I need a target!

[willandrip]

Nikasil plating may be applied to both steel/cast iron cylinder liners or direct to alloy barrels.
However there are two drawbacks to this.;
In order for the optimum performance to be gained;specific material must be used to manufacture the piston rings that are used in conjunction with the bore.
More difficult to overcome and certainly more relevent in this case is the fact that once plated you are restricted to the piston that the bore was plated for.
In this case it requires 4 pistons to be sourced and measured accurately to obtain a set with a tolerance of no more than +/- 0.015 to 0.02 . This will account for a large amount of rejected pistons .
The block must obviously be to the same spec so would require a "tolerence hone" to obtain before plating.
Very few engine remanufactures have the skills or equipment to do this accurately on a four cylinder block of this size.
Once this has been accomplished the ring gaps have to be set extremely accurately with a larger end gap to cope with the Nikasil comparable rings than is specified by the manufacturer thus resulting on oil blowpast on the oil control rings which in turn then varnishes the compression rings.
This may be overcome by piston service and overhaul at approx 4hrs running.
However the major fail in this hypothesis is as always ;the fact that once a cylinder has been plated it is not possible to compensate for wear by overboring or oversize piston replacement unless the whole process is repeated.
A very costly exercise indeed.
Nikasil coating was designed to produce a very cheap means of lining an alloy two stroke cylinder that had an expected lifespan of 12 hrs max.
Ideally single Dykes rings are utilised as this is what the coating was designed to use.
On racing 2 stroke engines ;the pistons for Nikasil use are supplied to an extremely fine tolerence and the supplier will open each box and measure the individual piston before despatch.
As may be discerned from the above I have some small experience in the fitting of Nikasil barrels/pistons (TZ series motorcycles) and also in the application of the process itself (Major British engine remanufacturer)

[wera123]

Did some one mention blow-by?
We had a crazy experience with nikasil and using a certain manufactures (aftermarket) piston/rings on a 2010 ZX-10 Superbike. Bottom line is the manufacturer sent us 2 sets modified (they called special) to try to get the rings to seal correctly. We even bored out an old ZX-10 cylinder head and used as a torque plate to diamond hone the nikasil cases, but still no seal. For a builder that build several top Kawi race engines, this was starting make us think about our sanity and path through life. Next we used a new set of cases but still no luck. Lucky for us the Kit Kawisaki rings (bit thinner) fit the aftermarket pistons with limited flutter and seamed to seal the best.
Sorry for getting off topic but I learned a valuable lesson that week on going with what works and how the low of physical apply regardless how much a manufacturer is trying to increase profits.

Hey! About this 400 (leaning towards 489cc).
PVM wheel is 15 miles up the road and we have a great relationship, so who am I not to get a couple ets made.

Question of the day:
What is the lightest 3TJ out their in RACE TRIM?
What is the weight different between the 1GW and 3TJ frame?

[willandrip]

Hi Wera.
As stated ;
Ideally single Dykes rings are utilised as this is what the coating was designed to use.

This is the reason why your Kawasaki "Race kit" rings improved the gas/oil blowby problem as they were, as you state; much thinner.
Your statement is a perfect example of the consequences experienced when plating cylinders that were not designed for its use !!
More for the benefit of other contributors.;
Because the plating is applied both chemicaly and with the aid of heat,the finished surface is comparative to a very hard and extremely smooth chrome.
In order for any piston ring to seal against such a surface the sidewall pressure of the ring has to be massively increased over std ring specifications.
This was attained in the above case, to an extent, by the thinner rings .
The construction of the single Dykes ring,it being L shaped in cross section,is designed so as a percentage of the combustion gasses actually access the rear of the ring and force the ring against the cylinder sidewall thus creating a very effective seal indeed.

Unfortunately I do not have a 1WG bare frame to be able to weigh it for you, or else would certainly do so.

I am most impressed to see progress being made in this project,rather than the usual "I am going to........." and one never learns the outcome.
I suspect this will be a reflection of your career in motorcycle race team management and workshop experience !
There is never time to clart about, if one wishes to progress at this level or simply retain the position; as you well know !!!!
Bill.

[willandrip]

I wonder if this has any relevent info :


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Report this postReply with quote Re: FZR Manual Downloads
by dru86 » Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:57 am

If anyone is after a copy of the 3tj kit manual shoot me a PM or email (include your email) and I'll send you a copy. This is not a service manual, it lists the factory race upgrade parts(YEC) and how to install them.

The page link is here about half way down;



viewtopic.php?f=35&t=846&start=10

It may be out of date by now!

I tried to contact a man who had similar for SP2TK but got no response.

[Evilchicken0]

Never weighed the frames but they work differently. The 1WG is a cradle and the 3TJ stresses the motor, most people say the 3TJ is the better one, it's a good design which you can see echo'd in the later Yams through to the R1.
The 3TJ was a complete redesign

[Taggyd]

ive got a 3tj rr with sp suspension that makes 72bhp. bdk ignition and total loss with balanced crank. the fairing is tatty but it may well be going up fo sale with a few spare parts soon. you can ramair them easy enough and change rads etc. some racecseries for the 400 allow over sized pistons up to a certain factory size. unless you do stock races which you cant!

[willandrip]

This looks to be an ideal platform to start development with-
After all; whilst building a machine to your own specs a tested machine makes a good benchmark to use as a comparison.
The limiting factor may be the timescale in this.
Taggy; by the way ;knows what he talking about judging by his past postings.
Zxr 600 rad is the ideal size (what looks right generally is right in modifications) and is an accepted mod in most cases.
Right back to work=tea break over.!!

[Evilchicken0]

Isn't that a ZXR400 radiator, probably the same unit though.

[willandrip]

Dont know if unit is same but 600 unit is readily available,400 one may be also but I would think there were a lot more 600s' about.
I do know the 600 one fits nicely into the fzr400 fairing and being curved has a large capacity for its dimensions.

[wera123]

ive got a 3tj rr with sp suspension that makes 72bhp. bdk ignition and total loss with balanced crank. the fairing is tatty but it may well be going up fo sale with a few spare parts soon. you can ramair them easy enough and change rads etc. some racecseries for the 400 allow over sized pistons up to a certain factory size. unless you do stock races which you cant!

Taggy: Please send me a PM me with price and location for all.

PS Magazine (German magazine) recently did a small article from one of their staffers that races a vintage 900rr & RC30. After this article about the success of the suspension work, the phone is ringing off the hook. Unfortunely only 1 of 10 is worth taking. I just finished a Fall racer/track day seminar for a group of Americans here in Germany and we are heading to Milan for EICMA next week to seek out more sponsors for the race team. So we are extremly busy this time of year.

Although the S1000rr racer types are laying low the Golden Era racers are coming out of the closet. Put a set of custom Ohlins pressurized catridges in a RC45 and should have 2 sets of Ohlins (46mm tubes) superbike forks from 2001-2003 era completed Monday. TTX installed yesterday on ZX-7 and 2004 ZX-10

Sorry I had to rant but after spending 1.5 hours balancing some stock pistons for a race bike I am little loopie in my mind.

It is always good to have a succesful machine shop owner/customer as a motorcycle enthusiest that is willing to barter for some of my FZR400 idea's. Most of my machining will probably cost me a day of track side support. Not bad since only live 10 miles from Hockenheim.

Like many of the Factory/Kit/Works race parts from the past, coatings and machining are in order. One would be suprised how much weight can be removed from the primary gear (outter steel gear ring of the clutch basket).

What say you Taggy?