Project Cafe Rocket 686 begins. Finally!

[edfmaniac]

Just weighed the bike with no fluids in it and am quite happy. Only 310lbs. Still need to swap wheels too!

[djsbriscoe]

i gave the web site a good read and there is a note in the faq section about a back plate that mounts
over the back of the unit

looking at it as a power point in my car for the ham radio gear i use when mobile
dave

I have one of these fitted under the pillion seat of my CBR250R. It's connected to my PDOiler chain oiler and a socket for my battery charger. So far so good and reasonably easy to fit.

David.

[Bill Jurgenson]

172kg
still too heavy by far

just to compare, my SZR weighed 167kg complete with heavy, stock seat frame and stock fairing etc

my "toy" (1994 Tour) weighed 162 I think it was and the present green Sport weighs 150kg, both with the original tho paired down seat frame. Both of course completely street-legal with geman MOT.

admittedly in a very different league, the SOS racer weighed 122,5kg (220lb), albeit with alu seatframe, no starter and while running a magneto, no battery. Marvic mag wheels and with thin-walled fibrrglass fairing. in the last state it had 85 rearwheel hp.
and give-digit costs.
all these weights are ready to ride/race, not dry weights.

get rid of those lead-heavy, crummy wheels.

[edfmaniac]

310lbs = 140kg Wheels are on the menu.

[breakwellmz]

172kg
still too heavy by far

just to compare, my SZR weighed 167kg complete with heavy, stock seat frame and stock fairing etc

my "toy" (1994 Tour) weighed 162 I think it was and the present green Sport weighs 150kg, both with the original tho paired down seat frame. Both of course completely street-legal with geman MOT.

admittedly in a very different league, the SOS racer weighed 122,5kg (220lb), albeit with alu seatframe, no starter and while running a magneto, no battery. Marvic mag wheels and with thin-walled fibrrglass fairing. in the last state it had 85 rearwheel hp.
and give-digit costs.
all these weights are ready to ride/race, not dry weights.

get rid of those lead-heavy, crummy wheels.

Tut tut.

310Lbs is 140.16Kg Bill

[edfmaniac]

First cool down from the first heat cycle on the engine is in progress. I couldn't get the engine to fire at first so I swapped out the Ignitech with the OEM box and it fired immediately. Not sure what the problem is, probably programming. It wasn't giving any indication of fire and was back blowing fuel air mixture out of the carbs when I let off the starter button. We'll have to resolve that since the advance on the stock box is supposed to be too much for a hi performance set up.

Also my Scitsu tach isn't reading as it should. Maybe Bill can diagnose this one. It climbs up to max rpm(10k) when arming the ignition and then hovers around 6k once the engine fires and it doesn't respond to change in rpm. Anybody out there that can help?

Engine sounds sweet by the way!!!

Edit: Tach problem fixed. Read the directions!!! The sensor leads on the Scitsu's don't go to the output on the ignition box. They get attached parallel to the spark plug wires.

[edfmaniac]

And one more question. How does the ignition get power if it is only wired up to the voltage regulator? Does enough voltage come through there during the start phase to power up the ignition and coil or is the battery supposed to bleed back through the regulator and energize that brown wire that the ignition is connected to. I had to bypass the cut-off relay to get my bike started but I want it to be correct before heading out on the road in a few days.

Edit: I just answered my own question through some research, I believe, and probably figured out why my battery overheated too. The ignition wire that leads to the brown wire on the regulator is supposed to be energized through the ignition switch when the key is turned on and the wire leading back to the reg is a feedback wire, not an output. It lets the reg know how much juice is in the system and whether or not to pump out more voltage. Since I bypassed that wire, the reg was running wide open for the 10 or so minutes of my ride, likely contributing to the battery issue. If I had looked a little more closely at the stock wiring diagram, I would have found out where my problem was and saved myself some headache.

[edfmaniac]

This bike is really fighting me on the home stretch. Now the battery seems to be toast. It got smokin' hot and started pissing a weird smelling fluid all over my sub frame. I read some reports of the Shorai's not doing so well on some regulators without a special management device. They'll be getting a phone call in the morning.

Hopefully Scitsu will respond to my email about the tach overnight.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

Now the battery seems to be toast. It got smokin' hot and started pissing a weird smelling fluid all over my sub frame.
the above QUOTE is why i still use good old lead acid battery's in all things
except where the other types come installed ....like a cell phone or hand held radio
i do not like things to get hot and smoke when i am setting on top of them
and under the seat is where they are most often
Dave

[edfmaniac]

Third break in ride is in the books. I can't wait until I get enough miles on her and get the programmable ignition working so I can really see what she's got. So far I've been fairly easy on her, with the occasional 3/4 throttle blast to keep the cylinder from glazing over, but once or twice I let the rpms climb up to the stock box cut off and she was still pulling like a freaking freight train. Watch out KTM 690's!

[edfmaniac]

Here she is. You'll have to imagine her in your favorite colors and with your favorite wheels and brakes. When I'm ready for another round of work, I'll be going with the white tank & seat cowl, black frame & swing arm and black billet wheels or possibly chrome spokes with black rims & raw hubs.

[billr]

Looks good, sounds better...
Lithium batteries are a different animal. Cooked a couple in my RC stuff.
Get the regulator working and I bet the next one will be OK.
Bill R

[edfmaniac]

Thanks for that. A few shots of the oil tank fitted would be great when you get a chance.

Great build - thanks for sharing.

Doug in NJ

Here's the tank in it's final position and trim. I cut off the stock ears meant for the Raptor mounts and used the plate on the back side, meant to be a heat shield, as part of the custom mount. A simple piece of 1" wide by 1/8" bar stock connects the back plate on the tank to the underside of the seat. The plumbing is a mixture of Raptor lines and Skorpion lines.

[samandkimberly]

Have you got that ignitech running? If not, PM me with an email and ill send you a known working program with stock timing/higher redline.

Sam

[edfmaniac]

Yep! Got it running but am still trying to get the Ignitech to perform as good as the stock box. I'm going to start over again with Bill's recommended curve and then just slowly increase the advance until I feel like it's performing as well as the stock box but with a cut off around 9k. What I don't understand is how much advance Dynatek uses on their Rhino 660 ignition. Check this out! I thought running that much advance would make your engine grenade.