after fucking about with my 400/600 3EN2 for somewhere approaching 3 years, I have finally done enough to think that tomorrow, with a drop of oil and water we'll find out if it works! (please god let me not forget that it is dry apart from petrol)

The 600 lump has been in it for 2 years, but only 2 weeks ago did i get around to grafting the donor loom into it, even finding places for the reg/rec and CDI that i had heard would be problematic. The loom at the front end is a bag of shyte though - i'm not running any road gear and I have to cull all the lighting and road stuff to neaten it up. The starter solenoid also doesn't really have a happy home, it's kinda floating around near the battery.

The 600 Rad i'm using needed some careful attention with a hacksaw to push a couple of redundant mounting points out of the way of the 400 frame, but sadly it still looks like it sits lower in the frame than the 400 one did, as it's bigger. I'd expect the rad to be kissing the front mudguard under really heavy braking if I'm right.

Am I an idiot for thinking that the 600 Oil cooler will be just fine held onto the bottom rad mounts with cable ties?! (it already sits almost perfectly in place under the rad, just needs a little support)

One thing I was chuffed about was the rear downpipe exhaust mounting - the 400 has a hanging plate which sits off of the lower suspension linkage lugs, the stock 600 pipes i'm using just didn't line up with this. I have a donor 600 for this project and a trip over to that revealed that the 600 has the same type of plate but slightly differently shaped, and whipping it off and onto the 400 it worked perfectly. Quick fix - we like!

anyway, most of you know all of this, and are a lot better than I am at making these hybrids so this is just the outpouring of excitement because after 3 years tomorrow, it may just take a quantum leap forward, and this is frankly exciting.

Just so as I appear to have a handle on this when it all goes wrong tomorrow - if it doesn't run the reasons will be:

1. The loom - 600 loom onto 400 coils and ignition barrel - everything fitted, the thing turns over, the fuel pump cycles - but is there something else I'm missing?
2. The 600 carbs are off of a bike that sat for 3 years - BUT this bike ran when i bought it, and ran ok! (the engine is from a different bike and was under warranty to be a runner by the breakers)
3. The fuel has been sat in that tank for 3 years! - I have some fresh in a can if it doesn't start after a few minutes.
4. 2 coils running 2 cyls each- have i put them on the right way around? it's a 99% dead cert that they are - but if it really won't start...worth a try.

Fingers crossed for me.

Still to do - fit R6 bodywork, clean up the loom, buy a clutch cable, affix a suitable sprocket. teething, more teething, time on forum to sort teething and then a bit more teething. after that, ride the bugger and hand over to girlfriend as her track bike!

Check back tomorrow - see if I'm still upbeat!

PB

Hey Paul,
i have changed by name but i am the lad that picked up the V4 of you and gave you the 3EN2, is this the same one

toosmooth,do yourself a favour, drain that fuel out and put the fresh stuff in.

I agree with Hunter don't even try with the old fuel.

Also - take the spark plugs out and turn the egine on the starter motor until the oil light goes out, then put them in to fire the engine.
Connect a car battery or a booster pack on the battery.
Leave the air box off and spray carb cleaner past the carb slides and add a bit every now and again while holding in the starter button.

I'd be surprised if it fires off the button. Keep the starter pressed in and use the carb cleaner .... the engine will spin faster and faster before it turns under it's own power. when you can feed very small amounts of throttle in until it runs. This is not a time for mechanical sympathy.

Yup Declan, it's me, and yes it is it!

you're all so right about the fuel - I am the son of one of the greatest shortcutters of all time, this time I'll ignore the nurture instinct and drain.

As for the oil pressure light, that is a luxury I do not have! it ain't working in any way, a bit like all of the console lights.

I can crank the motor a while though to get the oil pressure up (I'm guessing that's the game?)

btw - was reading a recent copy of PB today and saw a neat looking FZR featured that I reckon might be owned by a mr evilchicken...!

fingers crossed. new fuel, boosted battery, ding dong - a runner!

oh - add water and oil first. must remember that!

toosmooth

Yup - that's my 3TJ in PB

this is weird.

things like this don't happen to me.

I dropped water into it, I dropped oil into it, got the oil pressure up by cranking with the plug caps off, then reconnected the plug caps and crossed myself.

an engine that hasn't run for 3 years, hasnt had oil in it for 2, a set of carbs that had been run for 3 minutes in the last 5 years and a loom graft that could have had anything wrong with it.

You guessed it from the build up - it started on the bloody button!!!

I'm not exaggerating, I hit the button, and it started - not a few turns in - straight away.

not only did it start, it revs cleanly, ticks over and apart from a blowing on 3 (am running without exhaust gaskets, as none came out of FZR when the pipe came off - could be that or could be just a nut not nipped up properly) then it sounds absolutely wicked. Nice quiet top end and nothing rumbley down below.

One quick question to those in the know - if I drop the 400 front sprocket onto the 600 motor using the stock 400 sprocket at the back, what kind of results does it give? - bear in mind that this is going to be a track bike, so usually something around 5-7 teeth on the back or 2 off the front make a reasonable stab for track use.

I've found a clutch cable on the 600 donor bike - this will fit I assume and does it really need to be routed through the frame a la 400?! (now it's built up, I can't really see how I'm going to feed the bugger through the frame)

I'd like to thank the forum for their support during the 3 years gestation of this project, and in advance for the help and support I'm gonna need to get the thing finished!

Paul B

I wish all engines were that easy :)

Feed the clutch cable through the frame it's easy to do.

and put some exhaust gaskets in it !!!

toosmooth wrote:Yup Declan, it's me, and yes it is it!

well if you want some pics of the doner bike/frame i have them if you ever start a picture thread!!

Well done! Nothing more rewarding than a bike starting up after lots of hard work.... except of course the first ride!
BTW it could have been me in pb, mine is the red/white one Evils is the black one!
Good luck with the rest of the build, hope to see you on track soon.