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2013 CRF450R supermoto conversion

70K views 103 replies 25 participants last post by  jeremy96121 
#1 ·
Hey guys, now since the husky is gone, I hope you didn't think that I am gone also. Here is my new build. This time it will be a pure racing machine.
Went the 450cc way, plenty of power with a serious weight advantage.
In the beginning of this summer I bought this:



First things first, all the rubbish stickers have to go.



It is only logical that before even start the conversion, one has to properly test the thing. ..both pigs looking for mud :)





A quick comparison: 2013 model was excessively regarded as the best CRF up to date. So here is my opinion,
It might really be true, but nevertheless 2008 was still a blast, it might handle not as good but the raw power it delivers with a built head and carb was enough to leave the twin piper in the dust while at wide open throttle. But never fear, the potential is all there, it just needs some work.
The chassis handled really well, indeed like it has been regarded to. The bike felt balanced and delivered the power really smoothly.
I hope this conversion succeeds!

To be continued...
 
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#66 ·
Tool and equipment.
We have finally come to the machining process. The tool type as seen below is not exactly right for such a job but it was the best option available at the moment given the resources we had. Traditionally lollipop mills are used but this cylindrical one is just enough to reach the furthest points of the port.



Next up: machining a jig to fix the head with the option to flip it around without losing positioning. Flipping will be necessary due to the machine type that simply does not support full tool travel in a single setting.



And of course the support spacers and bushings. Each spacer has it's own calibrated length that was calculated with FARO probe to avoid any human error.
These lengths are key to preserving the positioning when the head is flipped between operations. The one mistake that was made was to machine these spacers from aluminum but I will get into detail with this as we move on.

 
#67 ·
Time to test the machine code and see how it will materialize itself. The first idea was to start with a wooden block, though it was decided to begin with a piece of plastic foam since damaging the tool and machine is fairly easy to do.
The amount of G-code is approx. 5 Mb which makes it physically impossible to inspect.
Let's start up the CNC and munch on the foam a bit, and instantly, you can see why testing is necessary. The first try could not have been more wrong than this.



But that all likes to change.



Still, some G-code errors pop up and must be accounted for in the CAM system so that we can continue with the wooden block.
The main reason for wood is to test how flipping the head around will work out and to see if the cutting speeds and feeds produce any smoke.



And soon enough, we get something like this. Looking good so far.







A few imperfections are still popping up, but those can be easily corrected.
 
#69 · (Edited)
CNC headworks:
Not much left to say here. Whats important has already been described earlier.











In conclusion:
Mechanical processing:
- From intake side - 4 rough cuts + 1 finishing cut ~ 5 hours total.
- From valveseat side - 4 rough cuts + 1 finishing cut ~ 5 hours total.

Main factors influencing machining time:
- thickness of soldering layer
- soldering hardness
- tool type
 
#70 ·
Don't smooth the port walls, keep it textured.

I've used epoxy quite a bit and it works very well.

Can't wait to see how your changes translate into the power curve. Need a good "before" engine dyno to truly compare.
 
#73 ·
When the head flow and cam profiles have been properly analyzed, we are finally ready to build a full mathematical model of the given engine. There are some powerful tools out there designed specifically for this task. They require a whole lot of different specs and evaluating those properly is the key to successfully generating a valid dyno graph. The most basic specs include bore, stroke, rod length and some of the more advanced specs include valvespring rate tables, head flow tables, cam files etc.
When the graph has been generated, it has to be compared to another valid source. Since we didn't make any runs by ourselves, there is a site called MotoUSA with plenty of different dyno sheets. Here is the comparison between what they have published and we have generated using ONLY a mathematical model.

2013 CRF450R stock


You can see the resemblence being quite believable. The slight differences that you are seeing are due to fuel mixture, spark curve and environmental conditions. And of course the allmighty error of math regarding such complex things, which to my surprise, is proving to be somewhat unimportant, since the goal of this virtual simulation is to evaluate the changes brought from every mod, not reaching absolute numbers.
 
#74 ·
Since now it is clear that this method works quite well and the stock baseline is ready, we can start figuring out what advantages are introduced with every upgrade.
First off, the manually ported cylinder head. You can see that it alone backfires in +11% of power. The highest curve is the condition of the bike as we received it, featuring manually ported head, reground cam and full HGS exhaust system. Backfire screen removed. Result = +15% of power with a noteworthy increase at the high end of the revs.

 
#75 ·
Update: some new curves have been generated.
- blue curve: OEM engine equipped with the CNC head
- black curve: CNC head + HGS exhaust system + modified camshaft of unknown origin (found in my engine as bought).



Both cases provide an improvement, most noteworthy when modifying the other gas exchange components.
 
#76 ·
As of now, we are moving closer and closer to the point where further increase of power demands additional engine capacity. Since doing that is out of the question for now, these two new curves represent the addition of a new, shorter exhaust header and a custom "webcams" camshaft, designed not only for brilliant top end power, but also very reasonable engine life, solid idle, and easy starting, without the necessity to run larger diameter followers.
Two new curves:

- Blue: CNC head + modified camshaft + shorter exhaust header
- Yellow - CNC head + custom "webcams" camshaft + shorter exhaust header

 
#78 ·
Project header:

Unfortunatelly since the market does not offer a header with our desired length and taper, we shall build our own. There are of course guys like Ivan Lazzarini that somehow have the priviledge to order something that doesn't exist but that is another story.
First, and we are already used to it, lets scan the HGS product. The main idea is to fix the entrance and exit in space, so that the rest can be changed.





The new header must be a uniform taper from the beginning to the end. That defines the necessity to fashion it from sheet metal. The biggest challange is to route it around the frame and under the left radiator while avoiding the coolant lines.
3D model in progress...



Fashioning a paper model using 1:1 scale print of the flat-patterns and using a glue gun to stick it all together. The idea is to evaluate how well the above mentioned has been accomplished. And if...



Obviously there had to be a better way...



And so a paper model after a paper model...



Eventually, a result is reached, but it took 8-9 paper models to finally route the middle section of the header around all the obstacles.
 
#80 ·
Thanks for all the nice words!

And so step by step, we have finaly reached a satisfactory result. The length is about OK and radius bends are all going where they should be.











Conclusion - to decrease the amount of paper modles necessary for this task, the whole surrounding area of the motorcycle should be scanned. We shall return to this later.
The materialization process of the piece of paper shall continue.
 
#82 ·
The laser cutter has done it's job leaving only minor melt-spots which will be corrected manually.
Two sets have been cut so that one of them can be fed to the hogs right away without too much regret.



Rolling the freshly cut flat-patterns.







Every segment must be catch-welded and rolled twice in order to obtain a near-perfect round shape. Rolling them only once will provide an egg-shape but that is enough for the catch-weld operation.



Grinding away the melt-spots of the laser cutter and checking for compatibility between individual segment couples.



Scotchweld.



HGS vs unwelded DIY.

 
#84 ·
And so, before welding the thing together, one last thing thats left is the head flange. Cranking up the big old CNC for that.









Operation welding. Though it was initially considered to provide the least amount of problems, turns out everything else was a whole lot easier. Except welding.
Initially we had our eyes on a true TIG master but to our disappointment, it was not possible to organize the process. Anyway, props to his test-seams. The best we have seen.



We have to look elsewhere for an experienced TIG welder.
 
#88 ·
Thanks! Always glad to see some opinion.

And so, competition, competition... There are two candidates to weld this stuff together.

Candidate A:



Candidate B:



I guess we shall use option B.









Taking thermal deformation into account, we had to deliver the bike at the workshop to fit together three segmented blocks.



And finally, general view of a completed header.



Big thanks to the guy who pulled it off - Igor.
 
#91 ·
A sneak-peek into the treasure chest.







Engine assembly:
The hour-meter was indicating 68 hrs before the great dismembering. Even though it was clear what we had the engine go through, we did not have the slightest idea if the previous owner had agreed with our opinion on correct usage and maintenance so we are better off installing everything new.
Buying the internals in both OEM and AEM definitions in USA.







 
#92 ·
Sorry for the hold-back guys.
Continuing on the assembly!







The second major investment - Xceldyne valvetrain:
- single-piece titanium valves
- titanium retainers
- heavy-duty valvesprings
- berillium-copper valveseats
- bronze valveguides

Why Xceldayne?
- Brilliant lifespan / weight proportion. This becomes critical for those who plan on keeping the engine in the upper rev range.
- Excellent thermal conductivity
- Minimal wear. Xceldyne does not fail even after lapping the valves. Valve lash is practically frozen in time. Except for cases where oil changes have been skipped. We have used this setup on 2008 CRF and have never adjusted the valve lash or discovered any abnormalities in the valvetrain that would soon indicate the end of it.



A few weight comparisons:







 
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