Fijiman finally starts to mod his DRZ

[fijiman]

Ok, it is time…I am not going to go crazy…but just baby steps…
2008 DRZ400SM (white)
Suzuki Supermoto front fender – done (10hp gain, lol)
Diablo super corsa – 120/160 – done

Next steps:
SSW/MRD to be ordered this week
FCR 39MM to be ordered this week
3X3 air box mod
K&N air filter - to be orderd - thanks Eddie for the reminder!! :-)

Been contemplating either to get the 39mm or the 41mm…Don’t think I’ll go with the whole big bore rebuild with stroker and all…so 39mm will work for now I think.
And don’t know how the 41mm will work on stock moto…

Pictures to be posted as I progress…this is a novice build, so bear with me… If you have any suggestions, please post up.

Thanks Jim for the pointers!

[Lynk]

I'd like to chat with you about the carburetor.

[fijiman]

I'd like to chat with you about the carburetor.

Cool ....I'll PM ya my number.....

[Eddie O'Dell]

The 41 will not work as well for you for some time to come. Remember Keihin could have called it a 42 as it actually measures 41.8 + and the so called 39 actually measures 39.8 +. Dont forget a K&N filter........and Lynk has a good "custom" tune up for the carb and your MRD. We both feel the EMN needle as shipped in your carb may be ok elsewhere, but Lynks jetting is better once some time, thought, and testing has been put into it.

[fijiman]

The 41 will not work as well for you for some time to come. Remember Keihin could have called it a 42 as it actually measures 41.8 + and the so called 39 actually measures 39.8 +. Dont forget a K&N filter........and Lynk has a good "custom" tune up for the carb and your MRD. We both feel the EMN needle as shipped in your carb may be ok elsewhere, but Lynks jetting is better once some time, thought, and testing has been put into it.

Yeah, forgot the K&N air filter, I’ll get that added on the original list…might just order from TT together with the carb...thanks for the reminder!
Awesome! This is exactly the type of discussion I need to get the correct build going…I’ll talk to Lynk…

[Eddie O'Dell]

Yeah, forgot the K&N air filter, I’ll get that added on the original list…might just order from TT together with the carb...thanks for the reminder!
Awesome! This is exactly the type of discussion I need to get the correct build going…I’ll talk to Lynk…

The reason I suggested Lynk is because he has been tuning with your set-up or mods. My mods and its subsequent jetting will have you pushing your bike back home in short order, even though I'm using the same carb as you guys.

[PBMW]

Ro
the 41 is a bit much for a stock bore.
Mine was a 94mm bore with hotcams an da 41. It has less bottom end than it would if it were a 39.
But I had planned on stroking it anyway in which case I needed the 41 anyway...
And the biger valves and the bigger cams
And ...

[fijiman]

The reason I suggested Lynk is because he has been tuning with your set-up or mods. My mods and its subsequent jetting will have you pushing your bike back home in short order, even though I'm using the same carb as you guys.

lol Yeah, I'll talk to Lynk this afternoon....

[fijiman]

Ro
the 41 is a bit much for a stock bore.
Mine was a 94mm bore with hotcams an da 41. It has less bottom end than it would if it were a 39.
But I had planned on stroking it anyway in which case I needed the 41 anyway...
And the biger valves and the bigger cams
And ...

Thanks Jim…that is exactly what Matt at the TT store told me…so it makes sense to go with the 39….I know 41 would be the route to go if I wanted to go to 470 …but for now, I am thinking I will not…still wanna get that ktm950SM…

[fijiman]

• SSW/MRD pipe with QC ordered from Dave @ MRD
• FCR 39MM carb ordered from TT (Matt)
• K&N air filter - ordered from TT (Matt)

Thanks a bunch Lynk for chatting with me y'day...man, you have quite a sea of knowledge about those carbs…would love to get help again when I get the parts and ready for the install… you rock!

Don’t know if I can post up prices here, but if anyone wants to know, PM me.

Pictures up soon.

[PBMW]

Snerk...
We all know th eprices Ro. We've all got the same parts!!

[Eddie O'Dell]

Fijiman, may I suggest you begin to learn the FCR tuning guide lines, specifically the needle codes. In this way you will better be able to relate/communicate with Lynk as he/we begin to assist you with tuning your set-up. The FCR tuning is fascinating, and tends to have a sense of being a black art or voodoo as carb tuning can induce. But AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A BASIC KNOWLEDGE of the fueling code to the needle and its relationship to the main jet VS. how far open the slide is lifted, then you will be on your way to responsive happiness................ Look and study this closely, you will quickly begin to understand the combination's to just the portion's of needle relative to throttle applied.



Study this also, for a good running Zeeee.

www.factorypro.com/tech/carbkei.html......................

[fijiman]

Awesome Eddie...great Link!!!...
Hopefully I'll start putting things together by next week...can't wait...
I'l be in Les Vegas this weekend visiting family...did not realize TT is also there...

[fijiman]

All right, here are the pictures with some write-up on my set-up.
I received the FCR 39MM kit and K&N filter from TT on a week earlier, and the pipe arrived Friday! YAY, I am ready for the install! Started around 5.30pm

Stock before the mod:


First, starting for with the 3X3 airbox mod, basically cutting your airbox on the top 3inches by 3 inches…I used a combination of tools to accomplish this (gig saw, hacksaw, copping, drill, grinder, carving knife, lol!). Note: I cut the hole a little more than 3X3 to let more air in…little more would not hurt here…

Before:


During:


After:





Next, the much talked about FCR MX 39mm carb kit from TT:




Prepping the carb:
• Removed the plastic throttle wheel guard – there is NO way you can leave that on and put it on the DRZ…just no space there…
• Removed the TPS connector by unplugging from bike harness (not needed in the FCR set-up.
• Removed pilot air jet (as recommended by TT, kept it safe for use later if needed)
• Installed the bell mouth and o-ring supplied


Moved both upper motor mounts to the left side: (little confused by this and why required but followed instructions)
Right side:


Left Side:


Moved the sub-frame back about a inch – just un-bolt the top sub-frame bolt….thanks Jim!!! This helped with the carb installation.




Installed the FCR MX 39mm carb in the air-boot from air-box first:


Next – manifold boot install, note, the notch on the boot on the carb side did not align to the notch on the carb, you have to live with it… ;-)


Connecting cables and vacuum nipple in the manifold:


Took out old stock pipe:




New full MRD SSW – thanks Dave!


Manifold and gasket




Installed header pipe:




Time for dinner, and some beers…it was almost 8pm… ;-)

Next morning – Saturday.
Installed the MRD SSW pipe…and tank (make sure the new carb choke is operational and does not hit the petcock on the tank)


And started it!


Started right up after priming…and OMG, I loved the thumper sound…almost sounded like a big block V8…or my WRX back from the days when idling…! Nice! Very nice ….Started putting the bike together to test it out…




Went for a ride


First test result….Hummm….

So took it out again on a ride today…


Hu,mmm…I really was expecting the new set-up to ‘wake’ up the sleeper DRZ, but IMO, it did not. The bike runs fine, don’t get me wrong…I need to do the o-ring mod and some small other stuff, but I DO NOT think this was big bang for the buck (1k). The bike now pulls more in top gear but by no means I got a considerable HP and fun gain. Yeah, the sound is nice…but then again it gets all the attention…

Overall, I am not too happy with the mod ….am I the only one that thinks this way? Yes, it runs a little bit better than stock, but then again I probably had bigger expectations by putting 1k worth of parts….

Thanks for all those who took time to talk to me and help me out here (Jim, Mike, Eddie). I am not sure if I did something wrong which is yielding this result…
I did not play with any jets, just put in what it came with and only removed pilot air jet:

160 main jet
200 main air jet
EMN needle
clip 3
45 pilot jet
2 turns fuel screw


Comments welcome.

Oh, and please do not use this as an installation guide, I did not put in all the details…and probably skipped some parts…

[mike33_3]

very informative post, i just ordered the same set-up, so hopefully i wont be disappointed either. what did you think was the difficulty of the install altogether?

[Lynk]

Why'd you move both of the engine mount plates to the left side? In my opinion, that's a bad idea. Don't lose that pilot-air jet, as you're likely to want it later. The jetting recommendations from TT are very rich, across the board, so I'm betting that you've had some sluggish performance. Throttle changes have likely met with some hesitation, and your fuel economy is going to go in the toilet. Please don't blame the carburetor; hang out here, and you're going to love it in the end.

All that said, start looking for a set of Suzuki A/B camshafts, in good condition. I only say that, because you just laid a solid foundation for some REAL performance. The cams can take some hunting, because they haven't been supplied with bikes in the last six years. Once all the bits and pieces are working in concert with each other, you will be happy with the overall project!

Now to get your current setup running as efficient as possible... See if you can find a local supplier for main jets. Buy a 155 and 158 main, 42 pilot, and insist on the genuine Keihin product. I found the NCYR needle, on clip 2, to work quite well with the Suzuki D/E cams (stock SM camshafts). You'll need the 100 pilot-air jet that you removed, if you use the NCYR. Here are some part numbers:

• Yamaha - 5TA-14916-YR-00
• Suzuki - 13383-35G40 (2005/2006 RM-Z450)
• Honda - 16203-MEN-671 (2006 CRF450R - No standard listed)

One other item that I recommend for the FCR-MX is a functional accelerator pump circuit. For some odd reason, Keihin decided to disable the leak function of the accelerator pump circuit on carburetors supplied to KTM and sold in the aftermarket. The o-ring modification, or stiffer spring sold by some companies, is a work-around for this disability. Thankfully, James Dean offers a replacement float bowl with a drilled/tapped hole for a leak jet: http://www.jdjetting.com/xcart/produ...&cat=5&page=1; I use an R&D externally adjustable leak jet: http://www.r1dean.com/cart/index.php...products_id=60.

Thank you for the photos! You did an awesome job of documenting your upgrade.

As an aside, that's an interesting sticker that Dave Harryman has started using on his pipes... not sure I like it.

[mike33_3]

hey lynk what about this leak jet?

http://www.mergeracing.com/products/...bleLeakJet.php

[Lynk]

I chose the R&D Racing version, because it only requires the removal of a check ball for installation. Using a punch, you drive out the check ball that serves as a one-way valve in the fuel supply to the accelerator pump. The Merge Racing design requires a new hole in the float bowl, provided by drilling a hole on a drill press; they supply the bit and a template.

Either one should work similarly well. Unless you plan on using the bike for dual purposes, where you will change the leak circuit to match, JD's bowl will work just as well. I have an adjustable circuit so that I can disable all accelerator pump function, when I'm dyno tuning.

One last note... I think I'm going to go back to the Keihin spring, coupled with the R&D pump. R&D supplies a new spring that is too stiff to provide any reasonable pump duration. I imagine I could resell this spring as a replacement for the o-ring mod.

[fijiman]

very informative post, i just ordered the same set-up, so hopefully i wont be disappointed either. what did you think was the difficulty of the install altogether?

It was pretty straight forward...I looked at the TT install instructions...was garbage actually...talking to someone before the install who has done it before helps a million! Thanks Jim!

All in all, I was done in about 4 hrs...

[Eddie O'Dell]

WOW just down to earth people trying to help each other......... very cool.
Something that is taken for granted these days, or perhaps should I say what size cooler was that again ????????