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Post by drc on Jan 31, 2022 19:29:50 GMT 1
It warmed up to -12 yesterday so i was able to get out into the garage to check the rear wheel alignment... Sometimes you just get lucky. I got the axle aligned with the swingarm pivot and got the wheel centred in the swingarm Looking from the rear there is a 8mm gap between the chain and the tire and there is about 14mm between the chain and the frame. The front sprocket needs to be offset by about 3mm but since I'm using a 520 and not the original 530 sprocket I should be able to shim it on the back and still have enough room for the tab washer. I was also worried about the gap between the swingarm pivot and engine case but that worked out to be around 3mm at its narrowest point so I think that will be perfect. I also offered up a set of Alonze pipes for a 350. I think these could be made to work relatively easily if the headers were cut and repositioned and the rear hangers were moved. I believe the LC has a bit more port timing than the RD400 but its not as bad as the RZ so they may be OK with the motor. Its another option The kick stand bracket would have to be moved out onto the frame which I though I would have to do anyway, but there is no way they would work with standard RD footrests. I should be able to pick up the crank this week so at least I can start on the engine inside where its warm
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Post by drc on Feb 7, 2022 16:18:10 GMT 1
Some more progress. Got the crank back with 4 new main bearings and the 2 new rod kits installed, and got it back into the bottom case with the transmission. Everything in the bottom end does seem to be a little heavier and more industrial than the LC or YPVS. I guess they were able to lighten a lot of the components in those bikes based on what they had learned over the years. I couldn't get the cases put together though as the left hand crank seal I ordered was wrong. It was 20X40X10 and the seal surface on the crank was 25mm in diameter. I cross checked all the references again on Partzilla and CMSNL and it still kept telling me that that was the right part. It was strange as I have 4 cranks and they were all 25mm. Anyway, I found out from an Australian parts site that apparently I have a 400G model that had a different stator output shaft from the earlier ones and all US bikes. The 400G part number for the crank seal is the same as the 4LO and 31K. I also compared the length and taper on the 400G crank to a 31k crank I had lying around and all the measurements are identical so I guess you could use a 4L0 ignition on that bike if you swap the backing plate on the coils to get the screw holes on the cases lined up. I did have an old oil seal on that 31k crank and that fits on the 400 shaft and also in the cases, so I need to order one. Oh well... Two steps forward, one step back
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Post by drc on Feb 12, 2022 17:15:31 GMT 1
Finally got the right crank seal and got the bottom end put together (almost) Still waiting on the clutch plates as surface packages are a little delayed because of the truckers protest at the Canada US border and I realized that I also need a little o-ring with a plug that goes behind the the primary gear. From what I understand there were some primary's that didn't require it but all of the ones I have do. Just placed an order for it but the only place I could find it is Europe so that will be another 7 days. All the primary gears seemed to be the same but I did notice that there are 2 different clutch baskets. The gear on the later one is 12mm like the LC but the earlier one is around 14mm. The idler gear for the kickstart is also different for the 14mm clutch basket so I assume you have to install the clutch basket and idler gear as a matched pair as well. I went with the 12mm one and the backlash numbers added up to 131 which is think is right. The thrust washers for the clutch are strange as well. According to the parts fiche the one that does inside the basket is a different size from the one that does up against the bearing although both washers are the same part number. I looked at the originals and they were the same size so I assume the fiche is either wrong or that part was superseded some where in the production run so I'm not going to worry about it The company that did the work on the frame have been getting a number of enquiries for 31k tanks. They also made the tank for this 400. They basically just build tanks and frames for race bikes. I lent them my RZ350 race bike and tank to try a prototype. I said I would buy it as mine is like a sieve and full of POR-15 and still drips. This is their first attempt. In general its coming along really nicely, the templates need to be adjusted particularly on the front corners as they need to be a little more rounded and the tunnel needs to be a little lower. I'm also going to go with the flat cap on this. The welds all need to be dressed as well so it will look much better when they do that For me its good enough as is as its going on a track bike so I don't care as long as it holds fuel and its going to be 100 times better than an India tank. Once they get the final tweaking and templates done it should be good if its not a full anorak restoration. They posted this on face book and got 5 orders already.
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Post by dusty350 on Feb 12, 2022 23:32:21 GMT 1
On the CDI model bikes, the rubber seal that goes behind the primary gear isn't fitted - the earlier models had that part. It's wise to coat your square keyway with 3bond as you can get a small airleak past it and the groove on the crank end that it sits in. I always fit a new keyway as a matter of course, and with some goo applied, I've never had a leak. And regards the thrust washers - I found the same - bigger diameter washer but with a thinner cross section, that shares exactly the same part number as the inner thrust washer (same as an Lc) Think that must be a Yamaha part number faux pas ! I fitted two the same - smaller diameter version, and the clutch works as it should. That caused some head scratching when I first stripped the clutch - the fiche even gives the differing sizes under the same part number ! I covered it in the 400e engine build thread. 131 is correct for backlash. Not sure which clutch plates you are using, but the EBC drc043 kit is perfect, although I left out the damper rings. 6 standard springs will be fine unless you are considering a serious hike in power. Even with just 3 h/d springs, you will find the clutch action on the heavy side Great progress Dusty
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Post by dusty350 on Feb 13, 2022 9:43:08 GMT 1
The 12 mm driven gear on the back of the basket is correct for the later bikes. Just had another look at my rebuild thread. A member mentions only using the small O ring for the primary gear if the primary gear has the groove for it to sit into. Otherwise it just squashes the o ring and potentially becomes a problem. 3bond on the keyway is the way forward if there is no groove on your primary Dusty
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Post by drc on Feb 13, 2022 16:06:30 GMT 1
Thanks Dusty. All my primary's seem to have that groove, although when I Googled I did find pictures of 400 primaries that looked like the LC ones and were flat on the back. I assume that groove on mine is where the o-ring goes??? If I look in the parts fiche on Partzilla they seem to have that o-ring for all years, but if I look at a parts site in the UK or Australia they don't have it from the E model forward. I don't know if the North American model was different or the fiche is wrong. I'll wait until it comes and try it. That's really good advice about the ThreeBond. I also got that advice from a local shop that does a lot of machining and crank rebuilds for Yamaha twins.
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 13, 2022 16:48:24 GMT 1
The o ring with the square rubber block on it is available from (can't believe I'm going to say this) Yambits
I threebond the end of the keyway on all my ypvs builds as had a couple fail pressure tests via the end of the primary gear
Steve
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Post by drc on Feb 13, 2022 16:53:14 GMT 1
LOL. I was actually going to order from Yambits but they were out of stock. I ended up having to order from CMSNL.
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Post by dusty350 on Feb 13, 2022 20:26:55 GMT 1
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