Blackbird Rush
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 06:32 PM |
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Blackbird R.I.P.
Following the mishap with the engine at the Abingdon trackday it's time to think about the next step in sorting the engine.
It would appear to have suffered oil surge and now have a knocking big end, when I have a chance to remove the engine ill see for sure.
Been looking for a replacement engine but eBay is not showing Any bargins at the moment so might see if I can pick up a whole bike and break it to
recoup some £
On the look out for a dry sump kit or accusump as hopefully this will help to stop this happening again.
Also noticed the carbon part of the R1 exhaust can is peeling off (obviously only for show as there is metal underneath!) don't think it was
getting too hot? The rest of the stainless parts look fine?
Another option is to replace the engine with something else with a few more cc's and horsepowers!
Any pointers to cheap bbird motors or accusump / dry sump parts would be a great help
To be continued......
Ash
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probablyleon
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 08:10 PM |
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I feel your pain, the very same thing happened to me on a trackday last year. I had an Accusump installed but apparently it wasn't enough  ( I
spent some time trying to decide if I was going to replace the BBird or go for a more robust alternative. In the end I chose to go for a 2006 R1,
quite a bit more £££s but I'm not sure I'd have ever been able to relax into driving the car quickly again knowing it could go at any
point.
If you do decide to go for another BBird, check out Caterham's website. They were selling off some old BBird related stock at around half price,
including some dry sump parts. Also might be worth looking out for a motor that's had the balancer shaft removed, apparently that cures the pot
3 starvation issues.
Good luck with it
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Blackbird Rush
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 08:20 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by probablyleon
In the end I chose to go for a 2006 R1
Thanks for the info, are the R1 engines better protected against oil surge than a blackbird? and better suited to car installations?
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 08:44 PM |
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there is a thread somewhere about which engines are best suited.
r1 didn't rate too bad, anything bigger than 1000cc seemed to need acusump to be safe if I remember it right.
Personally I liked the old blade lumps, baffle plate in the sump and you were pretty much golden.
[Edited on 14/8/11 by Dangle_kt]
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tilly819
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 09:22 PM |
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done exactly the same about 2 weeks ago, i have a 2000 super blackbird engine with a hole in the side of the block were it threw a rod, looked at
replacing it with another instead i a swapping for an S2000 motor and trans, as much as i belive reverse is over rated as a gear i am looking forward
to having it as well as a proper clutch, and not having to rev it death to cruse down the motorway..... oh and of course the extra go go will be nice
too 
i never had any surge problems with mine as far as i now, i had the standard sump with a baffle plate, im not sure what the failure was due to but as
far as i now when it went the oil light was not on but i checked the temp just after and it was at 105C, may have been an oil pump failure and i just
didn't notice havnt had chance to strip it yet.....
i now exactly how you feel i was gutted, fortunetly i wasn't far from home and got a mate to tow me back. i saw it as an opportunity to try
something new and got the s2k for a good price
wish you all the best whatever you decide
tilly
F20C Haynes roadster 440 BHP/Tonne www.youtube.com/handmadeextreme
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INDY BIRD
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 09:49 PM |
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Not uncommon for a bird to blow I'm afraid,
They are prone to oil surge even with dry sump kit, I would look to change to another engine if you can, poss a zx12' r1,blade etc I had a bird
done every thing to stop oil surge balancer shaft removed etc dry sump and still went pop , go for a new engine while you can unless you are not using
on track and will be ok for road use etc,
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spiderman
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| posted on 14/8/11 at 10:52 PM |
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There is a R1 motor for sale on this forum for £600 complete with all ancills ecu ect. I think it is big_l who has it for sale.
[Edited on 14/8/11 by spiderman]
[Edited on 14/8/11 by spiderman]
Spider
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Blackbird Rush
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| posted on 26/8/11 at 01:35 PM |
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Following on....
I've now removed the sump but now noticed there is no baffle plate, should have checked this really rather than rely on what i was told  No
nasties to speak of in the oil or the sump so hopefully any damage is minimal.
Next step really is to strip & rebuild the motor with hopefully just a bearing swap......
First question, are bike engines easy to work on or is this best left to the pro's ? (i'm used to car engines) i'm up for the
challenge!, would a haynes be enough or best to get workshop CD with all the dealer info?
Second question, where to get parts from gasket sets/bearings (Not main stealer if poss as they are £££) any recommendations?
If all seams fixable when i take it apart then i'd probably remove the balancer shaft (any pointers on this?) and then refit it all with an
accusump from Andy Bates.
Cheers
Ash.
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neo2
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| posted on 26/8/11 at 09:43 PM |
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Is this any interest to you guys at all....
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/34/viewthread.php?tid=159657
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probablyleon
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| posted on 27/8/11 at 05:57 AM |
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Jaws link would be a good place to start for blackbird specific parts and information. On the
couple of occasions I spoke to him he was really helpful. Also, make sure it's not just as cheap to go for a full dry sump system (as opposed to
an Accusump). As I mentioned in my previous post, Caterham were selling off tanks, sump pans and a few other bits at around half price. They were also
selling some very funky looking airboxes as well.
Good luck with the rebuild
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