XJ600/FJ600 Custom Bike Build with Microsquirt

Yup, monoshock. The ole FJ was quite sporty back in the day apparently.

 

My bad. It was a stupid question. I was at work on a 10 minute break trying to hurry.

Gary H.

 

Hmm ... Any chance you actually have a rear tire on the front?

 

100% chance by my reckoning. Should be a 110/90 18. Good catch.

 

See, I thought that too, but when I ordered it, it said it was for a front only. Maybe it was a mistake on the website, or maybe I misread it, but it is a 110/90-18.

 

Have no fear, I was wiring like a mad man this weekend whenever I wasn't working, and got the whole bike wired up, all without hooking the battery up. Hooked up the battery, and all my switches and relays work, and I have power to everything that needs power.
I took my time while wiring so that I wouldn't have to go back and troubleshoot, it was kind of a gamble, but I was confident, and it paid off.

So, this project will go the distance, and I won't stop until it works. I have been taking pictures and I will write up a more detailed post for those who are interested, as there really isn't much out there for microsquirt-ing a bike, or not very detailed at least. Many leave out a lot of details, or don't stick around on the forums to help with questions. I promise I'm not like the others out there with abandoned projects, and will help as much as I can.

Finishing up a few things now, and waiting to wrap the wire harness until I know it runs.

No time to waste, I have to have a bike to ride to Mayland on the 11th. Rushing things? Yeah, but work gets in the way, and nothing like a good 1350 mile ride to get some serious data logging in.

 

Cool build!

 

Great work man! Thanks for the dedication both to the project and to sharing the info/experience.

 

Alright, next little thing to check---check that your fork brace/fender mount isn't on backward

 

Nothing beats a deadline for improving productivity - god's* speed..

*choose yours.

 

Man, I knew this was going to be hard, but what a nightmare. I'm getting spark, just at the wrong time, it back fires through the intake. Then when I adjust the offset, it doesn't work.

Anyway, just messing around with the settings, and learning to use the Tuner Studio program. Have been reading some guides and manuals online, but nothing really specific for Microsquirt on a bike. When I get it sorted, I will write a set up guide.

Here's the mess.

 

Swap your plug wires around. Sounds like you've got 2/3 where 1/4 should go.

 

Tried that, still did the same thing. I'm fairly certain I have the offset too far off. Messing around with it today, so we'll see if I can make any progress.

 

Part of why your front tire is rubbing is because you don't have it bolted on the left side---I can see the hole. By putting that in, it will line up the fender correctly----

 

The fender mount isn't on backwards, it only fits one way, and the reason why the holes don't line up is because I have already raised the fender bracket a 1/4 of an inch with some homemade spacers. The tire is just too big and won't work with my fender.

I am planning on making a smaller one anyway. For now, I'll just deal with riding without one, and if it rains, well, I'll deal with that then.

The fender alignment was just fine with the old tire, but with this one it is just all messed up. The fender is the last thing on my list, I just want to ride before it snows. I'm not sure how many miles these tires will even last, so I'm not too terribly worried, I'll try to find the right size, well the right new size or different manufacture, and then my fender will fit.

Thanks for all the help and comments anyway, it's always good to have another set of eyes looking at your project, in case you miss something blatantly obvious, which is very possible for me haha.

 

Then it keeps coming back to the wrong tire size, I guess

 

Agreed, I'll just order a smaller tire if the new tires are bigger for some reason

 

Measure the width at the widest point. and the height from the rim to the center of the tread. See how closely that compares to what the sidewall says it is supposed to be (110 mm wide and 99 mm tall).

 

Will it spark if turned over by hand? If so you can go 'old school' with a pencil down teh plug hole to check tdc . If it sparks just a tad before hand you at least have a starting point.. I was always taught that and engine starts more easily with ignition retarded, then you can fine tune maybe?

 

Sorted out the weird spark issue. The trigger wheel that I welded onto my stock spacer wasn't perfectly center, so it would lose contact with the wheel, and the signal would go dead from the VR sensor. Another issue is that in the Microsquirt manual, it calls for .75-1.00 mm gap between the sensor and the wheel, and I had roughly 2.5 mm. So, I drew up a new wheel, and it will be done later this week. I will be machining a spacer as well, so it will be perfectly on center.

My new wheel with be quite a bit lighter than the solid one that I bought before, and it looks cooler. Not like anyone will see it, but I know it will be there. The trigger wheel will have .875mm of gap, so I am right in the middle of what the manual calls for. Crossing my fingers, but after I get the new wheel in there, it should start up with not too much trouble. Just comes down to getting the fuel and spark settings right.

 

well then we must see it !

 

This thread looks interesting. I am wondering if you'll notice any increase in power once everything is set.

 

I am expecting to gain some throttle response, and I should see a gain in torque and power throughout the rpm range, since I can tune everything for every specific rpm and throttle position.

 

Keep at Jon

Dave F

 

Things are really starting to shape up.

Just got the new trigger wheel that I designed, and wow. Not to brag, but this thing looks wicked cool. The best thing is seeing the finished product of your design. Quite the feeling.

It is substantially lighter than the old solid one that I had. Now I can go to bed at night with a piece of mind, knowing that I have a lightweight trigger wheel on the FJ.

Next, I have to machine the spacer needed to bolt the engine into the original crank location.

Just wait, you might see a running fuel injected FJ just in time for snowfall.

Here it is:

 

Looks great Can't wait to see the final result.

 

Small typo,

I have to machine the spacer to bolt the trigger wheel to the stock location.

 

Some day when I have nothing else to do, I am going to figure out how much of a difference, rotationally, my lightened trigger wheel makes compared to a solid one. It would be an interesting piece of information, especially if you want to add or subtract a few ounces of curb weight, and what difference it makes while running. Save that one for a rainy/snowy day.

The new trigger wheel fits perfectly, and looks pretty neat bolted on. I had some success in getting it to fire; it spits and sputters on every crank rotation. It is very exciting because although it doesn't run, (and that I'm convinced that it hates me and never wants to be woken up from the dead again), it's making noise, so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

Side note on the "the bike hates me" deal: I have been riding for a few years now, and I have yet to just drop a bike. I have crashed, but never just dropped one. The FJ on the other hand, I have dropped it while unloading it from the rack on my pickup (will post a picture of my sweet moto rack) and just the other day, I was moving it and I dropped it off of my table. Lucky for me, it landed on some cardboard boxes and tool boxes (more soft than the concrete) and my header is 14ga mild steel, only suffered one scratch.

It's like waking up sleeping beauty, except this one is ugly, and you don't want to kiss it.

Back to it: I decided to throw the carburetors back on the bike while I get the timing sorted out to eliminate some variables while trying to get the engine to start. Once the timing is sorted and it runs, I will then put the throttle bodies back on and start adding fuel until it starts under fuel injection.

A note for anyone trying to get an engine to start in TunerStudio. In TunerStudio, when getting the engine to fire up initially, use "fixed timing" instead of timing from the ignition table. Then you'll know what timing you need to start the motor. Some hind sight: maybe check the timing on the CDI and stock trigger wheel before putting the Microsquirt on the bike to possibly expedite this process.

 

Small update. In exchange for a few Budweisers, a friend of mine machined the spacer I needed. Now I just have to set the motor at TDC and weld the spacer and wheel together. Press fit would have been idea, but this time a little tack weld will do.





Working a lot during harvest, but with any down time, I'll be chipping away at the bike.

 

Attempting to get the engine to run. Trigger wheel is welded and bolted on, and I am messing with the timing on TunerStudio. Using "fixed timing" in order to get the engine idling, but all it does is just spit and sputter, and does not want to start. Trial and error.

 

how many degrees + or - are you trying? i have no idea what it should be

 

Trying every degree timing in 1 degree increments. I checked it with the timing light, but I'm going to go back and double check everything. Spark plug gaps, wiring, the tune, the whole works, in an effort to see if I can find an issue.

 

i guess you've seen this

shouldn't be far from 10 btdc

 

I actually haven't, thanks! I get the most activity from the motor at 10 btdc, so that makes sense. Must be some other error of mine that is causing it to not start.

 

just a thought, even a fi engine needs a very rich mixture to start and run while cold. is there anything in your setup to do that?
don't overlook the old ways, cover the air intakes with something for a second or two while cranking, and see what that does.

 

Agreed! I've tried drowning it in fuel, leaning it out, starter fluid, covering the intakes, all the little tricks (that I know of) to try to get it to go. I put the carburetors back on to eliminate some variables, but I still haven't had any luck.

So I think it's an error of mine, somewhere. I'll be spending the next few weeks going through everything again and see if I can find any issues.

 

Many moon ago, when I was 19-20 (1985) I had of these motors (well a 550) an it was sometimes a bitch to start. I knew nothing then and not much more now. But! I rebuilt the top end of my(new-to-me) 600 with correct shims and it starts on the button. It's been said 10000s of times but I do think engines these are susceptible to poor valve adjustments..

 

Thanks, I'll definitely have to pull the valve cover off and check that out.

 

Any progress or updates to report on this?

 

Nothing new to report. Other than I have moved the bike into a friend's heated 2 stall garage for the winter to continue working on it.
Since Thanksgiving, I have been helping a friend of mine build a camper topper for his pickup before he heads out on his extended rock climbing tour around the U.S.
Here's something to look at.

I am in Maryland for the hollidays, but when I return back to North Dakota, I will resume working on the FJ. Damn thing still doesn't want to idle or run. Trial and error.

I will be bringing the bike over to a friend's place to get some help on tuning the microsquirt. He knows mega/micro squirt like the back of his hand, and although I would like to figure it out on my own, I'm really stuck. No sense on beating the dead horse, might as well bring out the defibrillator and try to get a pulse.

 

Have you seen the recent thread?

http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/xj750e-efi-project.103022/#post-550484

 

Doing things for friends??
Get your priorities right man!
You have total strangers across the globe waiting on your results!

Only joking!
Good luck with it when you get to it - there never seems to be enough hours in the day / days in the week sometimes

 

Looks like a great project! Will be good to see his get completed, looks like he really knows his stuff. There needs to be more successful builds. Too many people have quit when they had starting issues.

There are a few things that I will be refining on my project once I get it running and a couple thousand miles on it.

 

You know it! It's taxing helping others, but it has to be done for good friends.

Don't worry, I won't be giving up on this bike. Little by little, it will get done.

 

Little update. I ghosted for a while, but have no fear, I will not let this die. I have been very busy with school and work, so progress has been slow. A friend of mine who is knowlegable in megasquirt came to help get it fired up since I was having issues getting the correct timing. I fixed my trigger wheel, and got it to time properly.

I ended up pulling on the fuel line too hard to get the line on to the fuel rail, and I ended up breaking the outlet on the fuel pump. I'm going to order a different pump that needs a fuel pressure regulator and a return to the tank, instead of the Honda Rincon atv fuel pump, which has an internal regulator, but a plastic outlet.

I'll get the pump and regulator, make new brackets, and see if I can get the damn thing to fire off.

 

You may not have seen this while you've been away. Worth the read, and may be of some help/ interest.

XJ750E EFI project

 

School and work really gets in the way of progress, but I have a new fuel rail from a 07 R6r that will need to be modified a bit to fit on the fz6 throttle bodies, I just received the new FPR, and fuel pump as well. I made some design changes on the orientation of the throttle bodies, I'll get pictures of that soon, and it'll be clear on why I switched to a different rail.

I designed some new intake flanges, and I am planning on having those being 3D printed. Making friends with the mechanical engineers at school so I can use the 3D printer for free (haha). Might as well get my use out of the tuition somehow.

In typical me fashion, I procrastinate, and jump to different projects too often. Recently bought a 1971 RT1, and have been rebuilding that and I put the poor FJ on the back burner this year. It's winter again, so progress will be slow, but I moved into a new place with a better garage, so I'll be able to make a little progress on it this winter. I'll be done with college in May, finally, so that is #1 priority, but as I have time, I'll keep plucking away on the FJ. I will not let it die.

 

Here is something to look at, even though it's just digital. I have been getting a ton of questions about the intake manifold, so I figured I should post some information about them.

Below are the flanges that I am going to be printing. 5 degree tilt and a 2 or 5mm(I can't remember exactly) shift up to allow the R6r fuel rail to clear the starter. Should allow enough room for the air filters, and still look normal on the bike, without them looking set at too much of an angle. I'll prototype fitment in PLA, I expect them to fit perfectly, because it is modeled after the steel ones I made, with the shift and tilt revision. After prototype fitment, I'll print in some sort of Poly, Nylon or ABS. The sharp corner connecting the flanges isn't ideal, but I was unable to get it looking like I wanted to, not sure if it was a AutoCAD problem, or operator problem. I'll assume the later, but it does not support that much weight. So, once I get it on the road, we'll know for sure won't we.

Here are the thumbnails, you should be able to click on them.



The files including .dwg, .dxf, .stl, are available for "strongly encouraged free will donation", although keep in mind, at this moment 11/8/17, I recommend obtaining these once I get it on the road, after putting some actual miles on it, but I can reduce the cost since they are prototypes at the moment. Send me a message or email me at jonathan.calkins@outlook.com. (I am NOT trying to advertise on this forum. But, I spent hours upon hours, literally days on these, making them damn-near perfect, so that's why I am not particularly interested in sending them for free.)

That being said, I am more than willing to help anyone out with their project and conversion, so ask any questions, I'll be more than happy to help/answer. As soon as these are printed, and I get the microsquirt software and ignition timing figured out, these are drawn to be very durable, and I will not hesitate to slap these on the bike and hit the road.

 

how ya going to keep them from melting?