Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

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Vard66
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Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Vard66 »

Right.

Upon Baz's insistance, I am now going to have a crack at writing up the process of fitting the 33BHP restrictor washers to the ZXR 400.

It ain't gonna be perfect, because I did it on Friday and now I'm having a go at writing it up, and also because I'm reliably informed that where I have allen bolts, from factory it was normal 10mm bolts, so, don't take it as gospel.

Photos as far as I remembered to get them, along the way, folks.

Tools (as far as I can remember, I didn't think to make a note of what sizes the spanners or allen keys were) -
10mm Spanner/socket - a ratchet handle and socket set is of course preferable, but spanners will do ya. (except maybe for two of the bolts on the airbox...)
4mm Allen key
(Note - I also needed a 6mm Allen key, because my carbs are held onto my cylinder head by Allen bolts, not normal bolts, as mentioned above.)
Phillips head screwdriver - As fat as you can fit in the head of the screw to save mashing the head, is usually a good rule, so have a couple ready. A ratcheting screwdriver would save a lot of hassle, also, if you have one around.
Screwdriver handled socket handle - getting the bolts in the middle of the airbox out will be fiddly as otherwise.
1x Able bodied companion - This isn't a necessity, but it does help somewhat, especially if you're trying to doccument the process with photographs as you go.

Notes before you start
â™  I found it always helps to keep bolts separate somehow. A set of those miniature plastic drawers would be ideal, four or five trays from those to keep bolts separate would have helped keep me from muddling the fairing bolts up with the airbox mounting bolts, etc etc.

â™  I didn't think through what I was doing later on in the day, and filled my tank to the brim, about a mile before I stopped in order to fit the restrictors - this doesn't help, as it just makes the tank heavier and more awkward to maneuver. If you can help it, either run the tank much lower, or empty it into a container before you start, it'll make moving it around a hell of a lot easier.

â™  The washers go in between the carb assembly and the cylinder head, so don't even bother going near the 8 little golden bolts you can see on the top of the carbs when you lift the airbox off. I wasted a whole half hour trying to figure that out, and many thanks to Zimm for lending his knowledge!

â™  I didn't even think about doccumenting the process with photographs until I got stuck trying to put the washers inside the carbs, and posted on here... (and got pestered by Baz), so the photos I have are all in fact in reverse, hence the confusion, and lack of visual evidence for some of the things I am about to try to explain. If there is no photo for the step, I will try to give as detailed a description as possible, so don't just look at the photos, folks, read the writing too.

â™  A point worth noting is that my fairings are not OE fairings, but aftermarket ones. I don't know if this means there are subtle differences in mountings or anything of that ilk, but I would think it does not.

â™  Another point worth noting, is that the rubber trumpets between the cylinder head and the carburettor assembly are held on by 6mm Allen bolts on my bike, and I'm reliably informed that this is not how it was when it rolled out of the factory in 1994, but it is a common replacement for the OE bolts, if they become tired/rounded/rusted, so the bolts holding your carbs onto your cylinder head may be bolts, or Allen bolts, or anything else, so at that point in the process, simply substitute '6mm Allen bolt' for whatever holds your trumpets onto your cylinder head.

â™  If you are making your own washers, the dimensions can be found in another thread on this forum. For the sake of ease, the link to the picture is here.
download/file.php?id=253&mode=view

Right. Let me begin. I'll see if I can find the photos I took of the bike together to start with. *Goes off to rummage through, and resize all his photos*
Photos should now be in chronological order.

1

Remove the saddle. This is done by using the 4mm Allen key on the bolt shown in the picture below.

Image
Image

Once this bolt is undone, the saddle should slide forward and lift off the frame, exposing the junction box, CDI, etc etc.

2

Unlock and open the pillion seat compartment, to expose more bolts holding the tail fairings on, (Note - 10mm socket bolts, not Allen bolts). If you wish, to keep it right out of the way, you can use the 10mm socket/spanner to undo the strap that holds the pillion seat onto the frame. I didn't bother personally, and just put up with it hanging around.
Undo the vertical bolts under the pillion seat, and put them aside.

3

Undo the rest of the tail section's fairing bolts.
â™  NOTE: All the fairing bolts on my bike were 4mm Allen bolts, but there's no real reason this should be gospel.

I failed to get a photo of the fairing bolts coming off or the tail fairings off the bike, so I will try to explain where they are.
â™  Below the vents in the tail fairings - below and behind the fuel tap, and a corresponding one on the opposite side of the bike.
â™  Directly behind the saddle - this should be fairly obvious. (Again, a corresponding one on the other side).
â™  Underneath the very tail of the bike, under the rear light. On my bike these were Phillips headed bolts, they may or may not be on yours. These, I did get a photo of, mainly because I nearly missed them when I did this, so I thought they were worth mentioning.

Image

â™  Under the pillion seat, there are two 10mm bolts.
â™  Under the front of the pillion seat, behind the saddle, is a connection point between the two sides of the tail fairings. Mine has no bolt in, yours may well do.
â™  Under the back of the pillion seat is another connection between the two sides, again, for me there is no bolt there, an omission by Cass, I think, but on your fairings, there will probably be a bolt to undo.

4

Unplug the intake ducts from the airbox cover. There's probably a better technique to getting them out, but I just yanked, and that worked.

Image

Now undo the three phillips headed bolts holding the airbox cover on.

Image

5

With the airbox cover off, you should see something (more or less) like this - the points of interest at this point are the circled areas - the tank has two mounts here, 10mm bolts. Undo them.
â™  NOTE: The bolts are driven through two tophats, keep your eyes on them, or they'll fall out and vanish. I spent ten minutes hunting for one on the garage floor at one point!
â™  NOTE: It may be a good idea at this point, before undoing anything that will allow the tank to move even slightly, to ensure the fuel tap is set firmly to 'off'.

Image

(Again, this is a side effect of me doing the process backwards. The view you will have will be different, in that the tank will still be mounted, obviously).

6

At the back of the tank, where the bolt holding the saddle on came out of, there is a bracket, held on by two more 4mm Allen bolts. They sit through a bracket on the back of the tank, undo them, and the tank should lift.
â™  NOTE: Two more tophats, eyes open.
â™  NOTE: Don't lift the tank straight away, or the fuel line will pop off and the sodding stuff will go everywhere till you manage to fumble the tap off!
â™  NOTE: The fuel tap sits under the frame, when you do start to lift the tank up, do so carefully.
â™  NOTE: It's not a necessity, but it may be easier to remove the fuel tap position selector prior to moving the tank. I didn't do this, I didn't even consider it, so I don't know personally.

Image

Ensure the fuel tap is turned to the 'off' position before disconnecting the fuel line. (I found that in order to do this, I needed to lift the tank an inch or two, else I could not gain access - my hands are small, so I would reccomend this is the way you go about it, especially if you have spade-like dannies. I also found it easiest to disconnect the line at the tank, rather than at the filter.

Image

â™  NOTE: It's a good move to sit the tank on a towel or blanket of some kind while it is off, as it saves any fuel that does leak out, from going anywhere, or having to be mopped up later.

Image

7

Disconnect the larger breather pipe from the top of the airbox. It is held on by a clamp, just squeeze the arms and it should loosen enough for you to be able to work it back down the pipe. This allows access to the bolt head tucked underneath it.

Image


8

Looking at the top of the airbox, there are 12x 10mm bolts holding it onto the carbs and frame.

Image
Image

â™  NOTE: Two of the bolts are hidden beneath rubber plugs in the center of the top of the airbox, these are a bit of a bugger to get out unless you've got fingernails. Or I suppose you could use a flat headed screwdriver, I didn't think of that at the time. In order to get at them you need either a deep 10mm socket, or a 10mm socket and a screwdriver handle with a socket mount on the end.

Image
Image

â™  NOTE: The two bolts on the side of the airbox (the one pictured almost hidden under the breather pipe in the first picture, and it's opposite number on the other side of the airbox), are rather hard to undo with a spanner - it may just be possible with a ring headed spanner, but still would be a long process, so a socket or screwdriver handled socket handle is the way to go with these, too.
â™  NOTE: The four bolts shown in the second picture there are slightly longer than the 8 in the larger section of the airbox, mind this, it'll help you make sure the right bolts go back in the right holes.

As you lift the airbox off, be aware that there is a second pipe (the drain pipe), leading off it on the left hand side, towards the bottom. It's not immediately obvious with the airbox on the bike, but as you lift it, it's brought into view. Pop this off, and tuck it under the frame, or somewhere similarly out of the way.

Image
Image

9

With the airbox off, the view you should be presented with, of the top of the carburettors, is something like this.

Image

â™  NOTE! The next section about jubilee clips is probably not a necessity if your bike still has the trumpets held onto the cylinder head by 10mm bolts, as you will be able to get at them with a spanner. Mine are held on by Allen bolts, and there was no way in hell I was going to be able to get an Allen key in there, so I had to make more room.
(To be honest, I would probably still remove the jubilees from the trumpets anyway, even if I had 10mm bolts instead of Allens, as it gives you more room to work with when trying to undo the bolts holding the trumpets on, definately more than enough to get a socket on there if you should so wish.)


Looking from the front of the bike, you will see a set of jubilee clips under the carburettor assembly, clamped around the rubber trumpets.

Image

â™  NOTE: At this point, I found it helped to undo the small bracket that holds the choke cable housing to the carburettor assembly, as it gave me more room to get at the jubilee clip heads by lifting it away from the carbs.


Image
Image

â™  NOTE!!!! Take extreme care at this point, as the phillips headed bolt that holds this bracket onto the carburettor assembly also has a tiny sleeve (admittedly the purpose of which I couldn't really define...) If you're not careful, (or perhaps even if you are careful), it will slip off as you remove the bolt and vanish forever. Mine has. :smt009

With the choke cable pulled up out of the way, you should find you have more room to access the jubilee clip heads.
On my bike, they were phillips headed.

Image

10

Once you have loosened off all the jubilee clips, you should be able to remove the carburettor assembly by simply taking hold of it and giving it a firm tug.

Image
Image

â™  NOTE: With the carburettor assembly off, I figured it couldn't hurt to take off the jubilees, in case they were to come off and vanish of their own accord.
â™  NOTE: The jubilee clips only mount to the trumpets a certain way up, as they have two small tags which sit in locating holes in the trumpet.

Image

11

With the Carburettor assembly off, you will finally have access to the Allen bolts (or more room to get a socket on the bolts and undo them very quickly!)

Image

12

The fitting of the restrictor washers. The washers look like this -

Image

â™  NOTE: Again, if you are making your own washers, the dimensions are here.
download/file.php?id=253&mode=view

(this is in fact the Ebay photograph of the set that I bought, which are fine).

I don't have any photos of them before the trumpets went on, as when I got back from my jaunt downtown to get food, I discovered that Pat's dad had continued where we left off, had the trumpets off, whacked the washers in, slapped some sealant on and put the trumpets back on.
This is how the trumpets look with the washers underneath.

Image
Image
Image
Image

â™  To put the bike back together, simply the reverse of all the instructions above.
â™  NOTE: The jubilee clips will only go back on one way up, thanks to the locating tags.
â™  NOTE: I decided it couldn't hurt to fire her up once the carburettor assembly was back on, just to ensure that she fired and ran smoothly before I put the bike back together. As it is, she did, and nicely, but I would definately reccomend firing it up once the carburettor assembly is back on, just to ensure that there's nothing majorly wrong before you put the whole kaboodle back together. Also, if it's not running too smoothly, while it's apart, it might be a good move to have a quick go at balancing the carburettors. There is a DIY guide of how to do this on the ZXRworld main site, here is a link to it.
http://www.zxrworld.co.uk/zxr400/balancing.html

That's it. If anyone can think of anything sailient that I've missed, PM me and I'll add it to the write up, otherwise, I think that should do ya.

My thanks go to Zimm, for being a knowledgable gentleman, and to my able bodied companion, Pat.

Image
Last edited by Vard66 on Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:53 am, edited 10 times in total.
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by masterofinsanity »

fantastic write up mate, very much appreciated, couple of things.
1 you don't need to remove the airfilter section to remove the airbox (thats the 4 longer bolts on the top of the airbox)
2 remember to put the jubilee clips back the right way as per in the manual.(important)
Don't forget people there is more to the zxr400 than this forum... check out www.zxrworld.co.uk also.
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Vard66 »

Edited, Baz - washer dimensions added too.
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by rover220 »

aso, its easier to take the fuel tap selector bit off when removing the tank.
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Vard66 »

Good point Rover. Something I didn't consider. Edited and revised.
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by RedexRobB »

Yeah that is really good!

New section for the workshop on main site! Good one! Obviously, removal of washers (should you need to) is reversal of fitment!
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Vard66 »

RedexRobB wrote:Yeah that is really good!

New section for the workshop on main site! Good one! Obviously, removal of washers (should you need to) is reversal of fitment!
Ta, and what? New section?
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by masterofinsanity »

something to be added here
Don't forget people there is more to the zxr400 than this forum... check out www.zxrworld.co.uk also.
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by RedexRobB »

what baz said, please tell me you knew about the workshop section on the main site?
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Vard66 »

RedexRobB wrote:what baz said, please tell me you knew about the workshop section on the main site?
Yeah, I gave links to it in the write up. I was just being thick. :smt005
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Jesta »

FYI the brass tube that you lost is just for allowing the screw that holds the choke cable bracket to work like the other screws in the carb top hats, if youve taken the carb tops off before youll notice the choke bracket is a bog standard screw but all the others are bolts that are wide then run into a smaller thread, by doing this is keeps the bolts snug with the top hats so they cant move around, rather than just providing downward pressure they cant move side to side, the brass tube acts in the same way, tbh i dunno why they didnt just make the hole in the bracket a smidge bigger then they could have used the same bolts instead of having the tube and a screw. Sure theres no rational explanation other than there just crazeee japanese engineers! lol,

and yes i lost the brass tube too, then tool the carbs apart looking for where it fell out of thinking itd be the critical component that would mean life or death of the engine (especially if itd turned up in the cylinder!)
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Vard66 »

Yeah, I shat myself as I saw it starting to go, it was one of those slo-mo moments, where you're thinking 'oh-please-for-the-love-of-my-unborn-children-don't-go-into-the-head'. Fortunately, mine bounced off it and away from the trumpets, but of course, if it had gone into them, my walkthrough would have gotten rather more complicated and detailed...
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Jesta »

2 Part Guide,

Part One
Fitting Restrictor Washers

Part Two
Removing fiddly brass giraffe from engine block

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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by DannyMcCann »

How much do dealers / independents charge for fitting these washers? Im concerned ill get caught with a non-restricted bike and wouldnt like to lose the use of it for something so stupid. The guide is great, but im a bit useless with a spanner confuddled
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Re: Fitting Restrictor Washers - Walkthrough.

Post by Jesta »

No idea, but its really simple mate, you dont need any expertise, its just removing bolts, nothing to adjust etc, where about are you? If you in the somerset/dorset area I dont mind doing it for you.

Youd be best speaking to a machine shop after getting the correct dimensions and having them fabricate them for you, though you could also do them yourself if you know someone with a drill (pillar drill would be better though), a pair of tin snips and a bench grinder, I couldnt give a rough price for having it done at a machine shop but i should think itd be a lot cheaper than the £120 these things sell for.
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