ESC for your boat. They are waterproof and pretty much bulletproof.

[murphy3428]

here is a link for the jeti brushed speed controls which are very good speed controls http://www.hobby-lobby.com/jeti_speed_controls_304_ctg.htm