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WR400 - Supermoto Conversion + Engine rebuild


rossonza
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Do some digging around on the utube and find out what you realy want to do with the ports,, to smooth and you make it slower on the intake side you actualy want to increas the surface area with some roughining,exhaust side polish it like chrome.But you want to do all this before you put the valve's back in as you want to clean it 120% of all debrese

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Do some digging around on the YouTube and find out what you realy want to do with the ports,, to smooth and you make it slower on the intake side you actually want to increase the surface area with some roughening,exhaust side polish it like chrome.But you want to do all this before you put the valve's back in as you want to clean it 120% of all debris

Thanks dude, was only going to play with the exhaust port anyways/clean up burrs. Exhaust port will hopefully be mirror finished. Just trying to decide if i do it with my dremel or by hand with wet and dry.

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My friend Ian has also made it a nice engine stand, whilst the works being carried out. I've watched some port/polishing guides and im just going to polish the exhaust ports, and leave the rest alone.

20140902_203356_zpsbb220d75.jpg
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Small update (cant really do much until i get my valve)

Stand got painted and had some end caps put on the metal, Painted Red
20140906_151740_zps7xiyurho.jpg


I visited my friend the weekend whose got the engine, We decided to get my dremel out and do some sanding of the exhaust ports. Need some Autosol as i got it very smooth, just not mirror finish that i want. left the intake ports well alone.

Before:
20140907_102505_zps1xwit8ai.jpg
After:
20140907_121938_zpsh3brvdb6.jpg

Valves here this week i believe, So either a week night or weekend job :-)

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Not much point in auto soling it if you leave that big lump beside the valve stem,but getting there.

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hahaha was waiting for someone to notice id only gone about half an inch in. Waiting on some longer and better Dremel bits to do further into the run. Also going to attack from the other side and cover the valve seats as much as possible so they are not damage.

Realistically i don't think ill gain much doing this so its completely smooth inside. However my friend explained air sheers when flowing through an object. So creating less drag on the outside of the air creates lets sheering, thus improving air flow into out of the engine. (he used big technical words and wrote down the equation and referenced some laws)...... i didn't have a clue what he was saying if im honest. Give me a Netapp and some virtual hosts and its all gravy.

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At 52 hp any small improvment is a gain,that lump alone is reason enough to finnish it to the blue print it was designed to be.factory race bikes get fully massaged to every bit shaving a bit here and there.

Bulding engines is a art when you do 1 thing and see how it imporves the over all then you go hunting for more things to do,from pollishing /shot peening rods and cranks ,to all out maching new parts from better alloys. Some is done buy people who have years of schooling and degrees and some by a guy in a tiny little shop at home,think of Britton and Buel.

The top fuel cylinder block on the Raceworks canada bike is made by a guy in tennesse in his back yard who pours his own sand castings and mixes his own blend of mettal and if that guy ever went to school past the 3rd grade,I would be very supprised if you looked up hillbilly in websters his picture would be there LOL,And I mean he litteraly has a hole dug in the ground to cast the blocks in sand casting's he makes nothing fancy just old school

Lots of performance up grading is just fixing what mass production missed. The old rule of win on sunday /sell on monday still applies and factorys build good stuff but thier is always room for improvment and they don't want private people beating the factory on sunday.

Sad part is as you havent ridden the bike so you will never know, but it is worth the effort and with your right hand man Ian guiding you , you should be safe,it might not be the prettiest bike but your cash has gone the right way to bulding a solid bike.

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At 52 hp any small improvment is a gain,that lump alone is reason enough to finnish it to the blue print it was designed to be.factory race bikes get fully massaged to every bit shaving a bit here and there.

Bulding engines is a art when you do 1 thing and see how it imporves the over all then you go hunting for more things to do,from pollishing /shot peening rods and cranks ,to all out maching new parts from better alloys. Some is done buy people who have years of schooling and degrees and some by a guy in a tiny little shop at home,think of Britton and Buel.

The top fuel cylinder block on the Raceworks canada bike is made by a guy in tennesse in his back yard who pours his own sand castings and mixes his own blend of mettal and if that guy ever went to school past the 3rd grade,I would be very supprised if you looked up hillbilly in websters his picture would be there LOL,And I mean he litteraly has a hole dug in the ground to cast the blocks in sand casting's he makes nothing fancy just old school

Lots of performance up grading is just fixing what mass production missed. The old rule of win on sunday /sell on monday still applies and factorys build good stuff but thier is always room for improvment and they don't want private people beating the factory on sunday.

Sad part is as you havent ridden the bike so you will never know, but it is worth the effort and with your right hand man Ian guiding you , you should be safe,it might not be the prettiest bike but your cash has gone the right way to bulding a solid bike.

Yeah, to be fair there is quite a few bad casting marks, but i wasnt sure how much it would actually affect the engine in the real world.

That's actually what my friend Ian does, he works for one of the worlds best engine casters.

i know i think the frame paint and general condition will let the bike down a little bit especially with all the engine work being done. But like you say having a nice solid bike is better than having a bling POS in the garage that cant be ridden.

The other thing is, Once its done i think it may be going up for sale as im in desperate need of a car to collect my daughter from the childminders. guess we shall see.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Right, little update before its running:

After a load of issues including a bent valve the engines back together, with polished exhaust ports :-)

Went over to Bromsgrove to collect it today:

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Finally home on the garage floor in the stand Ian made for me. Ian/Dan/Steve may be coming over this week to help me lift the engine in place and get her fired up. excited is an understatement.

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Will update by the end of the week hopefully

Almost forgot, I bought her a new ait filter too! :-) would have been rude not too...
20140930_173954_zps2ceervik.jpg
20140930_174408_zpsocexgkbl.jpg

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had a not so great day yesterday.

got home, my mate Steve came over and we got to work on the bike.

Good news:

Engines back in

20141008_192557_zpsc8qrlpf5.jpg

However my mate Ian chucked away the spark plug which was in it without telling me so we were going to start her last night but i didn't have a damn plug! oh well, probably for the best to run it in on a new plug. So looks like a frauds trip tonight.

bit more together:

20141008_202417_zpsgk8ehw5t.jpg

Bad news:

As you can probably tell from the pictures, I'm missing a component off the rear of the bike....... whilst taking the rear engine mounts out of the swing arm they bearings collapsed in my hands, the needle bearings are shot and have been a while by the looks of things :S

So.... Swing arm was removed and ill be getting a new bearing kit for it. whilst also cleaning it up/potentially polishing it :-)

20141008_192603_zpsmdpwekra.jpg

Can anyone recommend a bearing kit for the bike?

Thanks

Ross.

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Kit's arrived, hopefully getting pressed in place tomorrow with my friends press: However im still not sure this kit has what i need. Any ideas?

http://www.allballsracing.com/swing-arm-and-linkage/27-1088.html

http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Yamaha/Motorcycle/1999/WR400FL+%28DEEP+PURPLISH+BLUE+SOLID+E%29/REAR+ARM/parts.html


20141010_144952_zps3pt8xpvj.jpg

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Looks like it should have everything you need for your swingarm. :thumb: The All Balls kit I got for my DT did.

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Right,

So the correct kit has arrived (yesterday) so im just waiting for a day to pop to my friend ians to get the old shells out and new ones pressed in. Then its hopefully put it all back together and MOT.

I still havnt gotten round to fitting the plug and carb again. so maybe ill do that tonight

20141014_140751_zpskq8xpqb3.jpg

Updates soon

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Feels good eh? :yeah:

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Little bit embarrasing but ill let you watch the video to see my down fall...



HOWEVER, it lives and all the lights work etc. popped it into 1st gear and the clutch felt fine (as did the gears)



Im still very poor, so as of the 31'st ill be getting the MOT booked and taken on its first real ride. Finished around 3:15pm today so didn't want to run it up the road living so close to multiple 1st schools.

In other news ive had my almax chains (1 for front, 1 for rear and subframe) and ground anchor (poured reinforced concrete into the garage floor) im now a bit more secure.

:-)
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Looks great ross " :jossun: I wanted to see the tail light set up. and video ended as he walked around,,,tell him hes a poor director, :babyha:

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