Crofter985'S KLX650C supermoto build

[Sandblaster]

Time is always a issue.
I'm seriously thinking about downsizing my business so I can spend more time with the family and my toys...
We will see how that all works out...

[Crofter985]

I forgot to mention I partied a bit when I got home, BAD CROFTS, BAD! But I'm ok now. Diary is always full. I'll have another post up tomorrow, hopefully.

[Sandblaster]

Better to blow a little steam then to loose a head gasket

[Crofter985]

Not heard that analogy before, nice one, ha, very true too.

[Crofter985]

So the oil pump is fitted with the bigger gear, I started looking at it and measuring it, wondering if o could loose the 5mm in the pump body somehow. So I started adding up what i thought I could get away with, 1.5mm of the base 1mm off the gear, etc......




And there it is, I have surprised myself on this one but it just shows you, all that trying to sort the problem out in my head in advance is no substitute to having the parts in my hands. It was pretty straight forward too. The pump is actually still 0.4mm wider than the standard pump but it fits in and the clutch cover goes on so there was obviously 0.4mm or more leeway. The pump will have to be put together with countersink head set screws instead of the button head ones that were on before and as I was sure the only ones I would get in town was stainless ones so I ordered some steel ones off eBay, they will be here in a couple of days. And I can put that job to bed. Now it will be as easy to go from the original pump to the new pump, just whip off the clutch cover, three m6 screws off, three screws on, cover back on. Sorted. The elegant solution.

[Sandblaster]

Wow!
What a easy solution.
It will be interesting to see how it performs over the long haul.... with a turbo...

[Crofter985]

I'll have to get in and get a motor running. And test it. The biggest ?? Is will it do anything at all. You are quite right about the, how long will it last thing. The bearing surfaces are all smaller and with a bigger pump there will be a little more stress on the surfaces anyway. But, hey, it's not a 100,000 miler, I've had that '00 XR for 3 years and I might have done 1500 mile. And that's the bike I ride the most. If it can just give me more flow and pressure I will be happy. If I want I could always press a little bronze bush into each end of the pump, that would sort out the endurance of the pump.

[Crofter985]

Well for every up there's a down. I need to get the crank pressed apart to put in the new rod. So I made up a jig to do the job.

I was feeling quite pleased, the warm feeling inside was short lived. I had a go at pressing the crank pin out but the lip of the jig pushed down when I had only got 2-3 tonnes on it, no movement of the crank pin. So I dressed up the edge of the jig, spent a bit more time shaping the lip. I think there was a little more strain on the press, I used a blow torch to heat up the crank to see if that would help. Just a small propane torch, not too much heat so as to harm the temper of the crank. Same result again the lip of the jig just pushed down.

You can see on this pic where the lip of the crank pushed the steel away, ok fair enough, it was just a bit of 20mm plate I got whilst on a trip to the scrap yard. Sooooo, I got a bit of better steel, it's stuff we use at work called "Hardox" we use it for wear plates it lasts much longer than ordinary steel. So I cut a bit off a old plate about 50X30x10 and welded it in the jig. I put it in the mill and had a go at milling a lip, it was much harder to mill, I used a TCT mill with replaceable tips and the mill did not like it much, but it cut a lip, I cut the minimum I needed so as not to push my luck too far. So try 3 was on.

I heated it up again but again not too much. But this time the lip on the crank sheared off, it took nothing as well, I had a few tonnes on it and it just came off.

Well there you go, one wrecked crank, not a happy bunny here! What did I do wrong?

[Sandblaster]

Well... I'm not a crank guy.
I've watched it done but never tried it other then pressing out a pin.
I send mine to Millennium Technologies or Pinnsonault Racing and get it done..
But from what I can see I might have tried to press the pin out from the opposite side and I would have used more heat.
I see cranks that have been worked on from all over and they all have blued looking surface metal where they heated them up.
Once you get it apart I believe you can get that piece welded back on.
I don't think it will hurt a thing.
It might be worth a try.
I know the few cranks I have pressed apart were really tough and required some heat... More then a propane torch can dish out.

[Crofter985]

Ok, more heat. Yeh I know what you mean about the wrong side, I was trying that side as I thought the alignment afterwards would be easier. Limited logic again.
Thanks for the heads up.