SuperMegaCrazy 690 build thread!

[crankshaft]

On the recommendation of one of the other 690 "victims", I decided to start a build thread based on my 2009 KTM 690 project. I'm pretty new to this type of thread, so bear with me as a fumble a bit, I'm no Flanny

I've been riding and racing my 690 for a few years now and it's been a love hate relationship to say the least but I'm determined to make my 690 the motorcycle that will suit my needs. The motivation for this project starts with my attempt at running and finishing the 2013 Mexican 1000 Rally to make up for my DNF that I suffered at the 2012 edition, riding my Super Enduro. The big bike was plenty of fun on the dry lake bed but was a bit of a pig in the whoops and rocks.

I really like the chassis and motor in the 690 but the injection system and wiring, not so much. Some say that fuel injection has no business in dirt bikes but I don't think that's true, I think a properly built fuel injection system is the perfect place for a dirt bike and I hope to prove that.

After some head scratching and many nights of reading and research, I'ver decided to convert the 690 to a MicroSquirt fuel injection ECU
http://www.microsquirt.info/ The sky is the limit with this tiny ECU and the open source nature of the software is an even bigger bonus. The cost is very reasonable and unit is well made. My friend lateapex(Matt) has offered to help me with the conversion and I'm happy to have it! Matt is the head dyno guy and Fuel injection specialist for Dent Sport garage in Boston, MA http://www.dentsport.com/

Goals for the project-
*Reliability- Yea, tis needs no explanation

*Better quality wiring harness- No more broken wires and wads of taped wires, separate lighting/access harness from Fuel injection harness. The plan is to use Teflon coated aircraft grade wire for longevity.

*Utilize more off the shelf parts- I'm not a big fan of having to wait for parts from KTM. Sometimes the off the wall stuff takes a few weeks and costs a fortune. I'm hoping to use GM style Weatherpack sensors or Bosch sensors, for cost and availability reasons. If for some reason, a coolant temp sensor fails, it would be nice to walk into a Napa in AZ and buy a new one for $18.00. This also applies to injectors.... $200 for a fuel injector The throttle body will probably stay, it fits on the motor pretty well and it looks like the TPS is the only wild card. Hopefully they're reliable but if not, we can have the system run on MAP in a pinch... try that with the stock system

*Servicing- My number one complaint about the 690 is servicing it... that stock air box is a torture device and the wiring wad in the back is a pain in the ass. The plan is to relocate the battery to the front of the frame, just behind the radiator on a custom aluminum "tray". Also mounted on the tray will be the ECU and circuit breakers for all the consumers. The tray will be attached to a frame that is bolted to the bike frame using Dzus fittings for easy removal. The Air filter will be located in the rear of the 690 where the battery once resided, for easy replacement and cooler charge air. Valve clearance checks will be a snap and the wiring will all be condensed in that localized area instead of stretched all the way to the back and front.

*Power- Not really interested in getting more HP, or to put it another way, it's not my focus. If through the process we pick up a few HP, I won't be sad but I'm more concerned with ridability (is that a word) and reliability. Sakurama put it very well in his thread in OC.... Dyno's don't ride bikes, which is true.

Please feel free to offer constructive criticism, I welcome it and look forward to any ideas or thoughts. The goal for this project is to test the 690 out at a 3 hour endurance ice race in WI in January, I did it last year and had a blast! http://www.steelshoefund.org/home.html

Thanks for stopping by!

[crankshaft]

First step, remove the great Satan



Anyone need the stock 690 ECU's? TuneECU hot map loaded and ready to go

[crankshaft]

[cyclewizard]

[Ruffus]

Subscribed.

[LukasM]

Yo Aaron,

Very cool that somebody is finally doing this, will be a very interesting thread to follow!

I think you will definitely need to keep the TPS, from what I have read it's very hard to get a consistent MAP signal on a big single cylinder engine.

I can also appreciate your thought of using easy to find connectors, but those Weatherpacks are made for many times the currents that they will see on a bike and are therefore pretty huge. I'd check some of the more compact and also sealed high quality alternatives from Sumitomo and T-E, Eastern Beaver has a good selection. If you want to stay with Packard-Delphi then I think the Metri-Pack 150s are a smaller version similar to the Weatherpacks.

Lukas

[Maurizio]

[Barman]

Originally Posted by crankshaft

Gonna need a big pile of those dollars sir.
WTF, I'm in for the build.

[Brtp4]

Definitely in for this one.

BP

[crankshaft]

Originally Posted by LukasM

Yo Aaron,

Very cool that somebody is finally doing this, will be a very interesting thread to follow!

I think you will definitely need to keep the TPS, from what I have read it's very hard to get a consistent MAP signal on a big single cylinder engine.

I can also appreciate your thought of using easy to find connectors, but those Weatherpacks are made for many times the currents that they will see on a bike and are therefore pretty huge. I'd check some of the more compact and also sealed high quality alternatives from Sumitomo and T-E, Eastern Beaver has a good selection. If you want to stay with Packard-Delphi then I think the Metri-Pack 150s are a smaller version similar to the Weatherpacks.

Lukas

Hey Lukas, thanks for the input. I guess When I say Weatherpack, I mean this style sensor....



The Bosch plugs are also good...



The reality is, there won't be all that many sensors on the bike and/or connectors on the bike. I'll look into the Metri-pack connectors, thanks for the tip.

[crankshaft]

Just found a cool app for engine monitoring the EFI system using a smart phone or ipad. Right now, it's for logging and monitoring but the maker of the App is working on an update to offer tuning with iPad or iPhone. Instead of dragging a lap top to a race, I can just use my phone to trouble shoot a problem or make a quick adjustment. Can you imagine emailing a tune file to another 690 rider in the woods

http://mobisquirt.org/about/
It's free!


Thanks for jumping onboard everyone, this is going to be fun!

[bobzilla]

You have helped me through many frustrating issues with my 690 and I doubt I would still have this bike without your insite and advise .

Count me in Aaron

[Navin]

You asked!

Save your $ and time and make it more reliable by bolting in a 41mm (bored to 43mm maybe??) FCR. Eliminate the high pressure fuel pump, the wiring and associated BS of tiny injector ports and multiple filters. Less weight, less mess, less to go wrong and less expensive.

Or do it your way and I'll say I told ya so when a speck of dust you never find ends your next big race!

Seriously, good luck with it. I have a 570 in the garage, I'll take my carbed bike over that any day. I've had it fail in deep woods, no fun.

[crankshaft]

Originally Posted by Navin

You asked!

Save your $ and time and make it more reliable by bolting in a 41mm (bored to 43mm maybe??) FCR. Eliminate the high pressure fuel pump, the wiring and associated BS of tiny injector ports and multiple filters. Less weight, less mess, less to go wrong and less expensive.

Or do it your way and I'll say I told ya so when a speck of dust you never find ends your next big race!

Seriously, good luck with it. I have a 570 in the garage, I'll take my carbed bike over that any day. I've had it fail in deep woods, no fun.

I really wanted to respond with a dick like response but I decided that it's better to value your opinion but take you to task on your post.

OK, fair enough, you think a carb is the way to go and I honestly thought about doing just that. Problem number one.... Ignition, what do I use for a CDI box? Do I use a 525 CDI box and hope that the ignition curve is correct for the engine compression or do I source the crazy expensive Rally 690 box?
I better buy two 690 Rally CDI boxes, so I can have one as a spare if the one I have fails. $1000 I think? Will the crank trigger activate the CDI bow or will I need to change the crank trigger and the flywheel or make a new flywheel?
I could go programmable CDI I guess but why not do fuel at that point?

Ok, problem #2- FCR 41 will cost me about $800 unless I can find a used one, so lets call a good used 41 about $400. How do I attach it to the engine? Can't use the 690 Rally bell, the head is different from what I've read. Cob an adaptor together, which is possible but will take some time.

Altitude compensation and the ability to change maps for better technical riding sure is nice, especially on a big bore thumper with lots of power.
My Berg has been excellent, very reliable except for the stock fuel pump that was a warranty issue and everyone knows about it. I did all the precautionary fixes to ensure it would remain trouble free based on the Aus Rally folks and the research has payed off. The 690 problems are a harness/ design issue, not a Fuel injection issue.

I'm not a quitter, I just don't see the point in it. The 690 is great, I just need to tweak it for my liking and I don't mind spending a few bucks and spending some time working on it. I suppose I could easily drop the same amount of money on Touratech crap or sit in front of the TV on the weekends, hell even get hooked on horse. There are worse ways to spend time and money.

You bolted FCR's on your SE.... how's that working out

[crankshaft]

Hey Navin, Here is a good read on another Micro project, here is a good quote to start you off...

In setting up the FCR-MX I was dead set against (and proved it in my dyno sheets) that a big bore FCR was not the way to go for the DR650’s torque based powerband. The reason was velocity issues on a larger carb at lower engine speeds. This is an issue with any carb. Too big and your low speed atomization goes to heck in a hand basket. The 39 proved that out when comparing it to the 42mm FCR that I have built up. With FI the fuel is always atomized properly, even better than what a carb can do at any velocity, so there is no performance loss due to unatomized fuel. The second motivation was the dyno sheet after doing the HC piston, Web cam and porting. The slight gain that the 42mm carb showed way up in the over-run RPM on the stock engine now moved to a bigger gain much lower in the powerband and would now actually be useful. So with a larger FI TB I'm expecting better power/torque everywhere

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/761...ction-project/