[medicbaldwin]

here's a few updated pics of the bike before my first trip to the track this season. Thanks to our local track bringing photographers, I found a few action pics. f



Here is pic of my pitbike after fabbing up an exhaust for it. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, especially this being my first attempt at welding anything.

 

[thundercoupe9]

I think your rear is lowered way too much, look at your chain.

 

[medicbaldwin]

Yeah, I think it is too. The chain was plenty tight at rest, apparently under a load, she gets a little slacked up.

 

[thundercoupe9]

Yeah, I think it is too. The chain was plenty tight at rest, apparently under a load, she gets a little slacked up.

When swing arm goes into negative angle, the distance between front sprocket and rear sprocket decreases.

I set my swing arm angle so under maximum weight transfer my swing arm is perpendicular to the front sprocket. Meaning I can draw a straight line between center of the front sprocket, swing arm pivot bolt, and rear axle.

Basically I raised rear to a point so when the maximum weight transfer happens, there is 600lbs on the rear axle (400lb bike and 200lb me), my axle goes inline with fr sprocket and swing arm pivot bolt. The heavier the rear spring, the less travel your rear wheel will do, meaning you don't have to raise it as much.

 

[medicbaldwin]

Thanks for explanation. I'll raise it up, then do some hits at the track and record it, then watch and see what needs to happen.

I have the Soupy adjustable lowering links, with those, do I need to suspend the rear and make adjustment without the bike being weighted or will it be ok to make adjustments with the bike sitting under it's own weight?

 

[thundercoupe9]

Thanks for explanation. I'll raise it up, then do some hits at the track and record it, then watch and see what needs to happen.

I have the Soupy adjustable lowering links, with those, do I need to suspend the rear and make adjustment without the bike being weighted or will it be ok to make adjustments with the bike sitting under it's own weight?

I would raise it up, to lessen a chance of stripping the links out.

 

[medicbaldwin]

after my post last night, I decided to email soupy's. They say you don't need to unload the suspension. So, I gave it a go and it raised up fine without fear of tearing up threads.

 

[medicbaldwin]

At my last outing, I wasn't very pleased with my habits. One red light after another, doing wheelies off the line. I'm struggling like crazy to slowly slide the clutch so it doesn't engage all at once. I haven't changed anything with the springs yet, so, it still has the springs that came in the drag pack kit from cycle concepts.
I do have shorty levers which have a different curve to them, would this make a difference or make it more difficult to slide the clutch?
Another question I have is, when you guys stage your bike, do you let the clutch out a little to "load" the clutch or do you keep the lever all the way in so the clutch is completely unloaded?

I've tried both ways, actually seemed to be a bit better with loading the clutch.

 

[medicbaldwin]

Another trip to the track yielded great success. Sat I ran this ET, which was a new personal best.

Then sunday AM I ran this...


Aside from my horrid lights, I think i'm getting that hang of this.

 

[medicbaldwin]

I have a question about a blinking red light with "fi" being lit up on my dash. Here's what lead up to it.
I was having issues with my data logger (dynojet wideband commander) accurately reading Throttle Positon as well as AFR. I changed the O2 sensor, that seemed to help. As for the throttle position I read about connecting the gray/black wire from the WBC to the brown wire on my throttle position sensor. I made that connection and shrink wrapped it. I also re-soldered a wire for the wbc for rpm pickup and piggy backed that into my PC5. Everything looked good and was ready for a fire up and check.
With the programs opened, I re-calibrated my tps in the PC5 as well as the WBC. Revved it up a few times, then let it idle. The bike suddenly died when it was out of gas. Big surprise right?
I put another gallon of fuel in the bike, let the pump prime up and hit the button. Bike fires back up, low fuel warning light shuts off, but the blinking red light with "fi" is now blinking.
I shut the bike off and turned the key off, hoping that would take care of it, nope, still blinking.

Anybody have any idea what the issue could be? Do these Gen3's have something go wrong when they run out of gas that it'll trigger the light?

 

[medicbaldwin]

figured out the flashing "fi" light. I unhooked the intake temp sensor and forgot to plug it back in. So, I took everything apart to get to the sensor, plugged it in, and BAM, no more light.

 

[Whatsnext$$]

Man you have the greatest luck ever! Hey I found you need a new motor I just totaled mine and I'm going to have to part it out bc it broke the frame after the triple trees

 

[medicbaldwin]

Sorry about your luck man. I don't have a need for another motor, nor do I have the financial means to pull it off. Too many projects going at the same time.

 

[medicbaldwin]

Hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction here. I went to the track fri for a test n tune, after my last hit I brought the bike back to the pit and put it in the trailer, changed my clothes, grabbed a frosty cold beer and chilled for about an hour watching the races. When I get back to the trailer, I notice a small puddle of oil (prob 4" in diameter) under the bike. I left the bike in the trailer over night and unloaded the next day. When I opened the door I noticed the puddle of oil had prob tripled in size from sitting over night.

I got a chance to take the belly pan off and take a look around. I noticed it was slowly dripping off the back left (sprocket side) of the oil pan. I checked the filter and it was tight, checked the drain plug, also tight, looked all around the pan and gasket everything looks nice and clean.
The only place I can see any wetness on the pan is directly above where the header runs under the pan. Part of the pan is rounded to make room for the header, it's in the rounded part where I can see dampness. It's at a high point in the pan, so, it's running down and dripping off the back. I couldn't see any reason why there would be oil there. That spot is nearly the middle of the pan with no movable parts or bolts anywhere near.

Totally at a loss here? Any suggestions?

 

[C3L1CA]

Did you have any big wheelies or hit the pan during the day racing?

I'm not familiar with gen 3 oil pans but maybe if you took some material off the pan to get the header to fit it weakened the pan? Then a wheelie or a scrap of the oil pan caused that weaken spot to be able to let oil seap through a small crack?

 

[SpazOnaZX]

:+1:

I've seen more than one cracked pan on a lowered bike... especially if you're running a stock header.... it's one of the reasons the sidewinder is so popular in those circles. It running to the back/left side makes sense... that's the lowest side when it's on the kickstand. Other than the filter and oil cooler, the pan is really the only thing that is going to leak that much oil in a short time without the bike running. Usually.

If you pop the pan off, clean it up, and fill it with solvent you can usually spot a crack/leak that you can't see with the naked eye in just a few seconds.

 

[medicbaldwin]

Found the problem. Yup, header smacked the pan and cracked it.
Anybody have luck getting this welded up?

 

[SpazOnaZX]

They weld up great, so long as the TIG welder knows what they are doing. **CLEAN** is the key; removing all the paint 1" around the crack, and heating/baking ALL of the oil out of the crack(s) before you have it welded.... solvent wash and/or contact cleaner after the fact. It's also not a bad idea to drill a small hole at the end of each end of the crack to relieve the stress and keep it from running away on it's own. Depending on the labor price of said welder, it may be cheaper to snag a used one off ebay.... have to call around your area.

 

[medicbaldwin]

Last weekend I had an unfortunate turn of events. I cracked my OE oil pan with either a hard wheelie or on the return road? Either way it's cracked and leaking. Been looking on line and found this setup:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIgrOQ-Leo1QIVRbXACh39RQgxEAYYASABEgLoSPD_BwE

anybody use one of these pans? They look like a nice piece and you can get it with a pickup for $299. It's not a swinging pickup, so, not sure if this will pose a problem for drag racing? Unless the OE pickup sits deeper in the pan or at the lowest point, i've never had any oil pressure or oiling issues with the OE setup.
Looking for some feedback. Also, if you have a OE Gen3 oil pan you wanna get rid of, lemme know. PM, reply or email: [email protected]

 

[SpazOnaZX]

...just an FYI: the second gen pan should also work on that motor if you're looking for an OEM pan.