I have been trying to get around to getting the 3TJ back on the road for ages now, but a pretty heavy workload over the last year have thwarted all attempts so far.

If all goes well in the new year i will hopefully be recruiting my first ever employee, which should mean i have a bit more time on my hands to play with all my toys.

Now i have a decision on my hands, which direction do i go in. Do i...

1, Strip both of my sick 400 engines and make one good engine and have some spares.
2, Break both sick engines for parts and sell them to help fund a good 400.
3, Break both sick engines for parts and sell them to help fund a good 600 for the road.
4, Break both sick engines for parts and sell them to help fund a good 600 and track it.
5, Just sell the bike and spunk the cash down the boozer.

Option 1 could mean spending about £150 on a gasket kit, possibly £120 worth of new piston rings and possibly £200 on a crank regrind, shells etc.

Option 2 falls flat on its arse as good 400's are like hens teeth.

Option 3 sounds good, more reliability due to a lower stressed engine that doesn't need 15000 rpm to get anywhere.

Option 4 sounds like a good plan, fit a 600 engine, throw it in the back of a van and head off to do some track days. The only problem is that i live about 400 miles from the nearest track (Knockhill) and it will cost a fecking fortune so i would only manage one or two track days per year.

Option 5 also sounds good, a weekend in Amsterdam never did anyone any harm.

I will have to think about it over the Festive period, but i am sure i will come up with some great ideas when i am seven sheets to the wind.

I have the CBR for everyday hack work and i will probably be buying an FZ1 before next summer so the 3TJ will not be my main bike so it does leave options open for me.

Any ideas?

It should be an easy choice shouldn't it - but it's not.
The more I use my TJ the more I'm sure it's a great bike .. it's even taking a pillion. Then I rode it on my own and have to say how much I love the "little" 400 motor.

But the 600 is more. It would aid me in taking a pillion for a start and the extra torque would give it more pull. I've got a 600 motor in my garage ... and a loom carbs pipe and cdi .... but there nothing wrong wth my 400.

(the real reason for not doing the 600 conversion is holding the funds for the Bimota rebuild)

Now if Iwas in your position young Oollit - I'd build the 600 as a road bike, but with extras. Sort the front end, consider better disks (Brembo and some other makes do some) and master cylinder, second set of wheels and some sticky tyres so you can ride it to the trackday and around.

I'll go with Evilchicken on this one,600 road bike.

If you take the amsterdam route, and thinking about textin the missus while youre there, just make sure you do it before you hit the pub/hash bar, as spelling mistakes whilst on holiday can cost you more than the holiday.

e.g.

AMSTERDAM IS JUST LOVELY, WISH YOU WERE HER... . .


Q.

I think i will take my original motor to the workshop tomorrow and pull the head and cylinders off to see what condition they are in.
If i can get away with swapping my top end on to the replacement engine's bottom end i will go down that road for the moment. That should only need a head & base gasket so it is worth a punt.

However, i am keeping my options open by advertising locally for a cheap 600R or a Thundercat for spares.

I have also found out about another 3TJ in Shetland which is going for £500 so i am tempted to buy that, fit the engine to my bike and either convert the other bike to a 600 or break it for spares to get some of my cash back. Between breaking the other bike for spares and my 2 engine i will probably get a free engine out of it, and maybe some cash left over for other trick goodies.
I will probably have a look at the other 3TJ next week, and see if i can do a deal with the owner.

If you've got another bike for day to use definately a 400/600.... I'ts taken me 5 odd years to get my 1wg/thundercat into a useable bike (kept moving workshops and too tight for a dyno set up ;o) but now its properly rideable I love it. 102bhp, flickable chassis.. no other bike like it within 200 miles.

Its cost me about £1500 now with the t/cat engine / stainless system / dynojet but It just gets better and better ... If I throw another £1000 at the suspension its still gonna be a trick individual bike for peanuts. I did it the hard way and was off the road for ages through work and moving etc.... and its still is an old bike that plays up ... but its my personal meccano kit ;O)

Just finished making the nitrous bracket and getting closer to the keyless ignition ;o) .... would you try that on a new R1???

102 bhp what have you done to the t/cat engine to get that out of it . i have 2 3tj hybrids and both have the t/cat engine in them , race cans, special airboxes jetting set up on a dyno and can't get near that . I'm having head work and cams done on one of them for next year so i'd be interested to hear what you have with yours .

if you get stuck for a decent 400 motor then let me know. ive got 3 spares :-) 07745704599

mogster........dunno ;o) but thats what the graph says from Tim Blakemore's dyno (nice guy and gal btw)

I'm no expert, so cant comment on its accuracy. All its got is scorpion loud can / custom stainless pipes / hybrid 1wg/tcat airbox / expensive air filter