Highfive - WRR Athena Big Bore Project

[AKASY]

This may serve better than four hands to compress the rings

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....&group_ID=1593

[10Cup]

Great write up HF, the devil is in the details and you address them nicely.

thanks!

[Krabill]

Originally Posted by HighFive

I'm sad to say, that I lost the Krabill at this point. He's a good mate. We always have a good time when we get together. It was uncanny how he showed up (unannounced) at the exact time I needed an extra pair of hands. Super kudos to the (original) Krabill for helping out, when it was needed most. My little friend, Krabill the chicken, wasn't quite as helpful as his namesake....during the rest of the day.

My pleasure, my friend

I'm sure you noticed in the pictures I was wearing my riding gear. I was going on a ride . . . which I postponed to stop in and help my good buddy HF. It's a good thing we're really good friends too, since we were both twisted up like a pretzel with four hands in the mix trying to get that wrist pin locked in place. Might have looked kind of funny if you didn't know what was going on

Now . . . about that chicken

[pmooney]

You might find it easier to install the piston into the cylinder before you put the piston on the rod if you do it again. That way you can install the rings on the bench and all you have to do on the bike is push the wristpin through.

[kawagumby]

Originally Posted by pmooney

You might find it easier to install the piston into the cylinder before you put the piston on the rod if you do it again. That way you can install the rings on the bench and all you have to do on the bike is push the wristpin through.

Nice tip (if there's enough room to work)! Kinda like putting the faucets on the sink before you drop it into the countertop! Sometimes the obvious evades even the most experienced of us...LOL...

HF, another..."Great Job" on that tensioner discussion!

[Krabill]

FYI - we thought about that, but putting the wrist pin clip in was MUCH harder than sliding the cylinder down onto the piston. That little clip was a mother and trying to install it under the cylinder would have meant death for somebody.

[10Cup]

Yes, the cylinder would get in the way. One method that has helped me over the years is to use the wrist pin. First just push one of the circlips into the wrist pin bore with the opening positioned toward you and away from the piston, then insert the wrist pin from the opposite side thus squaring up the circlip and then gently push the wrist pin on through until the clip snaps into the grove. Hold your thumb over the wrist pin hole so that if you push too hard and it is forced back out it won't end up on the moon as HF says. This step can be done before even putting the piston on the rod.

Putting the last circlip requires a different technique but the wrist pin being in the bore helps a lot. I use a flat blade "putty knife" under the lower lip after putting the top of the circlip in the grove and then just gently lift up on the flat bladed putty knife while pushing in on the clip and it snaps right into place. Requires practice but works very nicely.

[a1fa]

It's amazing how much similar the top-end is to the WR(F) series motor.. Well, then again, they are all pretty much the same :)

[HighFive]

Lots of interesting comments here. Keeps me thinking...

10cup, I follow what you're saying. I think its very similar to what we did, ex the putty knife. I've done other wrist pin clips before, too. Either my age is wearing on me, or it just takes....how shall I say.....el hombre mas macho, con huevos....for this one!

Enough engine blood & guts for the moment. Oh, we're not done yet. Not by a long shot. There is much more excitement to come.

But first, a little sneaky peaky at "Houston":



"Houston" is about the same size as my FMF PP unit. Actually, its slightly thinner. But this Mission Control, is WAY more powerful in its capabilities:



Especially when coupled to the AutoTuner, as I'm still learning. Here is where I tapped the Wideband O2 Sensor into my FMF pipe:



Oh....are we ever gonna have fun playing with this gadget, together!

Intermission over. Back to the regular scheduled programming...

HF

[PowerT]

Originally Posted by HighFive

I want to increase the amount of valve clearance (make it bigger). I want to move toward the upper limit (closer to 0.20 mm without busting it)

My current ShimPad for that valve is a #195 (or 1.95 mm thickness)

The motorcycle shop seems to only sell ShimPads in 0.05 mm increments (like 185, 190, 195, & so on). So, I have to select the next smaller ShimPad that can be used which would not cause the clearance gap to break the 0.20 mm upper limit.

I cannot use the next smaller ShimPad, as it would increase the gap beyond spec for the Intake Valve.

And, I can attest that it did indeed measure 0.18 mm gap upon reinstall. You will get to see that photo later on.

There is a way to get the exact size you need if you desire...you also need a little patience!

You obtain the size pad that would increase the gap to a distance greater than you desire.

Get a near perfectly flat surface, like a piece of glass that you will not need in the future for optical clarity. Next gather a fine sanding surface similar to emery cloth. Add a little friction reducer, say in the form of sewing machine oil or even 3-in-1 oil and gently lap the pad down to the size you desire, checking the thickness frequently to ensure you don't go past your optimum thickness.

This can be done with any shim.

[kawagumby]

I can attest to this method. Being a cheap-skate, I've used this method more times than installing new shims - a figure 8 pattern as noted above does the trick nicely.

[badcooky]

Hey i've only read the header of this thread ,but i had an 06 CRF450 that i put a Vertex 490 kit in and it was an awesome bit of kit.

[YamRZ350]

Think of the guy that might come along after you and grind the number side of the shim if you choose to go that way...

[HighFive]

Do you actually used emory cloth, or some other ultra-fine type of sanding paper? Or maybe, some type of rubbing compound spread onto the glass?

I've wondered how that might affect the hardened (heat treating), if applicable. So, I never tried it before....but I've wanted to.

HF

[cyborg]

I've done it too HF, on many bikes, because shims often don't come in enough sizes. I've never had any wear issues from this. I'm pretty sure those shims are hardened all the way through. I've used 600 or 800 grit wet'r'dry sandpaper (wet) on a glass surface or machine tool table and that works great. Polishing/rubbing compound I think would be too darn slow.