Thursday, December 29, 2011

a few updates

Some time off over the Christmas break has allowed me to tick off a few boxes on the "to do" list.  First the supermono -- I didn't like the location of the HRC overflow bottle.  Noticing that a lot of racebikes have them mounted on the front fairing stay, I decided to do likewise.  It was a nice treat to work with proper metal tools. 
Kate works part time at a top-secret location.  It was quiet over the break, so I snuck in and used a nice shear and break to create the bottle holder.  I also used their drill press to make the litening holes in this aluminum sheet.  Foam strips are stuck to the bottle to help secure it in place -- a zip tie will be the final step to secure the bottle properly.  The extra bonus was working inside!

I also mocked up a crankcase vent system.  It uses a combination of 3/8" (case) and 5/8" (cylinder head) spigots.  Before I bought more expensive hose for the application, I tested it with some cheap hose from Canadian Tire.  There is a brass T fitting hiding in the picture on the left.

This hose has spent its life sitting on a spool in a store, and combine that with the below zero temps, turned it into plastic.  This vent filter will lay FLAT under the tail section, not sticking up like this.  At least I have the correct lengths and it should all work.  Proper hose for this application is inbound.
Also had a chance to visit MINUTE MUFFLER in Brandon.  Good karma from these dudes.  I bought a better FMF muffler from ebay to fit on the mono -- it came with a short section of stainless connector pipe in 2", with a section cut for clamping.  However the muzzy header coming out from the collector is also 2".  I took the header and the stainless collector piece to the guys there to see if they couldn't use their pipe expander to create a slip-fit onto the muzzy header.  Hey presto, and its done.  I even had a spare muffle clamp that will work -- you can see it just ahead of the oil drain bolt.  Will need to do some more tweaking and fitting to get the scorpion muffler to work, but this also allows me to take the whole shebang off again and re-fit the muzzy muffler (seen dented on the floor from my crash) if it all proves to be useless.  Best part is, they did it for free!  Might stop by with some Tim's in the next few days to express my thanks...

Sunday, December 18, 2011

bored

Winter is no fun.  Maybe I should get into snowmobiles or something.  A trip to Canadian Tire to get a 17' ladder for 1/2 price found me picking up some striping tape...

















Warmer than seasonal weather did see me put the bored throttle bodies back on the ex.  Cover went back on, waiting for spring.  That being said, I'll have some fun when the scorpion muffler is acquired from Dad -- have some neat ideas for that.  Stay tuned...

Saturday, December 17, 2011

bored

The Throttle Bodies have returned:


This picture should give you a sense of the increase in bore diameter:
You can see the original subplate in place with the new gap around the outer diameter.  Sub plates will be removed for this application (obviously).

Also I spend the winter watching racing videos, and they often come with crash footage.  I'm not much of a crasher, but last season I raced without a chest protector -- the bks leathers I was using were too tight to include the full back protector and a chest guard as well.  I sold the bks leathers, and picked up a set of Spyke titanium leathers for an amazing price... they may clash just a bit with the green and blue of the bikes, but the important thing is they are top of the line leathers and being one size larger, they allow me to use the pilot chest protector I got as a part of the sponsorship deal last year.