It is 1/24 scale AWD in a very primative form. Integrated t-plate DDS rear suspension, front plate flexes as well, but not much laterally (which is the reason for the spring above the front end). One of the only reasons they were able to get away with suspension like this is because it used foam tires, which have lots of compliance and grip.
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EMUracing Micro RC Syndicate /DG Designs /GSR /Reflex Racing /Fast By Faqish /MurderTown Racing
emu is right...
i saw that a loong time ago (back in 2002)... kinda surprised that they still have it...
dunno if parts are hard to come by these days...
haven't actually seen one run, so i can't really say anything about durability and such... but it looks pretty good though...
with the advances in electronics... i won't be surprised if you install a 2.4ghz system and a lipo brushless motor combo on it...
i do have a kawada tripmate though... now that thing is really fun... you can even use kyosho parts on it... well some kyosho parts...
likewise, i don't know if kawada's still out there making stuff...
adjustable trackwidth and wheelbase so you can use a wide variety of bodies... including tamiya model bodies...
back then electronics seemed quite expensive... if you see the above link rtr was 24,800Yen (approx $300) compared to kyosho's rtr approx 14,000Yen ($170 approx price of a mr01 at that time, but i remember it sold for a lot less than that maybe 100-120...)
losi came out with their micro truck... i figure you can use the losi micro truck electronics... they have a brushless option for that... for approx 50$
i've got a kawada tripmate... and basically, the tripmate platform was based on the mr01 chassis... and because of the micro electronics (you could basically use what you wanted)... it drove a whole lot better than the mr01... that plus you can adjust the chassis wheelbase and trackwidth...
the kawada tripmate was everything that kyosho wasn't... i believe it was what kyosho was envisioning in the first place...
they wanted to come out with a good running car... but at a more affordable price range...
however, i believe that the major letdown were the mr01 electronics, mainly because of the faulty and inconsistent steering issues it had...
however this was more than aptly addressed when kyosho came out with the mr02 and mr015... showcasing a much improved chassis which featured a servo saver and better steering...
the downside of the kawada though was it's price... rtr seemed a bit outrageous 24,800Yen (approx $300)... if you get the kit with electronics 14,000Y (approx $170) you could already get a kyosho mini-z readyset... if you get the kit without electronics 8,000Y (approx 97$) you would still have to purchase the esc, receiver, servo and radio (a bit expensive back then... or did i just say that?)
good news now though... i believe that electronics are cheaper...
sad news is, don't know if you can still get a kawada m-24 tripmate...
i guess you can try the bay site...
Herman, great information about the Tripmate. It was a very versatile chassis, I never had one, but wanted one a couple years ago... now I dont know how it would compare to the more modern MR02 and MR03 setups, let alone MA010.
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EMUracing Micro RC Syndicate /DG Designs /GSR /Reflex Racing /Fast By Faqish /MurderTown Racing
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