Where to next? - Now Cosimo's engine swap thread.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

I'm going to give this it's own thread rather than cluttering up the "what have you done to your bike this week thread" with updates.

Somewhere in amongst 75 hours of split shifts last week, I managed to get a bit done on my bike, but don't really feel like I've achieved much.  If anything I've moved backwards.  Those following the story will recall my charging system died, frying the DC connections on the regulator on the way out.  I tested a few things and confirmed I was getting my 60+ volts of AC power out of the stator with no obvious shorts, so AC power in tick

Battery seemed to be ok, and was even capable of running the bike around town all day with no charge, provided it was recharged overnight on the trickle.  The battery voltage barely drops when the starter engages. Battery Tick.

Installing a second hand regulator did nothing, so rather than pay stupid Australian prices for a new one, I had a Mosfet regulator shipped over from the states, which worked out cheaper than a stock regulator here.   While i was waiting for my regulator I replaced any other bit of wiring I was unsure about, so I made new battery leads, and the regulator is now wired straight to the battery.  Wiring Tick

So while riding my rechargeable hybrid electric bike to work last monday night I encountered a new problem.  Anything over 4000 RPM feels like it's shaking itself to pieces.  I feel vibration through the footpegs, tank and bars.  The mirrors are completely blurred.  If you've ever used a jackhammer you'll know the sensation.  This isn't just an electrical problem any more.  I made it home and pushed it back into my garage.

I discussed the new issues with my mechanic and we're hoping it's a cam chain issue.  Anything more serious and I'll probably be looking for a second hand engine.  I wanted to at least sort out the electrics before handing it over for more serious diagnosis, so I fitted the new regulator, started her up and got no indication of charge at all.  Checked the AC voltage, nothing doing.  Checked further up the line where the stator connects to the main harness.  Nothing.  While I was chasing regulator and wiring issues, the stator seems to have now died as well.  And I have an as yet undiagnosed horrible vibration in my motor.

Is there any chance this is all related?  Am I about to find bits of my stator floating around the crank?  What shall I disassemble and pretend to understand today?

[the mole]

Have you done a search for "goats"?

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

The goat was in the back of my mind already.  A horrible engine vibration coinciding with the death of the stator does make it a possibility.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9_CdNPuJg

Ok kids after work this evening I'm going to pull some covers off and report back on the condition of stuff, or I might hand the whole basket case over to the workshop and get their opinion.  I've gone from chasing an electrical issue to possibly needing a new motor, depending on what we find.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I'm keeping that option open. 

[the mole]

Good luck mate!

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

[adidasguy]

[steezin_and_wheezin]

damn those goats..

i'm pulling a 2006 engine apart soon. crank and piston's probably shot, but the flywheel/magnets/adhesive looks good. let me know if you need any parts

[Phil B]

bike slang translator needed: what is a goat?

and WHAT was that ugly crud, and what was it on?

[adidasguy]

and WHAT was that ugly crud, and what was it on?

That was a magnet.

[the mole]

BUGGER!

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

I wonder if there's any chance I'll get away with a new flywheel and several oil changes.  It seems unlikely looking at the magnetic crud on the cogs.  I don't have the workshop setup to rebuild an engine, and probably can't afford to have someone rebuild mine.  I might however be able to carefully disassemble, clean and reassemble to get all this crap out of my engine and gearbox. 

I'll get some quotes on a rebuild and on a second hand motor and then see where that leaves me.

[ghostrider_23]

Sorry to hear about your engine. Wish you the best

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Right I've located a running engine at a wreckers, it's still in an 08 model bike and they'll give it to me with the engine electrics and carbs still on it, so it should be more or less plug and play.  Since the later model has the electronic tacho pickup I'm going to run the later model tacho, and I might try and get the wiring harness from the donor bike as well, just to cover myself.

I'm thinking the 08 model might have an oil cooler as well.  Do I have to run one, or can I just plug up the holes?  Any other parts I'll need from the donor to cover myself?

Edit- It's just occured to me that if I want to use the donor engine's carbs, I may need to get the fuel and vac lines, just to make sure everything hooks up ok.  Maybe I should just get some generic hoses and clamps, so I can fabricate whatever's required.  Is the airbox the same?  Otherwise pod filters ftw (which then requires rejetting, sigh)

[the mole]

I'm not sure what year model you have now, but if its got a mechanical tacho there are a few issues to do the swap. You've identified some, but there is also the TPS (throttle position sensor) and associated wiring..I think it has some effect on the ignition timing but  . There are also connections to the shift drum that change something if you're in 1st or 2nd gear...to use that you'd need the gear position sensor thingy behind the sprocket cover as well.
Its possible you could just leave off a lot of this extra crap, (I'd probably use the TPS but ditch the gear sensor) but you'd need to talk to someone who has done it or at least knows more than I do. The more wiring and ancilliaries you can get them to donate from the donor bike the better.
It would have an oil cooler if it was a faired model, but its not an issue. You could either get the cooler and brackets and use it, or just blank off where the hoses connect to the motor and ignore it.

If you want to talk about it, I'm on 0419233025 or 0266859038.
Cheers, David.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Thanks, that gives me a bit to think about.  I'm looking at swapping a 2008 motor into a 1995 bike, which I will then have to have blue slipped with the new engine number (more paperwork, hooray).  Sounds like the later bike has a much more complicated ignition system, most of which I can hopefully run without.

I did get this bike to learn on, and this is part of the learning experience.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Experience tells me that was the easy part. 

Edit - I should have a new motor by Wednesday.  I plan on using my original carbs for expediency if anything at all looks different in the plumbing.  I'm hoping to use the original ignition control module and coils, that way all I need from the new motor is a signal from the pulse generator, and if it looks at all different in there I'll swap in my pulse generator as well.  Then all I need is that one wire to the neutral switch and we should be all good.  Running with the 1995 ignition should hopefully mean the gear position switch and TPS are irrelevant.  I was pretty happy with the system I had, it was crude but effective. 

I might be shifting by feel initially till I get the tacho issue sorted out.  Not sure if I'll be getting the donor bike's tach or not, or how complicated it will be to make it work on my bike.

[the mole]

TPS:  http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=58260.0
So it looks like you could use the new carbs and ignore the TPS, but I think your idea of using all the old stuff as much as possible is valid.
I wouldn't be concerned about the tacho, mine didn't have one when I got it and I rode it for a year until I found a cheap one. Its something you really don't need as its obvious when you get past the max power point and the redline is well beyond that. I really only use it occasionally to check which gear I'm in.

[gtscott]

hey, where abouts are you located? im thinking its in australia somewhere

[the mole]

We're in Australia somewhere.

[Dizzledan]

Getting it out is the easy part yeah. As long as you're careful when you get your new engine all wired up, pull off the stator cover (along with the head cover) and it's a lot easier to get the engine back in. Take lots of pics and do a journal/write up so if you miss a step or need to know how it was, you've got the pictures there.