Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Stimulate!

I fired up the MS on the stimulator board. Everything seems to be working.


Progress has been very slow. All of my other 2-wheeled transports are broke down. I've been spending my time trying to get one up and running. Once I have another bike running, I'll return my focus to this one.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Fuel pump has arrived


I ordered a fuel pump for a Honda TRX 680i quad, a.k.a. FourTrax Rincon. Its a nifty little piece that includes the fuel pump, surge tank, and fuel pressure regulator all in one unit. The use of a surge tank means I won't have to figure out a way to add a fuel return line to the bike's gas tank. Also, according to some accounts on teh int3rwebz it should only draw 1.5 amps. That's a good thing as only have 5 extra amps to play with.

The pump was $116 shipped from www.RonAyers.com




Wednesday, March 3, 2010

KZ400 Land-Speed bike

This is my '75 Kawasaki KZ400:

I got this from my buddy Rock for free. He's got an expanding stable of bikes and knew I was looking for something to play with. He said, "You can have my KZ400. Do whatever you want with it, but if you decide to sell it, make sure you offer to sell it back to me first."

At first I was simply going to give it a tune up and use it as a commuter. I'd pick up another bike for my land speed racing(LSR) exploits. As my LSR dreams came to the front burner, I realized I've got way too many projects and not enough space for another bike. I decided to work with what I've got. The first plan was to use the FeiYing scooter to go after the 125cc speed records at The Maxton Mile. Then I read a rule that all motorcycles must have a minimum of 15" diameter wheels. The scooter only has 10" wheels. Hmmm... So I checked the records held at Maxton by the East Coast Timing Association. The 400cc class looked to have a vulnerable record of 116mph for a 400cc bike in the Modified class. I said to myself, "Self, I bet you could get that KZ400 to hit 116mph!" So I hit Google and eBay and Craigslist, formulated a plan, and started collecting parts. The plan is to build a Megasquirt DIY Electronic Fuel Injection system and throw in a small turbocharger for giggles.

Parts collected:
Megasquirt1 v.2.2 MS1/extra EFI computer - eBay score. $168.50(assembled)
Throttle Body - Suzuki Burgman TB and injectors. $43.00
Turbo - KKK Turbo, probably a K04 but I'm unsure. $114.25

The turbo is too big for this application (eBay impulse buy) and will be sold to finance a smaller turbo (RHB3, TD02, GT12, etc).

Megasquirt:

Throttle Body:

Photobucket

Turbo:

kkk turbo turbocharger

Stay Tuned!!!

Welcome to Punk Wrench!

This is my blog that will be chronicling my forays into wrenching and racing and other gasoline-fueled exploits. Why "PunkWrench"? The editor of Punk Magazine, John Holmstrom, defined punk as "rock and roll by people who didn't have very much skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music." This is how I go about wrenching. I'm not a master craftsman, a gifted fabricator, or a proficient engine tuner. I've just got enthusiasm, dreams, and know how to use a precision tool as a hammer when I'm frustrated.

The main focus of this blog will be to detail the build-up of my Kawasaki KZ400 Land Speed Racing bike I'm building, but I'm sure the rest of my languishing projects will be updated here as well.

Follow along, if for no other reason than to watch me fail in a spectacular manner!

My current stable:

KZ400 - Megasquirt, turbo, land speed racing project
ZX6e Streetfighter - streetfighter ratbike
Omni GLH - Grassroots Motorsports $200x Challenge car, drag, autocross
MGB - fair weather cruiser and autocrosser
FeiYing 125 - Mega Super Happy Very Fast chinajunk scooter (Fuck Scooters!)
Bug - 1973 VW bug that's been hanging around, neglected, for years
AT1 - Yamaha AT1 125cc 2-stroke enduro bike
Tacoma S-Runner - Daily driver sport truck