Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride since 87

Hey guys,

Some of you know that I bought this bike last November then picked it up in December to resurrect/repair/restore. I was hoping to get it done Christmas week when I took a short vacation but it went a few days past. Then, I decided to go ahead and rebuild the turbocharger so apart is came again.

I’ve been trying for four weeks to get time and help to get it out of my basement shop and out for my first ride. Well, today I finally made it and wow was it ever worth all the work. I managed to get it out the door to the bottom of the stairwell by myself this morning while my sweetheart was running errands. When she returned, I rode it up the long ramp I had built and she lifted the bottom as the front wheel went over the top. She had to lift it so the bottom fairing wouldn’t crash into the ground as it went over the top. We got it up without too much drama then I rode it around front to get it ready. I had to run out to buy some fuel and learned that premium gas now runs around $73 per gallon. I returned home and poured 3 or so gallons into the tank then went inside to change into my riding gear.

I had planned to ride out the 8 miles or so to the end of the main road where it changes to a private road as it goes onto a causeway and onto Gibson Island. There is a 3 mile straightaway before getting to the island that I use as my own personal test track. The plan was to ride out at moderate speeds while making sure the tranny shifted nice, good clutch action and of course to be sure the engine was running nicely.

I had made some mods to the turbo system design with the addition of my boost controller and having added washers behind the pop off valve to increase the pressures which it would activate. My previous research had revealed that the engine should be quite happy running up to 18 pounds of boost rather then the paltry 11 or 12 that the Yamaha provided “power-up” kit would have let it produce. All this forced me to pay special attention to it as it warmed and began to spool up. It carbureted perfectly from the start. There are no flat spots, errors or runs….just dead on fueling. Some of this may be due to the addition of the R6 fuel pump and shutoff solenoid valve which is supposed to give me a bit higher fuel pressures and a bit more volume available to the carbs if they desire it and part of it may come from the thoroughness in the way I had cleaned and rebuilt each of the carbs. They were also balanced and sync’ed very carefully. Even after a few high speed runs it would quickly return to idle and tick over with a nice smooth idle.

As I pulled onto our main road I was immediately surprised to find how amazingly smooth the entire bike was, supple as it crossed the strips in the pavement and the bumps caused by freezing below. Some of the ridges are 3 or more inches tall yet it crossed them without upsetting the bike a bit. The steering felt fairly neutral and was comfortable turning it either direction. I was surprised because this bike is a pig, and I mean a big pig! It isn’t a large bike but it weighs more then my Vstrom 1000. I do not like heavy bikes and this weighs in at 575 according to the specs. It also put my Vstrom to shame in the suspension department. I only had minimal air in the forks and the rear shocks but even at speeds approaching three digits (done later in the ride) it was very, very smooth. My only complaint about the actual bike won’t surprise those that have been part of this forum very long….the front brakes are beyond horrible! To put them into perspective, they are actually worse then either my 74 or 75 H2’s!! I typically, depending on road surface and conditions, use only my front brake and I had to make a mental note to be sure to use the rear since the front are so bad. I’ll have to modify what’s there. It stinks because in the course of building the bike, I rebuilt and repainted the calipers and master cylinder and installed new, higher then stock, grade pads. Whatever I did, it wasn’t enough and it will require some changes. The calipers work well enough but the pads aren’t biting into the rotor hard enough. I have a couple of tricks I can try so we’ll see how well they work in making it possible to stop this beast.

We all know sometime things don’t go as planned and after riding a few miles to get to the island, as it ticked over 5500rpm, a twist of the throttle made a call below to the turbo to produce boost and it worked flawlessly. I watched it as it quickly run from 3-4psi to just over 15 when I relaxed the throttle letting it return to saner speeds. I cruised the rest of the way out the to turn around spot and let it idle as I got off and walked around it inspecting for loose pieces and any leaks…there were none.

The ride back was even more fun as my confidence in the bike grew. I ended up turning a “shake down” ride into an hour long joy. The turbo is a blast and builts boost smoothly and quickly. I haven’t got the controller set exactly where I want it yet at 18psi but it gets there so quickly, I’m going to have to turn it down a bit at a time then run it to see where it tops off at. Right now, the pop off is releasing at about 21 psi which is perfect since I want it to pop a little later then the boost controller shuts it down,. That way, it will be a true safety instead of a control.

I gotta tell you guys, this bike is a blast to ride. It’s smooth, got tons of power once the revs build, is very comfortable except that my knees are bent far more then I’d be comfortable riding more then 50 or so miles. That sure isn’t much of a complaint considering that this machine was built 29 years ago. Overall, I’m impressed and very, very happy. I want to add a “thank you” to those of you that helped me through my build…it all paid off and it runs really well.

jeff
http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz3/ ... rbo018.jpg

 

Looks like a piece of art work.

 

Re: Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride sinc

Are you really sure that those pictures aren't from 1984?

Looks like a fantastic job!

 

Excellent job

 

uh o jeff found a 4 cyl he likes. Its an xj jeff of coarse you will like it lol. The xtra boost should help it a bunch as long as you can keep the charge cool. One thing i can tell you from working at the yamaha shop in the early 80s make sure the timing is spot on you might even want to retard it a few degrees if you can for the xtra boost Yamahas xjs do not Take kindly to detonate. I am sure the turbos pistons are better. At the shop for bike week we added a small shot of nos to a 750 seca for the races at 11th street during bike week. First ride he said he picked up a bit of ping so he let off. Plugs were a little white Jumped up more on the jetting ran a little better and the plugs were running a bit rich which is what you want as you know but he had to back out of it again still getting some ping. I don't remember weather the pick up plate was slotted or he elongated the holes but backed it down 4 degrees. Thought he had it no ping to 7k plugs looked good. He went for it 2nd gear was fine 3rd ate a piston . Pulled it apart looked like someone took a cutting torch nice round hole dead center of the piston on #3 2 melted but didn't quite burn thru yet. They believe between the 2 center cyls running hotter and the tci advancing a bit to much made it go kabang. Of coarse it was the 80s nos set ups have changed a lot. Ad least you have the fairing directing the noise from the motor at you so it will help you hear if it pings. When it warms up a little would do some plug chops see how it likes the xtra boost. Boost is fun makes it easy to make more power. I added 4 lbs to my lightning really woke it up could no go anymore with the stock supercharger wasn't efficient enough did not want to take a chance . 14 lbs is what the guage showed. Runs the same times as Jay Gleason ran on a 550 Seca Fast bike hauler. One thing i can say about the turbo 650 the looks and style are not the greatest but its different. Its competitors were the xn 85 and the cx turbo. Likes the way the old cx turbo looks but i simply hate the motor so i would take the Seca over the other 2. Would really like to find a gpz turbo to add to my collection but can't find one not abused. Kawasaki out did themselves on that one. But they had more experience with turbos. But anyhow jeff glad you liked it looks like a sweet ride. Seeing what you wrote bet your not thinking of selling it anymore. Best of luck with it.

 

Re: Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride sinc

Thanks guys, we all can appreciate that kudos from your peers is a pretty high form.

I took my Vstrom 1000 out later last night.....and had to remember to remember that the front brakes on it work very well........


You are right Cutlass, one of my first thoughts after getting home was "keep it". LOL.....we'll see.......

Thanks again guys

jeff

 

Re: Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride sinc

Attention Wiz and Fitz! Looks like Mr. JeffK might be giving you guys a run for your money!

Great job Jeff!

Loren

 

You need to use your front and rear brakes together on any bike

 

Re: Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride sinc

8) The TURBO bug has bitten, now Jeff is smitten! Don't ever sell it. Trust me, you'll just whine and pine till you get it back if you do.

 

Re: Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride sinc

LOL, yes Midnight, I have been bitten by the turbo bug but it's not completely new since I drive a supercharged car 104 miles back and forth to work each day. A year or so ago I removed the sound damper from my supercharger just so I could hear it better as it warmed up. It sounds like a jet liner rolling on the tarmac first thing in the morning! The bike turbo doesn't make a sound unfortunatly. That's the strangest part about my bike...it begins to rev like every other bike I own and then all of a sudden, the speed doesn't change relative to the sound anymore, it goes exponentially! It's very wierd when we're so used to the linear sound/speed relationship.



WA, this isn't a competition even though I'm pretty sure that you were just teasing....both those guys are sharp as heck and have built some beautiful work. I have learned a lot just since joining this forum and maybe someday I'll be able to help someone in the same way that I've watched both of them do.

jeff

 

Nice job Jeff, I haven't seen a 605 turbo look that good in a while. What did it look like when you got it?

 

Re: Finally got to take my 650 Turbo for its first ride sinc

Thanks Mlew,

When I bought the bike the PO had told me that it hadn't run since 1987. It had two previous owners. At that point we found out that our kids are in one of the same classes at school and he seemed to be less guarded and he told me the rest of the story. He had intended to restore it but when he found out how much just the turbo would cost to rebuild added to the cost and difficulty surrounding the carbs he decided not to get involved with it.

The bike was filthy, really dirty but all it takes is a few restorations and you learn to see through dirt. The fairings were in pretty good shape overall but needed three repairs. The paint however on the fairings was very good. The engine was another matter. I think there are bunches of "before" pics in my photobucket and you'll find that the engine was missing most of the paint, the entire underneath was coated in a thick goo of dirt and oil. Evidently, it had leaked oil for some time during the end of its first life and coated everything. The windshield that you see now had had two separate efforts with "headlight lens cleaner" to remove the yellowing but thankfully, it wasn't cracked.

As I had mentioned earlier...I had planned on this being a one week job....boy was I dreaming<LOL>. I'll bet that I worked on it for well over 100 hours in that week and hadn’t even mounted the carbs or begun the turbo rebuild! The most difficult part in actual work terms was cleaning it so I could begin work. It seemed to take forever and every time I removed a part, it had to be carefully cleaned and its bolts and nuts cleaned in solution to make them look new again.

So, to answer your question, it was in OK shape!! LOL Aren't they always?

jeff

 

congrats bud, hope she provides you with a sommer of fun

 

I miss my turbo soo much... I still have it, I just havent gotten around to fixing it after the accident. As for it not being comfy on long distances I beg to differ... You just didnt wait long enough for your rear to go numb. I rode mine over 1000 miles on one day, turned around two days later and rode back home. Yeah I was sore for days but I miss my turbo.. One last thing, try to ride it each week, don't let it sit for long or she will get upset and start to give you problems.

Sean

 

Stunning... Nice work

 

"One last thing, try to ride it each week, don't let it sit for long or she will get upset and start to give you problems."

I've read this over and over and while all of us that build engines know that can't be true in theory, it's happened to too many guys for it not to be justified, at least to some extent....so I've been starting it every two days or so and letting it completely warm up.

I did get a chance to do some highway riding last week and while my first impressions were that the ride is very comfortable, after some time on Rt 95, what Dino says is true. It runs at too high a rpm to be comfortable for too many miles at highway speeds. That, combined with the noise would make it rough for a highway trip but it might be nice for the country roads of the Eastern Shore as long as I didn't forget my earplugs.

jeff

jeff

 

Looks great! Just about to start restoring my 83 Turbo...The turbo rebuild, how difficult is it? I'm a fleet mechanic with VZ and build hotrods in my spare time so I know my way around wrenches..

Ryan

 

Ryan,

You probably will be fine as long as you have the right tools. The only really special thing was the huge circlip pliers. Also, download and read, then reread...and read again for good measure the rebuild instructions for the TD-04 turbo(I think that is the number...pm me if you need a link)....it's almost identical to our turbos and will teach you the importance of CLEAN when it comes to turbos and will also give you a sneak peak at the insides so you'll recognize things as they come apart.


Three suggestions for a good rebuild

Take your time and index the compressor wheel to the turbine, other wise you will have to send it out to be professionaly balanced for 60 or 70 dollars plus shipping. If you don't, it WILL destroy itself when it spools up to 200,000RPM

Keep everything SPOTLESS. The smallest piece of sand or dirt will grind away at your seals and will do it quite quickly....at 200,000rpm

Lastly, make the two guys at G-Pop shop your friends....I bought the rebuild kit from them ($126) and they really helped me out...even calling me back on a weekend when I wasn't sure how something went together...top notch guys.

jeff

If you start and want to chat about it, pm me for a cell #

 

Thanks man, PM sent!

Ryan

 

PM answered....get a cup of coffee cause you've got a bit of reading to do...

Then you'll be able to say...."I love being blown!!!"

Have fun...it was a cool bike to build.

jeff

 

Thanks man! Will do!...I've never forgotten the top end rush of the turbo kicking in and the dotted lines blurring on the highway! LOL

Ryan