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The slow evolution of my ZX12R


2fat2fly

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We should call you "The Mad Scientist" with all the re-engineering you've done on this powerplant! Ever closer to T-minus HolyShitThisThingsFast! ;)

Gonna make Kilkare Saturday or do you plan to hold out for some mild break-in and testing first?

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We should call you "The Mad Scientist" with all the re-engineering you've done on this powerplant! Ever closer to T-minus HolyShitThisThingsFast! ;)

Gonna make Kilkare Saturday or do you plan to hold out for some mild break-in and testing first?

 

I don't think I'll be there as a participant this week. I have some fuel testing and map programming to do before I get too froggy on the bike.

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Dont blame you, best to be sure it's tip top before attempting to tear it a new one. Be sure to hit me up when you do though, I have to see your labor of love in action.

With all that this thread details, I almost feel like it's my bike too :lol:

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We should call you "The Mad Scientist" with all the re-engineering you've done on this powerplant!

 

 

Mad scientist? No. Insane tinkerer? Maybe. :)

 

I'm just hoping to not look like Wile E. Coyote after one of his Acme rockets misfires...

Edited by 2fat2fly
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Today I put the final touches on sealing the airbox to make a true plenum out of it. I used aircraft sealant for the major structural parts and rubber o-rings for screws and some rivnuts. The velocity stacks are a particular issue all their own because they sit against the bottom of the airbox and have screws going through them and the airbox floor to a nut channel below it. I used the Muzzy velocity stacks because they have rubber o-rings sealing their bottoms to the airbox. That leaves the screw holes. I filled them with sealant before sitting the velocity stacks in place. Then I pushed the screws through the sealant and into their nuts and tightened them. When the sealant dries they will be air-tight. I applied sealant around the edges of the openings for the airfilter block off plates and pushed the plates into it to make sure I had total coverage. I put the bolts in place but did not tighten them until the sealant started to cure. This kept the sealant from totally pushing out and creating voids. I also sealed in place the rubber rivnuts for the air inlet covers and front of the fuel tank cover. The screws will seal those up when they're installed. The final part was the airbox access covers. They have rubber gaskets from the factory. All I needed to do was seal the bolts that hold them down. I put rubber o-rings on them and that finished it all up.None of this part is pretty but it works.

 

Here's the photos:

 

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I know some of you are wondering why I left the sealant on the outside of the block off plates if I pushed them into the sealant to create an internal seal. I did that so I can spot check for leaks. It only takes a small hole to lose a decent amount of pressure. I can either look for the blown out sealant or I can spray soapy water on it, fire the bike up and watch for bubbles to form. There's your leak detection 101 class for the day. :)

Edited by 2fat2fly
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I took the Cruising Missile out for a proper ride tonight. The Autotune seems to be working to my satisfaction so I went for a leisurely cruise to help it build fuelling tables to correct for everything I have going on. On my way back home I decided to really hit it after pulling away from a stop sign.  It launched like a rocket and accelerated like it thought the Devil was on it's a$$ and getting closer. At around 3,500-4,000 rpm you could hear and feel the turbo loading as the exhaust pitch changed. This is where it started to make power and the boost guage started climbing. At 6,500 rpm it started lifting the front end and pulled like nothing I've ridden in a long time. At around 8,000 it felt like I hit a wall and the bike stopped accelerating abruptly and nosed over like I hit the brakes. It seems I have a minor problem. The blow off valve is dumping pressure prematurely. It's a simple fix, I just need to pull it apart and shim the spring. It's not a big deal but just one more thing to address before it's  completely "right". So I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

 

I'm actually completely happy with it as it sits. It rides great,idles well and is performing up to expectations so far. There will be issues but I expect that. To slap all these parts together in one package and expect it to run like a well tuned race bike with the manners of a new Cadillac out of the box would be insanity at it's best. It will take a little time to work out all the bugs but I'm good with that. The real fun will be when it carries the correct boost all the way to redline with no hiccups. I'm looking forward to when I can launch it at around 4,500 RPM at the strip and keep it pinned all the way down the track.

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This morning I worked on a couple things relatd to heat issues. I applied heat barrier stuff to the underside of the right dash coevr to protect it from the blow off valve:

 

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And I also worked on the right fairing a little. I added 2 layers of carbon fiber sheet on top of the heat shield there.

 

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This is because the exhaust burned into the heat shield there.

 

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I also trimmed the fairing around the clutch cover to eleviate some of the stress put on that fairing. I believe that is part of why the exhaust is bound up against it.

 

Then I took it for a ride and stopped at my favorite photo site to snap a couple pictures.

 

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It's the oldest still active covered bridge in Ohio (according to the Greene County Historical Society).

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Bike cleaned up nice Mike. Good to finally see the end of one sweet build, and hopefully all the quirks are worked out for KK and The Mile soon! Now we need a post up a Dayton Route ride so we can hang around the new conversation piece and go rail some corners

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I have a machinist friend I keep on speed dial for my projects. He's going to be making a personalized license plate frame for me and I was looking for ideas. Anybody want to toss an idea out there for me?

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I have a machinist friend I keep on speed dial for my projects. He's going to be making a personalized license plate frame for me and I was looking for ideas. Anybody want to toss an idea out there for me?

What are you after here? Design ideas or a quote of some sort? Designs, I've no clue what you'd like

Quote off the top of my head...."I'm not speeding, just flying low"

Or maybe...."8M UP"

??

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I'm thinking witty quote and license plate frame design. The color will be black or polished. I'm even considering something with l.e.d.'s for rear turn signals. Just curious what ideas everybody has.

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Went for a ride this afternoon and hit a vulture. I'm thinking I'm stupidly lucky because the big bastard hit the mirror, my right arm and my right shoulder. I don't really know how big it was but it's body looked to be as big as my head when he was ten feet away and coming at me. I didn't see where the bird went after I  hit it because I turned my head and braced for impact just before it hit.  The only damage was bird guts everywhere. The mirror didn't break and the fairing didn't crack so I'm a happy camper.

 

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Thats really lucky. My father had one hit the hood of his TL at about 65 MPH and even though the hood is almost horizontal to the ground still put a turkey sized dent in it. The dealer said they had one come through the windshield of a new BMW 7 series and they totaled it out because the whole interior was guts.

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That WAS damn lucky Mike! Good to see there's no damage to speak of. Last month a few of us had a quick afternoon run on some of the southern Dayton Route and Oldschool had a near miss with a buzzard too, but thankfully no impact like you experienced. I dont know what it is with birds this year, I've hit a few with my truck but luckily no incidents on the bike :knock on wood with fingers crossed:

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That WAS damn lucky Mike! Good to see there's no damage to speak of. Last month a few of us had a quick afternoon run on some of the southern Dayton Route and Oldschool had a near miss with a buzzard too, but thankfully no impact like you experienced. I dont know what it is with birds this year, I've hit a few with my truck but luckily no incidents on the bike :knock on wood with fingers crossed:

Thanks. I hope nobody else hits a big bird. It sucks.

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