Pants On Fire
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posted on 20/5/08 at 07:25 AM |
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Dumb numpty BEC questions
So I sold the CEC Indy last week having driven a Westfield Megablade & a MegaBusa at a track day recently.
I am officially converted, I thought I was never confused but now I am going to worship at the house of BEC
Dumb questions follow........
I'm looking at a Blackbird engined car, it's a rolling chassis at the moment no wiring or plumbing yet, so a lot to do.
I know next to diddly squat about bike engines by the way so please don't laugh!
Having googled around a bit, valve clearance checks on the Bird engine seem to come up a lot, check every 3000 miles seems excessive or is this
sensible given it's use in a car?
Clutch, a barnet clutch keeps coming up for BECs, this seems to have more springs than the OEM part, is this for better load spreading or are there
other benefits?
Dry sump, I assume this is a must rather than a nice to have?
Last question for now, more SVA related, is a bag type fuel tank OK for SVA? I would probably go for a 30 litre bag to give me a good range.
Thanks.
Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
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gingerprince
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posted on 20/5/08 at 07:40 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by Pants On Fire
I am officially converted, I thought I was never confused but now I am going to worship at the house of BEC
Excellent
quote: Originally posted by Pants On Fire
Clutch, a barnet clutch keeps coming up for BECs, this seems to have more springs than the OEM part, is this for better load spreading or are there
other benefits?
For the 'blade/'bird it's not actually more springs, they're just stronger. A lot of people actually run uprated 'bird
springs in a 'blade (I do for one). Not sure what the equivelant upgrade is for the 'bird but sure Barnett will do one. The "more
springs" probably refers to the R1, where the OEM clutch basket is a single spring and the barnett unit improves this.
The reason for it is basically to remove clutch slip. With standard bike clutch and the extra weight of a car you generally get slip, so the stronger
springs just give more bite.
quote: Originally posted by Pants On Fire
Dry sump, I assume this is a must rather than a nice to have?
I believe it's a must on the Blackbird - although it's very similar to the Fireblade engine I believe, it does seem more prone to oil
surge and therefore warrants dry-sumping - as does the 'busa. If you don't want the extra hassle of dry sumping then engines like the
Fireblade, R1 etc are run by many people with minimal sump modifications.
Welcome to the dark side
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smart51
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posted on 20/5/08 at 08:43 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by Pants On Fire
Having googled around a bit, valve clearance checks on the Bird engine seem to come up a lot, check every 3000 miles seems excessive or is this
sensible given it's use in a car?
The R1 manual says 40,000 miles.
Clutch, a barnet clutch keeps coming up for BECs, this seems to have more springs than the OEM part, is this for better load spreading or are there
other benefits?
bike clutches are designed for hand operation. Your foot is stronger and can cope with stronger springs. Stronger springs = less clutch
slip.
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pif
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posted on 20/5/08 at 08:50 AM |
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i have a blackbird indy and knew / know feck all about bike engines.
i have no dry sump and drive as hard as is poss on the road , but admittedly have not done any trackdays as i beleive the car would be too noisy. it
has a shortened sump that martin k mad with fins inside and he made me a baffle plate to go above the sump. always thought about it, going drysump but
a bit short of room under bonnet now.
i have done about 4000miles last year in mine and the clutch is standard all be it light compared to the tintop. bear in mind its hydraulic on the
bird. and a pig to fit and set up i stayed away from changing the springs etc. i think once you get used to the balance of revs versus clutch its fine
and i use it less now i have started to get into clutchless up shifting whenever possible.
hope this helps
pif
been a bit of a rush job really, bodged it all together in just 5 1/2 years.
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mackei23b
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posted on 20/5/08 at 08:53 AM |
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Yes the blackbird can be prone to oil starvation, so a dry sump is recommended (Have a look at Westfield as they do one), though an ‘accusump’ may
help get you buy.
I’m sure someone runs one on this forum in an Indy with a Bird engine (MK did have one in thier demontrator as well), so it may be worth a search.
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BenB
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posted on 20/5/08 at 11:10 AM |
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Dry sump isn't usually necessary if you're sticking to rapid road transport.
If you're going for a full-on race set-up for track days a dry sump is a wise investment....
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eddbaz
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posted on 20/5/08 at 11:58 AM |
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how about a swing pickup sump from ab performance
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sucksqueezebangblow
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posted on 20/5/08 at 12:40 PM |
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If you decide to go the 'Busa route I have a full Pace dry sump set up from MNR which I have not used as it is incompatible with the starter
moter engagement gearing I fitted.
Clive.
Better to Burnout than to Fade Away JET METAL ~ AndySparrow ©
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lsdweb
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posted on 20/5/08 at 04:27 PM |
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Pants On Fire
If you'r eplanning on competing in it, watch out for class limits. Speed events often have an up to 1100 class. The Blackbird is 1137cc IIRC and
you're in Busa hunting ground then! I originally bought a Blackbird but went for the R1 for this and other reasons in the end.
Wyn
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