How often for an engine refresh?

Started by Maddog, March 04, 2020, 05:04:12 PM

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Maddog

If you had a 1000cc jap sportsbike that has had engine work done (cam and valves re worked, ported and polished) and i believe an ECU remap giving more revs. It would be almost entirely for track days

How often should or would you refresh the engine? Ive never had a bike with internal mods so have no idea on timings nor costs.

Bearing in mind i am inters or slow advanced.....

Lord Danoir the first

#1
I wouldn't do anything until there were signs of wear such as smoke.

You'll deffo be wanting to do shims, which will give you an indication on cam wear.

Track day engines tend to wear well due to the fewer cold starts and fairly frequent oil changes.

Signs of blue smoke  on startup, fading away indicates valve oil seals. If it persists, it's  a sign of valve seats and/or rings/bores.

Bottom end shell bearing wear manifests as knocking.

It's not  a massive  job to whip an engine out and check these things, but I'd check for smoke and perhaps do a dyno run to see if it's got healthy power.

Shims and frequent oil changes is the key........

EDIT....... a compression test is also a quick and easy way of telling you how healthy an  engine is

Maddog

Cheers Lord D.

The reason i ask, is i have seen a couple of 04/05 ZX10s that have both had engine work done. On paper they look like the ideal track day tools. One claims 200bhp. I dont know if someone of my lack of ability needs such a weapon for track.....or should i stick to something more standard.

I do love the gen 1 though!!!!

Carbon_ZX6R

Maddog , it's never a question of do you need it , it's more a question of is there  room in the garage.
2004 ZX-6R B1H    
- Full Akra Titanium System                
- Gilles rear sets                     
- R&G Crash Bungs
- Hyperpro Rsc Damper
- Many other mods

Lord Danoir the first

Quote from: Maddog on March 05, 2020, 06:30:46 PMCheers Lord D.

The reason i ask, is i have seen a couple of 04/05 ZX10s that have both had engine work done. On paper they look like the ideal track day tools. One claims 200bhp. I dont know if someone of my lack of ability needs such a weapon for track.....or should i stick to something more standard.

I do love the gen 1 though!!!!

I dunno....... having just got back from Cartagena, it's not necessarily the power of the bikes, it's how early and how hard these kids are putting that power down....... it's mental. I'd convinced myself that electronics and not talent (their abundance, and my lack of) was the reason why I couldn't keep up...... but the truth is, it's probably a bit of both.

So that, for us of the old school, leaves good old corner speed...... and for that, you still wanna be on a 600.

Maddog

Lord D, did you get any track footage?

I kind of regret selling my ZX6RR K1 track bike a few years ago!!

Lord Danoir the first

No footage....... thankfully, considering the amount of times I was passed......

I think on balance, I  prefer large capacity bikes for their ability to flatter and the  thrill of their power...... plus, nowadays they're so much more like 600's in their handling....... and I'm enjoying applying throttle control to my (very limited) skill set.

Maddog

The bike i was referring to in this post has just been edited by the seller..... it now is spares or repair as the head gasket may have gone! That would explane why he didn't reply to any messages or texts.

mc101

Quote from: Maddog on March 04, 2020, 05:04:12 PMIf you had a 1000cc jap sportsbike that has had engine work done (cam and valves re worked, ported and polished) and i believe an ECU remap giving more revs. It would be almost entirely for track days

How often should or would you refresh the engine? Ive never had a bike with internal mods so have no idea on timings nor costs.

Bearing in mind i am inters or slow advanced.....

Depending on how hard ... but usaully a 10 - 1 ratio is adopted for a race/trackday bike.  So mutiply your milage by 10 and voila.  Dont wait for it to sound rough as hell, it maybe way to late.  Refreshes are preventaive and alot cheaper than a rod through the block, you gravel surfing etc....

Mine is refreshed every 1500 miles.
2015: NLR HT1 Endurance (1st)
2014: ACU National Endurance 1000 (2nd)

1-600-matt

Quote from: mc101 on March 13, 2020, 10:59:34 AM
Quote from: Maddog on March 04, 2020, 05:04:12 PMIf you had a 1000cc jap sportsbike that has had engine work done (cam and valves re worked, ported and polished) and i believe an ECU remap giving more revs. It would be almost entirely for track days

How often should or would you refresh the engine? Ive never had a bike with internal mods so have no idea on timings nor costs.

Bearing in mind i am inters or slow advanced.....

Depending on how hard ... but usaully a 10 - 1 ratio is adopted for a race/trackday bike.  So mutiply your milage by 10 and voila.  Dont wait for it to sound rough as hell, it maybe way to late.  Refreshes are preventaive and alot cheaper than a rod through the block, you gravel surfing etc....

Mine is refreshed every 1500 miles.

But money is no object for you! And you have new bikes that are worth looking after.
If you have an old shitter, a b1h, the bikes only worth £1500 on a good day with a tail wind, an engine refresh with a set of valves, pistons and rings, 3 rd gear, probably a selector fork or two... would cost more than the bike is worth.

If you have a stock engine, no porting, no skimming etc, then it should run to the book service intervals as that's what the engine is designed to do.

I know mine will die at some point, but it's done 25k miles, the last 10-12k on track and other than a taste for a bit of engine oil and needing to change a shim or four every few thousand miles it's going grand. I will probably run out of shim sizes and prompt a head refurbish, at which point I will probably strip it down.  Until then, or it going bang, I'll just keep using it. Oil change on about 1000-1500 miles or so, maybe less if I'm feeling generous. Check compression and do a leak down check when I do valve clearances. Although I think I maybe have an oil leak on the engine somewhere so that approach may go out the window soon!