Tamiya Bearhawk Drive Train Questions!

[tecnica2001]

Hello,

Haven't posted on here for quite some time.

I recently purchased a Bearhawk, in good condition, I replaced the plastic bushings for ball bearings, replaced the camber bars for adjustable tie-rods, replaced the rear axles for longer ones, for added rear width. I replaced the silver can motor, with a trinity midnight motor, and ran the 16T pinion gear, instead of the 15T stock gear. I also ran it with a 5000 mah Reedy 35c lipo, and it was unexpectedly quick.

My question is, how durable is the Bearhawk gearbox?? what pinion is recommended to run with a Trinity Midnight Motor (stock 27T)?

Also, I've read that the Dark Impact Universals will fit on the Blitzer/Bearhawk, is this true??

This will be my 2009 Vintage Off Road Nationals "Classics" entry, and I want it to last me all 5 races.

Any suggestions and comments will be greatly appreciated.

[Dante77]

Hey mate,

welcome to the Bear Hawk club!

To your Questions:

Gearing: You only get two options, 15T or 17T pinion. How did you get the 16T pinion to mesh with the spur and work smoothly?

I'm running a 12T Orion Vortex brushless system on a 17T steel pinion (0.8M) and haven't had a problem since. The transmission can take quite a beating and the steel pinion lasts much longer than the stock aluminium part.

Dogbones/CVDs: I'm running Tamiya DF-03 CVDs on my Bear Hawk (yes, they fit). They hold up great, much better than other aftermarket (3racing, GPM, etc.) CVDs for the DF-03. On my Blitzer Beetle (same chassis) I'm running hardened Thundershot universals with hardened drive cups. They take the 8.5Tbrushless punishment without any wear so far.

Here's a comparison shot:

1. standard dogbones

2. Thundershot universals

3. DF-03 CVDs

4. Little Miss ruler

Other upgrades: The only thing I can think of apart from turnbuckles, CVDs and ball bearings is a better steering linkage setup (Bear Hawk / Bltzer has bad bump steer) and DF-03 aluminium shocks. These are the best shocks available IMO and add the few extra mm of ground clearance the Bear Hawk needs. Here's my setup on the Blitzer Beetle:

Also, some larger front wheels are recommended, as they give you a wider choice of tyres and again more ground clearance.

If you have any more questions, let me know.

Cheers

Christian

[wolfdogstinkus]

If you have any more questions, let me know.

What wheels and tyres are they?, Nice!

[Dante77]

What wheels and tyres are they?, Nice!

Those are chrome King Blackfoot wheels with Proline Speed Hawg 2.2 tyres. Very sticky for road bashing!

Thanks!

[TA-Mark]

I have a MambaMax 4600Kv bolted into mine with a 17T Robinson Racing steel 32dp pinion (RRP0170). The DF02 Assembly Universal stafts set (same as ones that are for DF03 and standard in the DF03 MS). DT02 turnbuckle set (steering link and upper suspension links). Full bearings. I packed the diff with AW grease. Rough Rider wheels/tyres.

A set of DF03 Hopup alloy dampers fitted too. Though I did move the front dampers to the rear side of the front tower, makes it looks more scale IMO. I added a lot of barwork too, nerf bars, front nudge bar and a bar around the rear. It's still a work in progress and will post photos in my showroom when completed.

The gearbox is very robust with it's 0.8mm toothed gears throughout and I've had no trouble with it at all.

[tecnica2001]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I will look into getting a set of universals/CVDs, as for shocks, I fitted the Bearhawk with a set of Team Losi shocks.

The 16T pinion fits perfect in there, with no binding and it feels nice and smooth, I'll be getting a 17T pinion just to try something different.

Tie-Rods and Ball joints, I used the Dubro joints and tierods, I had to cut them down to size, but they worked quite good, I tried using them as steering linkages, along with the Hitec Servo Saver, but they would bind against the arms when turning.

I will post some updated pictures tomorrow.

[Dante77]

The 16T pinion fits perfect in there, with no binding and it feels nice and smooth, I'll be getting a 17T pinion just to try something different.

Which holes on the tranny case are you using? I suppose the 17T holes, so your mesh might be a little loose causing more wear on the spur gear.

You should get one of those Robinson 15 or 17T (0.8 metric) pinions.

[tecnica2001]

I'm using a Trinity Stock Motor, not the Silver Can motor,

Does the silver can motor come with 2 sets of mounting holes??

The Trinity Motor I'm using, has two sets of mounting holes. So I was able to mesh it just right.

[Dante77]

Looking good!

There are two sets of mounting holes in the gearbox (look at the manual page I posted above), one for 15T and one for 17T.

I would switch to one of the recommended pinions when racing, just to be safe.

[mb_c11]

I'm using a Trinity Stock Motor, not the Silver Can motor,

Does the silver can motor come with 2 sets of mounting holes??

The Trinity Motor I'm using, has two sets of mounting holes. So I was able to mesh it just right.

Eh, both set of holes on motors are the same, just different positions so the wires on the endbell don't end up hitting parts on some cars.

[tpsolid]

Dante,

where did you get that alum motor cover thing?

[Dante77]

Hi mate,

its a Carson part (#13667) for the Mad Fighter (DT-01) chassis. Also fits the Blitzer chassis, as you can see!

Take a look on eBay.

Dante,

where did you get that alum motor cover thing?

[tecnica2001]

OK, I tried to brave a whole event, Vintage Off Road Nationals, without buying an upgraded set of swing arms/CVDs, only to break the stock Bearhawk dog bones in less than 10 laps in the first round of qualifiers. Leaving me scrambling for a fix, so that I could keep racing.

I used a set of RC10B4 CVDs, with bearing spacers in the hubs, and spacing the outdrives from the transmission with a 5x11 bearings. It worked flawlessly, I will post a how to on Tamiyaclub for all of those that need it.

Off course a much easier alternative would be to just use the DF-02/03 CVDs. I'll just post the how to for those that are curious as to how I did mine....

By the by

My Bearhawk came in second at the Vintage Nationals...

[beetleman]

Guys, I have a related question.

I recently got a new gearbox case for my BB. When placing in the spur gear on its shaft, it seems its binding against the wall of the case and does not spin freely. At first I thought this is because the case is new and not "broken in" yet. But reading this post and becoming aware there are pinion and other differences between the Bear Hawk and the Blitzer Beetle, got me thinking maybe I got a Bear Hawk case which is not identical to the BB's?

Thanks

[Dante77]

Guys, I have a related question.

I recently got a new gearbox case for my BB. When placing in the spur gear on its shaft, it seems its binding against the wall of the case and does not spin freely. At first I thought this is because the case is new and not "broken in" yet. But reading this post and becoming aware there are pinion and other differences between the Bear Hawk and the Blitzer Beetle, got me thinking maybe I got a Bear Hawk case which is not identical to the BB's?

Thanks

Thats pretty strange. The Bear Hawk gearcase (A-parts) is identical to the Blitzer parts. Must be something else.

There is a molded spacer on the gearcase halves which should prevent the gears from getting in contact with the case.

Did you reassemble it according to the manual? Do you use ball bearings or bushings on the main shaft?

[kevinthegerbil]

Thats pretty strange. The Bear Hawk gearcase (A-parts) is identical to the Blitzer parts. Must be something else.

There is a molded spacer on the gearcase halves which should prevent the gears from getting in contact with the case.

Did you reassemble it according to the manual? Do you use ball bearings or bushings on the main shaft?

I had the same problem back in 2002, The Bearhawk and Blitzer gearboxes are slightly different.

Please read this post

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...ic=6117&hl=

[beetleman]

Thanks guys, kevinthegerbil that post was really helpful. This is an example where looks can be deceiving. The parts only look identical and Tamiya fooled us again. Now where in the world will I find a Blitzer gear case (part 9225332)? I was wondering about part A5 being missing, now I see it's a different parts tree!

How many teeth does the BH spur gear have? The BB one has 50. I wonder if the BH spur is smaller?

How did you end up solving this? Perhaps just dremel the BH case a bit?

This picture shows the BH A parts tree on the left, and the BB on the right.

[Dante77]

Wow, I have both Blitzer Beetle and Bear Hawk and never noticed the difference!

My dealer also quotes that the Part no. 9225332 replaced both parts no. 0005392 und 9005503. Strange!

But anyways, I can get the 9225332 parts tree. If you want, PM me.

Cheers

Christian

Thanks guys, kevinthegerbil that post was really helpful. This is an example where looks can be deceiving. The parts only look identical and Tamiya fooled us again. Now where in the world will I find a Blitzer gear case (part 9225332)? I was wondering about part A5 being missing, now I see it's a different parts tree!

How many teeth does the BH spur gear have? The BB one has 50. I wonder if the BH spur is smaller?

How did you end up solving this? Perhaps just dremel the BH case a bit?

This picture shows the BH A parts tree on the left, and the BB on the right.

[beetleman]

Sometimes the differences are so elusive, but they are there. Put the BH (on the left) and the BB gear cases side by side and spotted the difference that prevented the spur gear from spinning freely. Tamiya never ceases to surprise.