ZXR400 H1 race project
Moderator: Moderators
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
ZXR400 H1 race project
Hello everyone, im motorsport engineering student in brooklands college, weybridge.
Ive got a proper mission to do here, building a 400cc race bike which ive never done before. I have actually done few things in the past, back when i was in indonesia, building 125 race track bike, and that was a success, got the bike run up to 140 mph in the end....
Yeah btw, I have chosen to do this year project on my ZXR400 H1 model which has bad engine (Has done 33,000 miles) and cooling system problems, it just leaking everywhere...
Well bought the bike on ebay, so the consequences is taken, lol...
Here is the picture of the bike after its being washed...
The bike does look mint, but the performance doesnt... When it runs, the engine sounds very rough...
First of all, i took the bike for dyno test, but before start dyno testing, i took one last picture with the bike just in case it blew up when running on dyno....lol..
Dyno test shown that the bike has misfiring problem, it produced 42.9 bhp at 9800 rpm and flat range torque.
Then i stripped the fairing off...
Then i inspected the engine condition, found out that the head gasket is leaking badly, leak around the water pump, cracked coolant bottle, etc2...
So i took the engine off the bike
Then i stripped the engine down,
When i took the cylinder head off, i found out that the piston rings were in very bad condition, I could easily feel the play on the piston when i wobbled the piston side to side by hand while its still in the bore. Then i took all the valves off....
Then i measured all the engine components to check for wearness....
I compared the results with the minimum service that shown in the manual, Not surprisingly, all components were below the minimum service condition...
Especially the valves, they were badly worn....Luckily the cams, pistons, conrods, crankshaft, bores and rocker arms were still in good conditions....
Til now im still thinking 'what made me think to buy this bike!!'....grrrrrr.......
Ive got a proper mission to do here, building a 400cc race bike which ive never done before. I have actually done few things in the past, back when i was in indonesia, building 125 race track bike, and that was a success, got the bike run up to 140 mph in the end....
Yeah btw, I have chosen to do this year project on my ZXR400 H1 model which has bad engine (Has done 33,000 miles) and cooling system problems, it just leaking everywhere...
Well bought the bike on ebay, so the consequences is taken, lol...
Here is the picture of the bike after its being washed...
The bike does look mint, but the performance doesnt... When it runs, the engine sounds very rough...
First of all, i took the bike for dyno test, but before start dyno testing, i took one last picture with the bike just in case it blew up when running on dyno....lol..
Dyno test shown that the bike has misfiring problem, it produced 42.9 bhp at 9800 rpm and flat range torque.
Then i stripped the fairing off...
Then i inspected the engine condition, found out that the head gasket is leaking badly, leak around the water pump, cracked coolant bottle, etc2...
So i took the engine off the bike
Then i stripped the engine down,
When i took the cylinder head off, i found out that the piston rings were in very bad condition, I could easily feel the play on the piston when i wobbled the piston side to side by hand while its still in the bore. Then i took all the valves off....
Then i measured all the engine components to check for wearness....
I compared the results with the minimum service that shown in the manual, Not surprisingly, all components were below the minimum service condition...
Especially the valves, they were badly worn....Luckily the cams, pistons, conrods, crankshaft, bores and rocker arms were still in good conditions....
Til now im still thinking 'what made me think to buy this bike!!'....grrrrrr.......
Last edited by harrygila on Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- RedexRobB
- Site Admin
- Posts: 7212
- Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2002 7:37 pm
- My Bike: ZXR400L3
- Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
I love threads like this! You get to see all inside and see a bike transform!
no doubt you will keep us posted!
Where is it your working? Looks nice!
no doubt you will keep us posted!
Where is it your working? Looks nice!
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Cheers mate, i will keep it posted.
im doing my project at brooklands college in weybridge.
I really do have problem with my english, but im trying my best to explain things...
so please understand....hehehe...
im doing my project at brooklands college in weybridge.
I really do have problem with my english, but im trying my best to explain things...
so please understand....hehehe...
-
- zxr400 oc member
- Posts: 613
- Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:24 pm
- My Bike: zx7r p6
- Location: Stafford
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
dont do yourself a dis-service, ive seen far far worse wosre posts than yours as far as english goes.harrygila wrote: I really do have problem with my english, but im trying my best to explain things...
.
looks like a great project that
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Ive decided to do engine work first as this is the main problem with the bike...
First of, I skimmed the cylinder head by 0.3mm and raised the compression ratio to 13:1....
Secondly, i skimmed the inlet and exhaust ports to improve the air flow, they came up smooth and shiny in the end...
Im pleased with the results... here are some pictures....
Phoned up Cradley kawasaki to order some parts...
Inlet valves (8 of them), Exhaust valves (5 of them), valve guides (16 of them), Crankshaft bushes (18 of them), Piston rings set (4 sets), piston pins (3 of them), Full engine gasket sets and seals.
They're brilliant, the parts came up the next day...
So i started replacing all the components once they came....
I have planned the bike to run with total loss wiring system....
So i removed the generator and the magneto to reduce the weight on the crankshaft, this will make the bike rev quicker...
Thats pretty much i have done so far with the engine....
Everything has been cleaned up, most of components are brand new...
Engine has been back together now, just need to do the wiring which i don't really understand how...
lol....help please....
First of, I skimmed the cylinder head by 0.3mm and raised the compression ratio to 13:1....
Secondly, i skimmed the inlet and exhaust ports to improve the air flow, they came up smooth and shiny in the end...
Im pleased with the results... here are some pictures....
Phoned up Cradley kawasaki to order some parts...
Inlet valves (8 of them), Exhaust valves (5 of them), valve guides (16 of them), Crankshaft bushes (18 of them), Piston rings set (4 sets), piston pins (3 of them), Full engine gasket sets and seals.
They're brilliant, the parts came up the next day...
So i started replacing all the components once they came....
I have planned the bike to run with total loss wiring system....
So i removed the generator and the magneto to reduce the weight on the crankshaft, this will make the bike rev quicker...
Thats pretty much i have done so far with the engine....
Everything has been cleaned up, most of components are brand new...
Engine has been back together now, just need to do the wiring which i don't really understand how...
lol....help please....
- jake
- zxr400 oc member
- Posts: 1016
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:03 pm
- My Bike: tomos moped
- Location: wirral
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
fantastic set of pictures there mister, and looks like a great place to work on the bike...
as regards to the wiring loom, there was a race loom document around not so long ago, but i cant find it... might of been on 400greybike forums..
im interested in making my own loom for my L model racebike, so will be keen to find out. I race a H model zxr, so anything i can help with mate i shall..
jake
as regards to the wiring loom, there was a race loom document around not so long ago, but i cant find it... might of been on 400greybike forums..
im interested in making my own loom for my L model racebike, so will be keen to find out. I race a H model zxr, so anything i can help with mate i shall..
jake
- RedexRobB
- Site Admin
- Posts: 7212
- Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2002 7:37 pm
- My Bike: ZXR400L3
- Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
your english is fine! Better than some english peoples english that i see in the internet!
pictures are just awsome! Keep them coming!
pictures are just awsome! Keep them coming!
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Next stop is the undertray...
Ive decided to take the old undertray off and make the new one from fiberglass....
I made the mold from cardboard and stick it with masking tape on the subframe....
Here is the mold....
Put the fiberglass stuff on the mold and becoming like this....
Once it dried, it came up like an ugly boat...lol....
I grinded the mold, made it smooth and it looks nice now...
Just need to get the undertray painted and thatd be it for the undertray.
Ive decided to take the old undertray off and make the new one from fiberglass....
I made the mold from cardboard and stick it with masking tape on the subframe....
Here is the mold....
Put the fiberglass stuff on the mold and becoming like this....
Once it dried, it came up like an ugly boat...lol....
I grinded the mold, made it smooth and it looks nice now...
Just need to get the undertray painted and thatd be it for the undertray.
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Cheers jake, thatd help me so much in finishing this project...
also thanks for everyone that giving me confidence to keep this project going...
also thanks for everyone that giving me confidence to keep this project going...
- RedexRobB
- Site Admin
- Posts: 7212
- Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2002 7:37 pm
- My Bike: ZXR400L3
- Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Harry, i hate to break it to you, but you might need to put a hole in the undertray to make space for the rear wheel when the suspension compresses.
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Next stop is the ram air system...
I never done fiberglassing before in my life, the undertray was the first thing ive made from fiberglass and that really gives confidence to produce more stuff...
Im trying to make the ram air system here, i have done the mold for it...
Its made of cardboard and masking tape as well....
here are some pictures...
It still is far from finish...
Thats all ive done for my project so far....
If you have any suggestions please give me a shout....i really would like to hear it...
cheers....
I never done fiberglassing before in my life, the undertray was the first thing ive made from fiberglass and that really gives confidence to produce more stuff...
Im trying to make the ram air system here, i have done the mold for it...
Its made of cardboard and masking tape as well....
here are some pictures...
It still is far from finish...
Thats all ive done for my project so far....
If you have any suggestions please give me a shout....i really would like to hear it...
cheers....
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Oh jeez, i never thought of that...RedexRobB wrote:Harry, i hate to break it to you, but you might need to put a hole in the undertray to make space for the rear wheel when the suspension compresses.
that is a good point...
ill redo the undertray then..
cheers rob.
- jake
- zxr400 oc member
- Posts: 1016
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:03 pm
- My Bike: tomos moped
- Location: wirral
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Maybee try to use the tank as the airbox lid? it could work if you put a lip on the bottom section, then put some compressed foam or something along the edge to seal against the tank?
top effort so far tho. Its nice to see someone giving a bit of attention to the H
top effort so far tho. Its nice to see someone giving a bit of attention to the H
- jake
- zxr400 oc member
- Posts: 1016
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:03 pm
- My Bike: tomos moped
- Location: wirral
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
oh yeh, dont forget to put a dip in the base of the airbox, where the throttle cable joins the carbs, so it does'nt catch
-
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Re: ZXR400 H1 race project
Cheers jake,
Yeah for the lid i have followed the shape of the tank
Putting foam to press the lid down againts the bottom bit is a great idea, cheers man...
I was tinking to bolt the two bits together using screw or something but idont think thats gonna work....hehehe...
What can i use on the inside to prevent air leak?
Yeah for the lid i have followed the shape of the tank
Putting foam to press the lid down againts the bottom bit is a great idea, cheers man...
I was tinking to bolt the two bits together using screw or something but idont think thats gonna work....hehehe...
What can i use on the inside to prevent air leak?