18 replies to this topic

[madazv8]

Hi,

 

Finally had enough of the gutless SPI. Just dropped my deposit to Pro-Motive and will get to work stripping down the old girl down.  Probably going to be a slow jog as life get in the way.   At this stage I am wondering if there are many other Aussie R1 converts lurking here?,  especially anybody in NSW who has had to navigate the engineering compliance minefield. 

 

Read with interest the issues with the nearside pot joint and cooling. Cooling here in hot days (40C) will be a challenge, thinking if I can utilize the secondary cooling rad and fan that the SPI already has in the near side wheel well.

 

Can't wait to get started.  Long road ahead and I'm impatient.

[madazv8]

As I am planning what I need to overcome in the coming months/years I though I would put out some questions, thanks in advance for any answers. Appreciated.

 

 

1. Water pump / Cooling.  Is the water pump up to running with the heater matrix and a second radiator attached?

 

2. Sump Baffle.  I read this involves removing the level switch... true?  I am looking at the one on ebay these days.

 

3. Nearside pot joint.  I plan to ceramic coat the headers then re-apply some of the wrap at this location.  How have people generally got around this other than going hardy spicer?

 

4. Barnett clutch.  What do I order?  I saw a spring kit,  and also a carbon fiber plate kit.  Is that it,  or do they sell a complete unit ?

 

5. Torque steer.  Is it really bad ?I have a set of deep dish 13s, but I am thinking I am not going to use them due to the scrub radius being so far out.  Maybe get a set of positive offset 12's, as I want to keep the bigger discs plus want more arch clearance.  I run sportspack 13s at the moment and have to have the car like a monster truck to stop it rubbing the arches.  I can never fathom out how people are running deep dish 13s with an inch of a gap between tyre and guard.

 

6. Fuel Pump.  Currently have an SPI,  would I be right to assume the pump in the tank isn't up to the job?  Will an MPI unit work... or what e.g Walbro?

 

Cheers

Edited by madazv8, 31 January 2024 - 11:12 AM.

[racerlike]

I considered a sump baffle recently whilst I had the sump off but I couldn’t find one and reviews of past fabrications seemed to have flaws that basically meant it was safer to run without one. I think it would come down to how you intend to use the engine. For occasional road use I decided against it on mine.

I don’t have many miles on mine so not encountered any issue with the pot joint though it is mighty close to the exhaust

Barnett clutch kit with Kevlar plates and an anodised spring plate is what I have and using the harder springs.

Torque steer is inevitable though probably managed a bit better on 12s. I have a Quaife diff on mine but it still can’t reign in the torque steer on 10s.

I have an MPI fuel tank and pump and seems to work fine

[madazv8]

Thank you !

[madazv8]

Been a panic for the last few weeks and thought I might have to cancel the whole project. In AUS we need to have significantly modified cars "engineered" in order to register them as compliant for the road. The first engineer I spoke to was not keen and pretty much said no to the project.  I won't go into details,  but he pretty much just didn't want to get involved. I since found another engineer who is more enthusiastic. After a careful look at all the details the mechanical aspects of the conversion are OK to go.  The only issue is complying with emissions for a circa 1994 car.  I have been deep diving into google on this and it is hard to get solid data on what the R1 5PW engine puffs out. From what I can tell,  I think it  should be ok as the 2002 R1 was in the era of reducing emissions, and 1994 is before AUS started getting serious about them.  Based on this, lets go... Now to get hold of the bike and strip it down.

 

p.s. if anybody can point to official emissions figures for the 5PW engine let me know please.  Cheers, that data can be used to justify things and avoid expensive emissions testing.

 

I'll get the pics up as soon as I get started.

[madazv8]

Eventually picked up the R1 today.   It belonged to a good mate, and been holed up in his garage for 10 years, so there was always going to be a few things to attend to.

 

It was a perfectly well working bike when it was parked up,  and the garage is dry.  Things like the brake servo and clutch were stuck due to sitting around,  they were feed off easy enough.  I didn't try and start it as I wanted to get it into my garage and flush the petrol, and get some oil down the bores before turning it over.  The petrol came out dark brown, worst I have seen.  I decided the plugs were to much a pain to get to so opened up the airbox and threw some of the old fuel down the throats of the throttle bodies to give the pistons some sort of lube.  I then tried turning the engine over from the front sprocket nut with the bike in first gear but is seemed jammed solid.  After a bit of back and forwards I managed to get things to move,  but it seems ridiculously tight.  I don't know if this is normal or a symptom of me using the front sprocket (through gearbox) and not the crank nut.

 

Decided to try and give it a try with the starter, so connected up my a good bike battery and gave it the key.  Nothing.  No fuel pump prime and just a check engine light.  Pressing the start button just makes the CEL flash.  Bummer. Off to read up on Yamaha CEL scenarios.

 

Not the best start, as I really wanted to get this running, or at least turning over sensibly before I strip it down.  Tomorrow I will hot-wire the starter motor and see if the motor spins.

 

 

Attached Files

•  R1.jpg   72.86K   1 downloads

[madazv8]

So, after realising I had left the bike in gear with the side stand down I went down to the garage next morning.  A good spray of "start ya bastard" (yes that is the actual product name here in Oz) the engine roared into life. No check engine light thankfully.  I ran it for 10s or so on the spray gas and no worrying noises or smoke which was a relief.  I did an oil and filter change and nothing nasty came out.  Ran it briefly and then dropped the oil again, all seems to be ok.  Did try and inject fuel into the fuel rail,  but couldn't get enough pressure.  I suspect the injectors are toast anyway.  This gave me the green light to strip the bike down....

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[madazv8]

Made some quick work of dropping the motor out of it.  It looks to be ok,  a little bit of weep around the sump gasket,  but I'll be changing that anyway when I fit a baffle.

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•  image1.jpeg   82.27K   0 downloads

[madazv8]

Sent the loom of to Phil at Pro-Motive for modification.  Wasn't long before the kit was all ready.  Arrived in Oz in a few days.  Exciting times ahead... The frame is excellent.  Wonder where he gets them in such good condition.  Wasn't economical to sent mine from Oz.

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[racerlike]

Good stuff. Nice to see people are still using this kit. Best of luck with the build

[madazv8]

Been away riding my bike which I have not done in ages.  Was good to blow the cobwebs away.  Decided to spend an hour in the garage as the sides of the cylinder head were needing the paint touched up.  That part went well,  however during masking of one of the sides I came across a hole which I have no idea about.  Don't recall taking anything out of it,  it is not threaded, and I can poke a wire in quite far . This is the right side as the engine would be mounted in the car.  Anybody with a 5PW know what this is about?  

 

 

EDIT:  Google told me.  Should have looked there first.

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•  Head hole.jpg   69.11K   0 downloads

Edited by madazv8, 27 April 2024 - 10:42 AM.

[madazv8]

Been mad busy with work, but been ordering parts waiting for time to get working on it.  Did manage to degrease the engine and paint the side cover and cylinder head.  Also bench tested the fuel injectors with one of those E-bay jobs.  Thankfully they all seem to be clear. Had the water pipes cut and welded as required for the 5PW engine.  I did try and fit silicone 3-ply hoses to the back of the engine,  but as they are thicker it just doesn't work after the rear water pipe is bent inwards. 

 

Tonight I just fitted a sump baffle which went on without any drama, and no surprises in the bottom of the oil pan which is always a good thing.   It cleaned up like new.  Tomorrow will fit the Barnett clutch I got. The original clutch was cooked,  plenty purple colour on the plates and they were pretty warped.  I got the full kit with new plates, and carbon fiber friction discs.  Engine is pretty much ready to drop into the frame after that.  Also got a box full of camber arms,  tie bars, new brakes to get busy with.

 

 

 

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•  old clutch.jpg   53.22K   0 downloads
•  baffle fitted.jpg   86.74K   0 downloads
•  Barnett.jpg   38.53K   0 downloads

[racerlike]

It can be done but it’s not easy. I used a reducer which lasted a while but the hose clip ended up in such an awkward position that it cut though the silicone.
Tried various rubber hoses of different thicknesses but in the end I went back to a silicone one similar to that flexible top radiator hose. It fits but only just.

[madazv8]

So putting it together I realised this pipe pokes through the bottom of the sump pan.  How does oil not escape?  Did I miss an o-ring or something?

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•  oil feed.png   522.66K   1 downloads

[racerlike]

It’s fine it’s a pressure release pipe I believe. It’s in the Haynes manual as I had to look it up when I had the sump off recently as I thought exactly the same - there’s an open hole in the sump!