112,500Km Service on my '99 'Busa

[Kiwi Rider]

u gonna run a comp and leakdown test? im interested in that result.

Yes, will do and will post up results.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Here's my new shims, just gotta install them and recheck all the clearances . . .

 

[Yellow09]

I really wonder why bikes use the bucket and shim system. Are the screw type adjusters inefficient or too heavy?

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I really wonder why bikes use the bucket and shim system. Are the screw type adjusters inefficient or too heavy?

With the old rocker system, the rocker shaft and rockers actually rob power and lets face it, it's all extra parts/weight/reciprocating mass that your motor can do without . . . which leads me to the bucket and shim system.
The bucket and shim is the direct actuation of the valve from the camshaft lobe as it sweeps across the bucket face.
It is more efficient and honestly, the clearances change very little over time.

 

[Yellow09]

With the old rocker system, the rocker shaft and rockers actually rob power and lets face it, it's all extra parts/weight/reciprocating mass that your motor can do without . . . which leads me to the bucket and shim system.
The bucket and shim is the direct actuation of the valve from the camshaft lobe as it sweeps across the bucket face.
It is more efficient and honestly, the clearances change very little over time.

Good explanation....and thanks!

 

[jeffgordons24]

I gotta say Steven, you should be doing your own maintenance and checks on your engine . . . it just ain't that scary at all!
Why let someone else in there? Ok, Frank is an exception, even I would be happy to give my bike to Frank for maintenance/repairs, but my philosophy is this . . . why pay someone else to do a job I can easily do?
I just find it hard to trust anyone else with my bike, after all, it's my body on the line if anything should go wrong due to someone else screwing up the work on it.
The bike had no performance issues at all, ran very nicely.
I went in for a look at the cams and did not like what I saw.
So yes, you got that right in one shot lol.

As far as BLUE PHOENIX is concerned, you say it has had a hard life, well, these motors can handle that with ease. They are built strong and fit for the job at hand, and I doubt yours will have any issues.
Take the tappet cover off (EASY!) and get a light shining on the cam lobes. . . what do ya see? You will soon see any damage if there is any, have another look at the pics I posted of mine, make a comparison.
If you are really keen, take out the spark plugs and do a compression test and a leak down test. It's all easy stuff man, just don't be worried about the fact that it's your baby that you're performing surgery on.
It will create an even stronger bond between you and BLUE PHOENIX !

I'm trying to help here bud, PM me if you ever need any advice or encouragement ok. Always willing and ready to help where I can, we are family after all!

That is the one thing I, we, all love about you Kiwi. Your kind words and encouragement and the occasional post of a pic or 2 of yourself where you always look so happy. (Granted you are always next to a 2 wheeled machine lol)
I plan to do plugs soon like very soon. When you say tappet cover is that the valve cover?
I wonder if I can use my diesel leak down tools lol they may be too large. Since you had no performance issues it just goes to show how resilient these motors are.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

That is the one thing I, we, all love about you Kiwi. Your kind words and encouragement and the occasional post of a pic or 2 of yourself where you always look so happy. (Granted you are always next to a 2 wheeled machine lol)
I plan to do plugs soon like very soon. When you say tappet cover is that the valve cover?
I wonder if I can use my diesel leak down tools lol they may be too large. Since you had no performance issues it just goes to show how resilient these motors are.

Thank you for your kind words too! Much appreciated my NY friend.
Yes the valve cover is what I mean, 'tappet cover' is a Kiwi term I guess lol.
I doubt whether your diesel leakdown gear will have a fitting that is the correct size for the Busa spark plug thread size. Compression and leak down testers are reasonably cheap now days anyway. I sometimes forget that you're a diesel guy and don't have m/cycle specific equipment.
You're right, these Busa motors are strong as, built very well and over engineered. I very seldom take mine past 8K rpm.
Keep posting pics, I love seeing your progress on Blue Phoenix!

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Today is the big day!
Last night (Friday) I finished putting my motor back together ready for first start up with the new cams.

The re-shimming went well, the first lot of shims I installed from my initial calculations were almost spot on!

I say almost because there were only 3 out of the 16 that were a few thou" out.

The No 4 cyl exhaust valves (both) were .002" excess clearance, and the No 4 inlet (left side) was .003" excess clearance.
So I removed the cams (again!) and fitted the next size shims to reduce clearance, then refitted cams, journals, tensioner etc, torqued all bolts to spec with my 1/4 drive torque wrench (84 in/lbs . . . 10Nm) and remeasured.
Oh, and I must say, it is absolutely necessary to turn the crankshaft 360 deg twice before remeasuring, any oil between the shim and the faces it contacts (valve stem face and underside of bucket face) needs to be displaced (squeezed out) to get an accurate measurement. This is crucial!
All clearances now at .010" for inlet and .012" for exhaust.
Fitted the upper chain guide, the cam journals oil feed pipe, rechecked the manual APE chain tensioner for correct tension, the tappet cover, the plugs and coils, the throttle bodies/external fuel pump, left the airbox off (for throttle bodies balancing) and put the fuel tank in place on it's prop stand.
Hooked up the fuel hoses (made a mess with fuel but impossible to do without some fuel spillage!) and turned on the ignition . . .

DEAD as a doe doe. And that's pretty dead man!

Checked battery voltage . . . 3.2V.
Yeah, I neglected to hook up my battery tender for the 4 weeks it's been lying idle. Dumb rookie mistake lol.
Put the charger on the battery and went inside for a coffee and a look at the Org.

Turns out that my el-cheapo $60 chinese junk battery, which lasted surprisingly 3 years, has finally died. After an 8 hour charge (more than enough time) it shows only 10.5v.
So I hooked up my portable jump pack, and cranked it over.
It cranked for about 60 seconds (in 5 second bursts) before any signs of life, then little by little it fired, . . . on 1 cyl, . . kept cranking . . . then 2, . . . . then 3 . . . then started on 3 cyls, blew a lot of soot and blue smoke . . . (that would be the upper engine cleaner I soaked into the piston crowns and backs of valves to soften up the carbon) the initial top end chatter quietened down as the oil pressure came up, and yes, I used assembly lube on the cam journals and lobes and poured oil over all the top end.

So I ran it for a few minutes with the idle turned up to around 1400rpm
and it smoothed out with all 4 cylinders running evenly, opened the throttle quickly to 6000rpm and let it idle, quite a bit of dark brown soot/smoke showing unburnt fuel and then it settled with no smoke and no visible emissions.
YES!! Result!

So this morning I'm picking up a new Yuasa YT12A-BS battery from work, and also the Suzuki scanner and also our Teka fuel inj A/F adjustment tool which is really easy to use and adjusts fuelling at various throttle positions.
http://www.factorypro.com/TEKA_SFI_1/TEKA_Suz_SFI_CLASSIC_procedure.html

So I'll balance the throttle bodies, fit the airbox with my freshly cleaned and re-oiled K&N filter, play with the fueling and come back to you all soon with a report.
Happy days!

 

[mabupa]

Today is the big day!
Last night (Friday) I finished putting my motor back together ready for first start up with the new cams.

The re-shimming went well, the first lot of shims I installed from my initial calculations were almost spot on!

I say almost because there were only 3 out of the 16 that were a few thou" out.

The No 4 cyl exhaust valves (both) were .002" excess clearance, and the No 4 inlet (left side) was .003" excess clearance.
So I removed the cams (again!) and fitted the next size shims to reduce clearance, then refitted cams, journals, tensioner etc, torqued all bolts to spec with my 1/4 drive torque wrench (84 in/lbs . . . 10Nm) and remeasured.
Oh, and I must say, it is absolutely necessary to turn the crankshaft 360 deg twice before remeasuring, any oil between the shim and the faces it contacts (valve stem face and underside of bucket face) needs to be displaced (squeezed out) to get an accurate measurement. This is crucial!
All clearances now at .010" for inlet and .012" for exhaust.
Fitted the upper chain guide, the cam journals oil feed pipe, rechecked the manual APE chain tensioner for correct tension, the tappet cover, the plugs and coils, the throttle bodies/external fuel pump, left the airbox off (for throttle bodies balancing) and put the fuel tank in place on it's prop stand.
Hooked up the fuel hoses (made a mess with fuel but impossible to do without some fuel spillage!) and turned on the ignition . . .

DEAD as a doe doe. And that's pretty dead man!

Checked battery voltage . . . 3.2V.
Yeah, I neglected to hook up my battery tender for the 4 weeks it's been lying idle. Dumb rookie mistake lol.
Put the charger on the battery and went inside for a coffee and a look at the Org.

Turns out that my el-cheapo $60 chinese junk battery, which lasted surprisingly 3 years, has finally died. After an 8 hour charge (more than enough time) it shows only 10.5v.
So I hooked up my portable jump pack, and cranked it over.
It cranked for about 60 seconds (in 5 second bursts) before any signs of life, then little by little it fired, . . . on 1 cyl, . . kept cranking . . . then 2, . . . . then 3 . . . then started on 3 cyls, blew a lot of soot and blue smoke . . . (that would be the upper engine cleaner I soaked into the piston crowns and backs of valves to soften up the carbon) the initial top end chatter quietened down as the oil pressure came up, and yes, I used assembly lube on the cam journals and lobes and poured oil over all the top end.

So I ran it for a few minutes with the idle turned up to around 1400rpm
and it smoothed out with all 4 cylinders running evenly, opened the throttle quickly to 6000rpm and let it idle, quite a bit of dark brown soot/smoke showing unburnt fuel and then it settled with no smoke and no visible emissions.
YES!! Result!

So this morning I'm picking up a new Yuasa YT12A-BS battery from work, and also the Suzuki scanner and also our Teka fuel inj A/F adjustment tool which is really easy to use and adjusts fuelling at various throttle positions.
http://www.factorypro.com/TEKA_SFI_1/TEKA_Suz_SFI_CLASSIC_procedure.html
View attachment 1594454

So I'll balance the throttle bodies, fit the airbox with my freshly cleaned and re-oiled K&N filter, play with the fueling and come back to you all soon with a report.
Happy days!

When doing that kind of work, is kind of sad that it is inside the engine and can’t be seen/appreciated, but you can picture in your head all those engine internal components working happily together as you go down the road.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

When doing that kind of work, is kind of sad that it is inside the engine and can’t be seen/appreciated, but you can picture in your head all those engine internal components working happily together as you go down the road.

I had to laugh Miguel, I have been looking at the internal workings under my valve cover for weeks now, it's just so good to NOT be able to see it and to have it running and sounding so responsive . . I can actually hear the difference in the exhaust note and the throttle response and that is from just running the engine for a few minutes in my garage . . . can't wait to get her out on the open road up in the high country!

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Well, I installed a new battery, fitted the airbox and fuel tank etc and took her to my old friend Jack's place in town tonight.
Wow . . . she's smooth and strong, and I have not changed the fueling or anything apart from fitting Iridium plugs.
Opened the throttle in top gear at 110kmh and it pulled really strong from 4000rpm up to 160kmh, 5200rpm.
The mid range torque is fantastic, that's all I can say. Outstanding!
The break-in for the camshafts is to keep it from dropping below 1500rpm on initial start up.
The keep it between 1500 to 2500rpm for at least 20 minutes from start up.
So I've now done 95km at open road speeds, and she's lovin' it, and so am I.
Will go over everything in the morning and do the final check and then take it out for 200kms around the local circuit.
Will post up more info soon.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Here's the Teka FI fueling adjuster fitted to my bike, I'm going to change the fuelling (richer or leaner) while I'm riding it, on cruise at light throttle openings, on mid range opening the throttle to 50% at 4000rpm in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th gears and basically tune it as you would on a braked dyno but in a real world situation, on the road.
I will be erring on the side of caution going richer rather than leaner . . .
then when I think I've got it silky smooth I'll bring it home and take the plugs out for a 'reading'. Based on the colour of the plugs, I'll make further adjustments 'til I get it right.
Of course the best way to tune it is on a Dynojet dyno using my PC3 to autotune it to get the A/F ratio optimal across the rpm range under load, but I thought I'd have a plkay with this Teka device first, then get a dyno tune and compare it to see how close/far I was to getting it right.
There is an idle adjust setting and I went through the range from -50% (leaner) to +50% (richer) and the lean side it almost stalled and the rich side it loaded up and 'hunted', so the fuelling is altered instantly in real time, as is the throttle position tuning.

http://www.factorypro.com/TEKA_SFI_1/TEKA_Suz_SFI_CLASSIC_procedure.html

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Hey guys, I just finished doing the compression test and the leak down test on the Busa . . .
now bear in mind it's 20 years old, motor untouched apart from new cams, cam chain and re-shimmed tappets, 115,000kms (72,000 miles) so the results were surprising to say the least . .
No 1: 200 psi
No 2: 215 psi
No 3: 225 psi
No 4: 200 psi
I used a good quality 'Motion Pro' comp. tester and I believe the results are accurate, engine was warmed up, wide open throttle while cranking and brand new fully charged battery.
The leak down test on all 4 cylinders was showing virtually no leakage at all. There was no hissing or air flow at the throttle bodies (inlet valves) or at the exhaust outlet (exhaust valves).
I took theoil filler cap off and listened but no disturbance or noise there either . . . great result ! Very happy with that !
I recorded it all with my GoPro on video so will have that posted up in a couple of days if you want to watch the proceedings, oh and get to see and hear the ol' Kiwi, you guys are gonna love my accent lmao!

 

[mabupa]

Hey guys, I just finished doing the compression test and the leak down test on the Busa . . .
now bear in mind it's 20 years old, motor untouched apart from new cams, cam chain and re-shimmed tappets, 115,000kms (72,000 miles) so the results were surprising to say the least . .
No 1: 200 psi
No 2: 215 psi
No 3: 225 psi
No 4: 200 psi
I used a good quality 'Motion Pro' comp. tester and I believe the results are accurate, engine was warmed up, wide open throttle while cranking and brand new fully charged battery.
The leak down test on all 4 cylinders was showing virtually no leakage at all. There was no hissing or air flow at the throttle bodies (inlet valves) or at the exhaust outlet (exhaust valves).
I took theoil filler cap off and listened but no disturbance or noise there either . . . great result ! Very happy with that !
I recorded it all with my GoPro on video so will have that posted up in a couple of days if you want to watch the proceedings, oh and get to see and hear the ol' Kiwi, you guys are gonna love my accent lmao!

That’s great kiwi!! Very reassuring to hear. At only 15k miles on my 2009, I should be able to pass it on to my children and I don’t even have children yet.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

That’s great kiwi!! Very reassuring to hear. At only 15k miles on my 2009, I should be able to pass it on to my children and I don’t even have children yet.

I loved the way you said "yet" lol

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Here's the links to the vids, had to make 3 separate vids, so I hope they are watchable, good luck . . .

 

[ky busa]

 

[jeffgordons24]

Here's the links to the vids, had to make 3 separate vids, so I hope they are watchable, good luck . . .

Yessss you posted them! Awesomeeee!!! Thank you Kiwi!

 

[jeffgordons24]

Hey that is not OSHA approved foot wear!! Lol well I guess technically you are not near any heavy parts or machinery.