Simmy's Naked Turbo Project

I have 2 sets of FZ600 brake calipers. I need to pick out the best pair and overhaul them.
All the gold paint is in acceptable condition so I plan to leave them like that.
Gold calipers were a distinguishing feature of the late 80's FZ/FZR series.

 

Well, ahem.. I downloaded Racetech's instructions off their web page and they recommend preload between 10-20 mm.
Since I have at least 100 mm of preload I think I'll cut these down a little now.
As they say there is no definitive amount of preload, rider preference is probably the most important aspect.
I like stiff forks, the FZ600 forks I'm using are now on a bike about 100 lbs heavier and the rider (me) about 80 lbs heavier than the intended rider.
More preload has other effects besides ride comfort. It can change the attitude of the bike, more preload will raise the front and slow steering, maybe a good thing since I've already quickened up the steering with the 16" wheels.

Going from 19" to 16" on the front drops the front axle about 1-1/4".
Going from 18" to 16" on the rear drops the rear axle about 3/4".

 

I pulled the forks again and re-cut the spacers, settling on 25 mm preload.
They were at 50 mm, way too much. These springs are the stiffest of 3 options available.

 

Meet my Turbo!

 

my precious!

 

The 16" wheel conversion requires a shorter stand.
I made this years ago for my sidecar bike. I gave up ever riding that one solo so this is available.

 

I was unsure how close the battery was going to clear the sidecover so I moved it out slightly.
This will not be a problem evidently as there's lots of room under there.

 

I had to re-weld the one foot peg clip which holds the footpeg rubber in place.
Even I can weld that one.
The other footpeg in the pic is for reference, these were not that rusty

 

The sidecover tab from the RJ interferes with the R/R. You can see the hole it needs to go in.
I can move it or shave a couple fins down.

 

Move the R/R. Those fins are kinda important.

 

finding a set of instruments in this condition was beyond lucky. That's the electronic tach from the rare XJ650RJC

 

This is the original Turbo switch gear, both sides are in this condition. I first thought it was just grime but it's aluminum corrosion right under the paint.
I have some from the RJ and also a whole assortment of switches from the FZ600.
I need to decide which ones to go with and probably repaint. @chacal do you sell these decals?

 

He does, or at least used to.

I find that a lack of switch identification acts as an anti-theft device, It won't win you any awards though.

 

Nice gauges!
He should have the ignition switch ring decal too.

Tony

 

RJ headset all finished.
It sure looks lighter than a Seca Turbo. No one will suspect a Turbo under the hood.
The current paint scheme looks Fisher-Price though, need to do something about that.
I acquired 3 headlights for this project and actually used parts from all of them.
I have enough parts left to still make a very acceptable headlight. I have 2 bikes with this light so I'm keeping a spare.

 

I'll test it for you...

 

one of the challenges was lining up the seat hinges. The Turbo's seat comes right off with the key, the RJ is hinged.
Chacal had the little plastic clip for the seat stay and new hinge pins.
As I stated previously the Turbo and the RJ share the same bracket for the lock set.
This seat works better than my other 650 Seca from Yamaha.
You can see the circ welds in the frame, they are offset to capture the rear hinge pin, it all came over with the tail swap, it was only the front hinge I had to fit.

 

This is a little project coming up.
My new shifter didn't come complete so I need to complete the assembly.
I have new pedal rubber and the rubber boots from Chacal.
There's a few parts I'll need to clean up as best I can from the old ones.

 

Yea I knew that, however if I lose < 5% of the cooling fins it would probably be fine.

he does, I mean I do to. I actually bought it for my other Seca but never mounted it.

Get in line buddy!
I'm shooting for completion next spring.

 

Turbo back in frame.


This is my engine stand.
It's a standard 650 Seca frame just to show the difference.
The Turbo frame spaces the centre stand pedestals further apart to make room for the turbo unit.

This is the oil feed line to the turbo giving me grief at the moment.
When I fit it in place its about 1" too long. I have had it totally assembled at both ends but the flex portion of the line just bulges way down below the frame
The only explanation I have is that it got bent some how storing parts on top of it or it never fit properly to begin with.
If I tighten the 2 bends in the pic it would fit perfect but I don't have a tubing bender, without one it will kink for sure.
This still doesn't make sense, I haven't changed anything.

 

this is what's bothering me, the oil line hangs down too low.

It does get hidden by the sidestand.


I guess I need to find a small tube bender, a bit of tweeking is all it needs to fit perfectly.

 

I'm waiting for an 8mm check valve to arrive from China to put in the scavenge line like @JeffK has done.
Once I have the oil lines finished I can mount the exhaust.
I have the oil cooler installed but can't put oil in it until the lines are finished.
I still haven't opened up the clutch cover yet either.
I have fresh Barnett springs ready to go in. I'm hoping the disks are good to go.

 

Easy solution is to raise the ride height of the bike

(or you could take the line to a hydraulics shop and have them modify it to your specs).

 

LOL, unfortunately I've already lowered the bike.
I like this guy's tools, it looks like he has mandrels to fit the Yamaha lines






I need one more trip to the Chacal store for a linkage rod and new chrome circlip & washer.
I salvaged the chrome knuckle from the 650RJ donor bike. The rust mostly came off with steel wool.

 

Wax the lever. The rust was there because the chrome was pitted, and the rust will come back unless you do something to stave it off.

 

I just ordered a cheapy brake line bender. 5/16" is the centre of the range it bends, same as the 8 mm Yamaha line.

 

I had to share these pics. I'm stoked with the oil cooler. It is now completely unobstructed to the cool air.

 

This task below took me all day to finish. I had 2 sets of calipers so I decided to dismantle and clean both sets at once.
I stripped them all down but one set was slightly better, pistons were perfect so they will go on the bike with the new seal kit.
The other set are just spares. I have 3 vintage Yamahas now using this same caliper.
I cleaned them all equally, put old seals back in the spares and poured them full of oil and now they're hanging in my shed.

 

I also took a look at the Turbo's front brake master cylinder.
It was still functioning so I didn't expect much hassle.
One screw for the lid was already buggered, I had to drill the head off.
I put the MC in my vice supported only by the lid edge and smacked it good with a rubber mallet before it would separate.
A poof of white dust was between the diaphragm and the lid. Aluminum cake! The rest was just jelly puke.
This was a functioning m/c, LOL
There is funky stuff inside the Turbo master for fluid level monitoring.
I cleaned under the float level stuff. I have no use for this but it's not leaking now so I put it all back.
The float actually displaces a lot of fluid, perhaps Yamaha figured out that you don't need the idiot light for low fluid if you don't actually displace the fluid with warning BS gizmos to begin with.
Easy enough to discard the float anytime and easy to wrap the wires somewhere.
Next step is to install a new seal kit in the master. Hopefully no issues to rebuild, it was actually functioning as I said.

 

I like having a low fluid level warning, but then I have the funky remote master cylinder that has no sight glass.

 

I agree for the 750 Seca it makes sense. Anything else with a sight glass not so much.
My 4 day weekend with the family gone is over. I got a lot of things accomplished with the bike.
The best part is the clean up of my garage, I sorted all my parts and anything which might be needed for the Turbo is now in one of 3 boxes.

 

The oil line fits about as good as it gets now with the OEM layout.
The kink in the rubber flex portion is gone, that bothered me most.
Ideally a new line could be made up, one day maybe.
This oil line is 6 mm actually, I think I mentioned earlier it was 8.
The check valve for the scavenge line also arrived by mail, that line is 8 mm OD so that's what size I ordered.

 

Nice work there Simmy!

 

All the final engine covers are now in place. I used the non-YICS valve cover just because I prefer the look of it.
Same with the crank end caps (oil pump covers). No more stupid YICS written anywhere, YIKES!






I mounted this $4 check valve in the scavenge line from the turbo as recommended by @JeffK
Although I replaced the o-ring seal at the pump I believe the swiping surfaces in the pump itself leak oil while the unit sits.



I freshened up the clutch with Barnett springs.
The new springs were 44.5 mm free length. The old were about 42 mm.
Going with the OEM clutch plates until I have a problem.

 

Canadian paint booth

 

CAR....... game on!

 

I took a look at the pressure blow off valve which fits on the surge tank tonight.
It also incorporates a reed valve system so the fresh air is able to by-pass the turbocharger at lower rpm's.
Apparently the BOV spring is able to hold 14 psi before releasing boost pressure. By slipping a fender washer into the assembly it preloads the spring and holds the valve tight to about 20 psi.
The BOV is meant to be a last defense before over boosting and damaging things.
I bought a boost controller, BoostValve its called and with that you can set the pressure the wastegate opens to just below the level of the BOV, 18 psi as @JeffK set his.

screws were in there pretty tight, C-clamp used to keep the spring pressure from binding the screws.
For sure I'll need the clamp for reassembly with extra preload.

I had a nice shiny washer on hand with the perfect OD but the ID was too big and the spring sat cockeyed, no good.






I like the silver powder coating, makes the brake pedal look aluminum.
Yes I know I have the swing arm pivot shafts reversed. They're only there so they don't get lost.
I have 4 Yamaha rear brake switches but misplaced the LJ one somewhere. When I tore the 2 Secas down I stashed parts everywhere.
I'm astonished I've found everything else so far. Luckily @chacal lists them.


This side just needs a new sidestand switch rubber from Chacal

 

My thread has garnered 10,000 views, thanks guys! If this were You-Tube I could buy a coffee or something LOL.
I'm just about ready to start modifying the wiring harness.
I plan to install the matching plugs on the LJ wiring harness to accept the plugs on the 650Seca headlight and dash panel.
The 650 Seca routes the main wiring under the steering stem, the Turbo runs wiring along both sides of the steering stem and appears to be much longer but not certain about that yet.
The LJ also routes the main harness along the side of the bike where it's covered by the huge side panels.
It sits under the seat on the RJ, so I'll need to install the surge tank, air box and battery box and find room to route the harness like the RJ.
This might mean some wiring might need to be extended to reach things, other wires nay need to be shortened.
I have the wiring harness from the RJ and the LJ so I will spread them out on a table for initial comparison.

 

After a discussion with @chacal he asked if the washer could be installed at the other end of the spring?
That's what I did, however it is going to be thinner than a larger fender washer at the other end.
I need some info from @JeffK if he measured the thickness of his washer and what his resultant pressure relief ended up being?

Although I'm not planning to clutter my instruments with a boost gauge I will have to install something temporary to dial in the BoostValve.
Set the the BoostValve initially low and I will be able to see at what pressure this BOV opens. Then I'll know if this spring needs more preload.

 

Spring force is linear. So measure the deflection of the spring in the stock configuration. That equals 14 psi . Then figure out what psi you would like it to open at (say 18 psi). Spring equation is x = k*F, so (stock length) = k * (14psi). Solve for k. Plug into x2 = k *(18psi). Then subtract your stock deflection from x2. That's your washer thickness.

I didn't read back in your thread. Are you changing out the fuel pump? Fuel pressure must be 2 psi + Boost Pressure at all times or the carb bowls will empty out. So max boost pressure you can get out is 12 psi, with the stock pump putting out 14 psi.

Also, FYI, the blow off valve is not really a fail safe for the wastegate. It is there to deal with the pressure wave from slamming the throttle closed under full boost. This will create a pressure wave as the compressor still has inertia and will continue to compress air immediately after the throttle valve is closed.

Using the blow-off valve as a waste gate is no bueno for the compressor because it allows the turbine to basically free wheel as exhaust gases can keep driving it to higher and higher speeds. The wastegate prevents this by cutting the Turbo Pump from the energy it needs to spin the compressor.

 

I'll do the math, that's great info.

Yes I'm planning a new pump.

You're the 2nd one to explain this to me, so I'm now convinced, thanks.

 

I had read that the surge tank drain valve filter would need replacement so I ordered the gasket, o-ring & filter.
Sure enough the foam filter was crumbling. I flushed the valve mechanism with WD40.

 

Last night I tore my carbs down to the bare bodies for dunking and new seals.
Took about 2 hours but everything came apart. I needed an easy-out on 2 pilot jets and 2 butterfly screws.
In my zeal to break them down I think I damaged the butterfly plates. the last set of Mikunis I rebuilt I wiggled the plates straight out the outlet opening so this is what I did with the Turbo set, however to get them out I needed persuasion from a hammer. I really should have stopped as there is no way they went together like that.
They must go in and out through the top of the body, who knows for sure? I sure couldn't see a way last night.
Only the 2 outer hats are chromed and they have rust through the plating. I have spare Mikuni 30mm carbs from the FZ600 with great hats but they are smaller and don't fit. I also have spare 900 carbs I will see if those hats fit. I know @chacal sells the hats but he does not list the butterfly plates.
I'm not sure if the 600 butterfly plates are compatible, they do have a different stamping, I need to pull one out of the FZ and see if they fit, they're both 30 mm, perhaps the holes are not spaced the same. I hate to source another set of Turbo carbs just for the plates.

 

We should have some good used carb hats for the turbo carbs (the 900's wont fit) as well as butterfly valves...…...just let me know how many you need, etc.

 

Thanks Len, I will add to my next list coming to you.
I'm sure you have torn enough of these Turbo carbs apart, is there a way to wiggle the plate out through the top?

 

Yes, that is how it is done! I don't know why you had so much trouble, maybe they were slightly bent? Although, they are a tough (tight) fit...……….

 

#4 was the tightest and really took some hammering to extract.
I can't understand how it ever got assembled without scoring the bore, as the 2nd pic shows I sure did getting it out.



this pic shows a Turbo butterfly plate 130 next to FZ600 size 140. They're both 30 mm carbs but there's obviously some difference so I'm not even going to try fitting them.
Len has come to the rescue and will supply replacements for #3 and 4 which I buggered up the most.
I was doing this in my garage with the back door open, ambient temp -4C, not sure if that had anything to do with it, can't see the bore shrinking that much.
Thinking on those lines maybe best to freeze the plate and heat the body for assembly like installing bearings.

 

I laid the wiring harnesses from the RJ & LJ next to each other on a table in my basement and started the process of modifying the LJ harness to accept all the RJ instruments etc.

 

I have a question for the electrical gurus.
I removed the LJ's oil level sensor and installed the RJ oil level sensor as one switch is normally closed vs normally open, shout out to @XJ550H for that one.
The B/R wire on the RJ is routed from the oil level switch through the diode block before reaching the bulb in the idiot display.
On the LJ the wire went directly to the computer monitor.
I now have the B/R wire going from the oil level switch direct to the RJ idiot display, no diode in between.
Is this a problem?

Another issue I discovered is that the 2nd wire to the oil level/engine light on the RJ display is fed by the R/W wiring circuit which seems to power the primary winding of the HT coils and all the various relays on the bike. I was able to dig into the harness and find where the R/W's are all joined together and plan to splice another R/W run up to the instruments, just like the RJ harness has.

 

It originally goes to the diode block on the RJ to allow for the start button to light the light, the purpose of the diode is to prevent the starter from engaging should the oil level switch close the circuit. You will loose the self test of the light when pressing the starter button if you keep it this way but it will work if the oil level is low and the bulb is good. Without the self test function, it will be tricky to test the bulb.

This will be fine, as you mentioned the positive side of the bulb is connected to the red white wire.