INSPIRATION

If I had:
a) Free Time
b) Skill
c) Money
d) Tools

I might like my project to turn out something a bit like this someday:

http://www.xs650.org.au/kev%27s%20turbo.htm

I'll settle for the retardid, poor-man's version of the above...

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As for my KZ, I've ordered a gasket kit and its on its way.  Once that's arrived, I'll reassemble the top end and get started on adapting the ITBs.  Stay tuned....

Head.

The bane of my existence for a while now has been this stupid fucking broken bolt:

I tried everything to get it out.  Vice grips, of course, didn't work.*  Heat, PB Blaster, more heat and vice grips still didn't work.  I tried brazing a nut onto the end of the bolt.  I twisted the nut right off w/ little effort.  Then I MIG welded a nut on the end.  When I turned that, the bolt just twisted off below the weld.

I decided I'd have to bite the proverbial bullet and pull the head and drill the bolt out.  I had very little confidence that I could do this without destroying the head.  But its no use to me just sitting there w/ a broken bolt in it either, so here goes.

SMILE!  This will be fun!  ermm...

Ground the bolt flat and dimpled it:

Started drilling:

Bigger:

Got to the proper-ish size and pulled out the taps.  As you could probably guess, Harbor Freight taps are pretty much garbage.  Well, at least for anything more than a single use.  Here's the tap I used next to an unused tap:

I'm so lucky that didn't snap off inside the bolt hole!

So, I did a pretty good job of buggering up the bolt hole, but amazingly it seems to have worked.  The intake bolts up in the proper manner:

So then, after feeling proud of myself for about half a second, I looked over the rest of the head.  That's when I noticed the cam journals.  These wear patterns are worrisome.  I've not been inside too many engines, so I don't know if this wear is catastrophic or if I should just polish them up and move along.

So, after all that, this head may be trash.  I'm off to go seek the advice of the moto elders....

*"VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to further round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand."

Individual Throttle Bodies

I have not given up on this project! Progress has been slow, but I will be focusing on this bike over the winter. I recently gave up on the Burgman 400 throttle body. I tried a Buell TB, but that won't work either. So I picked up the standard individual throttle body (ITB) for use in Megasquirt applications, a Suzuki GSX-R's ITBs.

Broke them down.  I will only use the outer two throttle bodies.  I just have to figure out the spacing and then shorten the bolts and shafts to get them to line up with the bike's intake.

The nice thing is the TB's intake side diameter is exactly the same as the original carbs.  So I can use the original intake boots and not have to fabricate new ones.

Here you can see the intake boot on the GSX-R TB:

On the operating table, waiting for the knife.

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.

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

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:



Turbo:



Stay Tuned!!!