And so the project begins.... and gets finished!!

[CMSMJ1]

too cool man - lets have the pics

I have a 3he with a 4jh motor in it doing feck all.. Also got a 1wg 3en1 frame doing nowt too.....

need to either sort this out or flog it!

[superlite]

Top job! Looks (and I'm sure that it goes) great! You make it sound too easy. I'm with CMS - more pics!

[Alex.]

Well it's not that hard as long as you know one end of a spanner from another! A couple of years with 2-strokes has helped prepare me!

To be honest, I don't really know how she goes as I have only ridden her a couple of miles to the MOT centre and back. I'll try and be a good boy and wait for the DVLA to change the log book, so I can tax her properly.

There are still lots of little jobs to do though, not least being an airbox investigation to replace the pod filters, although the induction noise is nice...

I'll see if I can get more garage time this weekend.

Alex.

[Alex.]

Spent a bit more time in the garage this weekend, even took some pics.





Eventually the tank will be replaced be a black one I have in the garage, I just need to clean it up both inside and out. Unless anyone has a standard paint black one they want to swap....

The wheels will also be black, but I'm going to wait until the RGV USD front end is in with the hayabusa brakes and then powdercoat both wheels.

That reminds me, I was going to mention that I tried some RGV yokes on a spare 3TJ frame and they fitted perfectly! It was someones post on here that said they fitted, but I didn't believe it until I tried, and they do!!

Don't worry, I'll post up some pics of the front end when fitted. Anyone want some Maxton 3TJ front forks....



Alex.

[Alex.]

As the missus is working and I'm not, I've been sorting the suspension of my little hybrid!

Rear shock from a 2007 R6, thanks to Oolit's spacer, fit quite well.



I would go out for a ride to see how much improvement, but when I was fitting the dynojet kit I found that one of the diaphrams was split. Got some carbs coming from ebay, should have a decent one in there!

Tried out the RGV front end on a spare frame I had lying around and apart from the lockstops it does fit rather well. The RGV forks are about 15mm longer than the 3TJ forks, not much difference.



I just need to get the wheel powdercoated and some minor bits, then we'll see just how much better this Maxton front end will be. Those brakes are not the ones I'll be using, I should have a set of six pots to fit on the way over from America. Only £33 for the complete front braking system!

Should stop rather well...

Alex.

[Alex.]

Just realised it's been well over a year since my last update, must be because I spent last summer enjoying riding my hybrid!

I did change a couple of things to finish her off, the dynojet kit fitted in my last post was quickly removed. She just would not idle and ran like a bag of poo. Turns out that the carbs had already been modified and I had blocked another air jet, when I realised this and put them back to how they were, she ran smooth again.

With the pod filters the fueling wasn't right, probably due to a lack of setup. So I thought I'd have a go at making an airbox fit. The 4JH airbox was never going to fit under the tank, so I tried the 3TJ airbox. I opened out the carb holes and used the 4JH rubbers, but the box was too high up and the tank would not fit. I opened up the holes into slots up the airbox, effectively moving the airbox down into the middle of the bike with the carbs poking up into the middle of the box rather than the bottom. This fitted well enough but left holes open to the elements, I covered these with Duct tape. Simple but effective. I have also removed the snorkel and the air filter, replacing both with a pair of tights! That should keep the big bits of crap and flies out of the carbs...

I'll try and take some pics of the airbox...

Next up was the exhaust. I was never happy with the solid pipe bend, it was just uglly and would compromise ground clearance. The flexible pipe was only ever a temporary fix (even though it went through the MOT!) as it was a bit of a bodge.
The 4JH donor came with standard headers and a very mashed race can, the 3TJ came with a Japanese race can (no markings ), I just needed some way to connect the two. Ebay came up with a Thundercat link pipe at a reasonable price, so the headers went on and with the judicious application of a blow torch and long bar, the link pipe connected up to the can. She sounds just as nice, if a bit louder, still passed this years MOT though!





Last but definately not least is the front end swap. I wanted to try putting on an RGV front end as I had the forks lying around and liked the idea of USD with 6-pot brakes! After puttingthe yokes into a spare frame, it was obvious that the lock stops would have tomove, as the FZR has the stop at the front of the headstock and the RGV has it at the back. Judicious use of the angry grinder saw the RGV lock stops on the floor, which just left some bits of steel needing welding onto the yoke. I also drilled and tapped the new bits, to allow some adjustment in case I got the placement wrong!





In went the yokes, followed by RGV forks and clip ons, GSXR4 front wheel, axle and spacers, TL1000R 6 pot calipers, ZX10R master cylinder and 4JH switchgear! Bit of a mix 'n match affair!



That was the bike finished, well as finished as a project ever is!
I then spent the summer just enjoying riding, including 2 months as my main transport due to engine issues with my car!!

First impression on the road was that the engine was lovely and smooth with bags of torque for pootling around town. Well there's loads of torque compared to an RGV250... I could now follow traffic and overtake without the flurry of gearchanges and addictive power band.

More later...

Alex.

[Alex.]

The handling never did feel quite right and I was having suspicious thoughts about the RGV forks. They were supposed to be Maxton modified, felt stiffer than standard but I put it down to my lack of talent. They did lose most of the oil and damping one winter when they were on the RGV... To try and fix the forks, I swapped a spare set of standard RGV forks for a standard set of GSXR4 forks, which are the same externally but setup for the heavier 4-stroke 400. After an oil change, I swapped these forks just before the Gibson Dyno day and they were a revelation! The handling improved, she would turn in and hold a line much better, with loads more confidence inspired in the rider.

The ride to Essex was great fun, especially through the Medway Tunnel...

At Gibsons she had a run up on the dyno and I was well impressed with the results. 86BHP with a silky smooth curve, no dips, lumps or bumps.





I'm sure that there has been some engine work to go with the shortened bell mouths and modified carbs, but without taking the engine apart I may never know.

I think that this summer will be spent riding again and leaving further mods until next winter. Except maybe for the softer spring for the R6 rear shock, gives a much better ride on the road, apparently.

This project would not have been possible without various forums over the years, from whole topics of discussion (600 engine into 400 frame) to one off comments (RGV yokes into 3TJ frame), all of the mods I've done have come from information gleaned! I'm not much of a radical thinker.











Must give her a good wash and clean though...

Alex.

[White2505]

Nice update and some good work there.
Just needs the tank to match now so it looks as good as it is.

[Alex.]

I kind of like the tank, it's growing on me! Also means I don't get too precious about the cosmetics.

The right hand side panel has some fairly hefty damage where the 3HE exhaust came out and is currently held together by a cable tie... If I come across a white top fairing at a decent price (Holy Grail of the 3TJ I know!) then she'll probably go back to the original white/red scheme, but still with the black wheels.

Alex.

[nick]

I've got a top fairing, side panels, infills and v piece to match your tank if your interested?

The seat unit is sold already though......

Either pm or email me nickandsharon@virginmedia.com

I'm currently laid up at home after a spell in hospital so don't expect a speedy response to any enquiry - i'm sleeping a lot courtesy of some cool drugs!