X-Games – Hot Bodies Cyclone 12X

Middle
Just behind the front suspension the steering servo is located. Supplied with the kit are two plastic mounting brackets that should fit most of the common mini and micro size servos. One problem whatsoever is that only 35 to 36 mm servos fit perfectly with the mounting wholes in the chassis plate. Two pairs of holes are given but both offer the same span of around 43 mm so you are down to choose if the servo should hang to the left or the right side of the chassis plate. With our tiny 32 mm Graupner/JR DS3781 servo we where faced the fact that the servo was not centred correctly so watch out what type of servo you choose for your Cyclone!

The Cyclone 12x is a T-bar chassis as you can see from the pictures. You have the choice of two different set-ups to suit your needs or abilities as a mechanic. Hot Bodies opts for the easier to adjust ‘fixed’ T-bar setting as a starting point with the option of a full pivot ball set-up (with tweak screws) for more experienced drivers. We used the fixed option for the initial test just to find out about the advantages and disadvantages of the system.

The Cyclone 12x does away with the fibre glass tape normally used to secure the batteries to the chassis plate. Instead a nice and tidy system with plastic clamps is used. It bolts to the rear brace where the friction damper is located and offers the possibility to move the four cell battery pack forth and back to adjust the weight distribution of the chassis. The cells locate in plastic inserts that can be flipped 180 degrees. The layout of the chassis and especially the slots in front of the cells also allow for the use of tape if you prefer to do (and many of the pro-drivers do as the ‘tape solution’ is less prone for unwanted tweak).