I haven't posted an update for a while, as been working too much and had issues getting the bike to run after upgrading the firmware. It should have been better, but it wasn't, and every time I went round to work on it, there was always something stopping me, from working on the Thunderace engine. In fact the last few months have been pretty confusing, as I went from a working alpha MSExtra 3.0.3Y to the latest MSExtra 3.1 and then the trouble started. The engine was hard to start and seemed too advanced, yet nothing had changed previously, and then when it did start and seemed to be going OK, I upgraded to MSExtra 3.1, and there was more of the same, plus there were a few changes to TunerStudio, and I seemed to be getting Project corruption errors, but that might have been me as I use Dropbox to sync my tuning files across different computers and OSes. All in all, it was obvious I needed to reflect on my situation and go back to basics.
The biggest hurdle is the project bike not being on the road, because everytime the engine starts and warms up, I have never been able to progress the rest of the tune, and if I did, I would be a lot further on by now. As the red GTS1000 is a good runner and the likelihood of my mate completing the other rolling chassis, so the Thunderace engined GTS1000 is roadworthy is probably non existent in the next six months, I really need to have a rethink.
To keep the project progressing, and maximise those little opportunities I have available, it's obvious I will achieve more by concentrating on the red GTS1000 with the stock engine, but at the same time keep the Thunderace options open by making an engine rig to easily test all the future bits and likely developments to the GTS1000 engine I have planned.
For the first part, I decided I would resurrect the GTS1000 engined side of things, and restart with the red bike where I had left off some time ago. However, there is an issue with my cased MicroSquirts and VR2+ trigger voltages with this engine, so I thought I'd use Jean Belangers' new revision 2 potted
VR conditioner, and see if I could use this to get round the trigger voltage issue. I want to go this route, as the intention is to MicroSquirt a stock GTS1000 engine, with no OEM sensor mods etc, except maybe fit a wideband O2 sensor.
I tried last week suing my cordless drill powered crank & cam rig, but I ran into issues, and I possibly "killed" the potted version, because it doesn't behave the same, using the LED triggers I started with. At first I thought the potted version was the best option, but after revisiting this ECU project again a bare board is more flexible, and at least you can see the components. As a result I ordered a bare board version, with the intention of dropping this in the bare Yamaha ECU case I am fitting the module to. This has now arrived, and I have started & finished soldering the wires to it, and later this week I will hopefully test the VR1 & VR2 outputs and make further progress.
For the second part, I decided it might be best to build an engine rig, so that I can test my alterations, rather than fit them to a bike and do a back to back, as you can waste a lot of time removing bodywork, ancillaries, suspension and stuff. The best way to test is to use the dyno, and as I have an inertial dyno available nearby, so why not make an engine rig for this, rather than get another. However I don't want to tie the inertial dyno up with this static lump, as others might want access to it, so ideally I want to make the engine rig removable. It also needs to be in manageable pieces and modular, so it can adapt to other engines, as well as allowing for the easy fitment of exhausts, camshafts, or cylinder heads. You also want good access to the throttle bodies and the area above so you can test on the intake side. It also needs to be self contained, with ECU, battery, fuel, cooling and control systems.
I have just started on a wooden space model, so that I can work out the dimensions required a little easier. I am going to make a general purpose multi functional subframe to transfer the engine power via a motorcycle wheel & tyre, but make specific add ons for different engine scenarios. At the moment, I have designed the subframe around spare GTS1000 components, transferred and modded it in CAD, so I now have the cutting list and fabrication drawing. Today, I looked at the motorcycle engine subframe which attaches to wheel subframe, and it is big enough to take a variety of engines, although my interest is in five valve Genesis lumps at the moment. I also plan to make this work for my Panhard engines, as well as different subframe for small kart and single cylinder motorcycle engines.
Couple of pics, for those that might be interested, but it is very basic work in progress at the moment, just a space model, and is designed to make easy access to test exhaust systems, cams, cylinder heads, and other throttle bodies I have planned. More CAD tweaking tonight, radiator & fuel tank location, as well as best place for controls for running the engine up.
space_model_dyno_subframe.jpg
space_model_engine_rig.jpg
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