Our 5th gen engine, in a car, at an autocross, making beautiful VFR music...

Hey guys- shameless self promoting here, but if you like your 5th gen, you'll groove on this.. longtime board members know me as the guy that took my 1998 apart and put the engine and wiring harness in my 1972 Honda clown car.. it's been almost 5 years now, but it's up and running.. I took it to an autocross several weeks ago and had a blast.. If you're interested, check out your beloved motor in a car at:

my build log: http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=14452

a youtube vid during construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCnaptxv05Y

a youtube vid from the recent autocross: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkiZqwLx6iI


-I don't make it on this board often, but many members here ended up with bits off of my bike as it came apart for my car project, and I thought you guys might be interested in seeing where the project ended up.. It's not done (they're never done), but it's finally in paint and is mechanically sorted.. It's a fun little screamer go-kart..

Lessons learned that may help members here with your bike (a bit random)...

-I did the pair valve elimination (as many others have) and it really helped declutter the engine- didn't notice anything performance wise...

-I have a Dynojet III and love it- worth the $$ (now I need to pony up for a custom tune)

-I'm using a "signal minder" for the lights and love it too (it's worth the brake light strobe feature alone)..

-I'm using a Speedo Healer as I've messed with the gearing ratios quite a bit.. if gps tells you your bike's mph are off, this device works well and is almost infinitely adjustable (I've just stopped messing with mine as I think it's now dead-on)

-The OEM clutch would not hold the car (not a big surprise- the car is 1400#), so I stepped up to a Barnett clutch (all the needed discs and springs- Barnett calls for spring part #501-73-05067 for our 5th gens- these are 73 pound springs)- worked pretty well in the car, but I got greedy while launching the car, and burned that clutch up; seems those 73 pound springs just weren't enough.. Now I have another set of Barnett discs (friction and steel), but this time I'm using spring # MT-120-5; these springs fit our bikes (although they're a bit shorter before install)- they are 86 pound springs, and seem to do the job nicely.. If these MT-120-5 springs don't hold the clutch fpr me this time, Barnett has a 100 pound spring that will fit (sorry, I don't have a part # on that).. It was Chad at Barnett who helped be find the more aggressive springs that would fit.. If your OEM clutch feels a little anemic, you might try a Barnett setup- working well for me with my project..

-Exhaust.. I'm shocked at how much my exhaust cutout makes a difference (in the car I have a cable that opens a cutout right at the base of the header.. it's crazy loud, BUT, it took as much as 1 second off of my autocross times (on a 30 second course).. in short, let your bike breath to the point your ears or your neighbors can't take it... (to be clear, this was very aggressive driving, and when driving this car on the street, I close the cutout and run a supertrap muffler- sounds good and the engine still has plenty of power..

-Oil.. please don't flame me here, I know people get emotional about this- here's what's working for me.. with my recent clutch issues, I've switched over to 20-50 synthetic blend.. (where I live it's very hot most of the year).. seems to be working nicely, and maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to shift a bit more smoothly now (I'm running a paddle shifter in the car, and almost always use the clutch)..

-Finally, I installed a VFRness/rectifier, and cured all of my electrical demons.. Many have gone this route for good reason- I can't believe Honda sent these bikes out with the OEM harnesses and rectifiers back in the day.. yuck! A problem just waiting to happen..


I think that's it.. I know I haven't reinvented the wheel, but as I was building this little deathtrap I had several problems and questions along the way, and thought some feedback might be helpful..

Ride safe guys- they're all drunk or texting or both.. be careful, and have fun on the best bike I've ever ridden :tranquillity:


--ccrunner

 

That is one very sweet little set up! Nicely done.

 

Nice ! great job !

 

One of the most interesting projects I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing it.

 

Love it! Great build.

 

Thanks for sharing your work. It was indeed very interesting concept,

 

Thank you so much for posting this.
Most people never finish this type of project so you sir, besides being a very smart guy, deserve a dedicated section in Jay Lenos' garage.
What a bitchin little machine!