Frankenconnie

[twowheelnut]

:blink:

Some people simply amaze me with their talent:

ST.n link.

 

[Fairlaner]

Tim you have toooooo much time on your hands dude.....

R

 

[twowheelnut]

This, from the King of TMFT! :lol:

 

[juniorfjr]

I envy the guy's skills and determination. To see it and then do it. cool.

 

[RadioHowie]

What a HORRIBLE thing to do to a Rex mill!

:blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

[Barabus]

:blink:
Some people simply amaze me with their talent:

ST.n link.

This falls under the category- Yeah I have the skill to do it, but should I?

 

[bergmen]

At the time I was ready to start this project, there weren't any reliable REX engines around. Even if there were, I am one who is uncomfortable buying an engine I haven't heard run. Then there is the shipping logistics which are ugly.

In addition, I needed the carburetors, boots, ignition coils, ECU, harness and various other sundry ZRX bits. I also needed the front forks which I transplanted towards the end of the project. I'm in the process of selling off the rest of the parts and have already made much more than half my money back. By the time I'm finished, it will be about a wash.

Here is what it looks like as of today:

Full webshots album of the entire project (24 pages):

https://community.webshots.com/album/559174...vhost=community

I would be glad to elaborate if anyone is interested in why I did this. Bottom line is I wouldn't trade this motorcycle for any other on the planet. One reason is it is the only one in existence and I built it myself.

There are many others.

JMHO

Dan

 

[bergmen]

What a HORRIBLE thing to do to a Rex mill!
:blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink:

But what a fabulous thing to do to the Concours. As I was working on this it became obvious to me that Kawasaki had intended on upgrading the Concours with this series of engines but that effort probably got derailed by the ZX-14/C-14 program.

There are too many features between the two that line up perfectly:

1) Rear engine mounts are identical.

2) Conccours transmission, shift drum, shift forks, shift shaft and all indexers drop right in.

3) Concours headers bolt up the same (althought the collars are of a different thickness, easily converted).

4) Bevel gear case bolts right up to the ZRX cases with one hole that needs to be drilled and tapped (boss is cast in identical to Concours cases).

5) Concours oil pan bolts right up with no mods and oil cooler is connected via bogus oil line on ZRX.

6) Carburetors line up to Concours airbox and plug right in with ZRX boots.

Big job, great rewards. I had the blessing of the Rex owner for this although he didn't know about it until I began the surgery.

JMHO

Dan

 

[timalan]

What a HORRIBLE thing to do to a Rex mill!
:blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink:

But what a fabulous thing to do to the Concours. As I was working on this it became obvious to me that Kawasaki had intended on upgrading the Concours with this series of engines but that effort probably got derailed by the ZX-14/C-14 program.

There are too many features between the two that line up perfectly:

1) Rear engine mounts are identical.

2) Conccours transmission, shift drum, shift forks, shift shaft and all indexers drop right in.

3) Concours headers bolt up the same (althought the collars are of a different thickness, easily converted).

4) Bevel gear case bolts right up to the ZRX cases with one hole that needs to be drilled and tapped (boss is cast in identical to Concours cases).

5) Concours oil pan bolts right up with no mods and oil cooler is connected via bogus oil line on ZRX.

6) Carburetors line up to Concours airbox and plug right in with ZRX boots.

Big job, great rewards. I had the blessing of the Rex owner for this although he didn't know about it until I began the surgery.

JMHO

Dan

ooooops! ignore previous screwed up post.

WOW Dan,

Your famous everywhere.

Your the Man. Been following that since you started building it....

Can you shaft drive my SV?

 

[rushes]

What a HORRIBLE thing to do to a Rex mill!
:blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink:

But what a fabulous thing to do to the Concours. As I was working on this it became obvious to me that Kawasaki had intended on upgrading the Concours with this series of engines but that effort probably got derailed by the ZX-14/C-14 program.

There are too many features between the two that line up perfectly:

1) Rear engine mounts are identical.

2) Conccours transmission, shift drum, shift forks, shift shaft and all indexers drop right in.

3) Concours headers bolt up the same (althought the collars are of a different thickness, easily converted).

4) Bevel gear case bolts right up to the ZRX cases with one hole that needs to be drilled and tapped (boss is cast in identical to Concours cases).

5) Concours oil pan bolts right up with no mods and oil cooler is connected via bogus oil line on ZRX.

6) Carburetors line up to Concours airbox and plug right in with ZRX boots.

Big job, great rewards. I had the blessing of the Rex owner for this although he didn't know about it until I began the surgery.

JMHO

Dan

Hey Dan, Great job!

I don't know if I would've attempted it, but it looks like it went pretty well. :thumbsup:

Congrats!

 

[bergmen]

What a HORRIBLE thing to do to a Rex mill!
:blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink:

But what a fabulous thing to do to the Concours. As I was working on this it became obvious to me that Kawasaki had intended on upgrading the Concours with this series of engines but that effort probably got derailed by the ZX-14/C-14 program.

There are too many features between the two that line up perfectly:

1) Rear engine mounts are identical.

2) Conccours transmission, shift drum, shift forks, shift shaft and all indexers drop right in.

3) Concours headers bolt up the same (althought the collars are of a different thickness, easily converted).

4) Bevel gear case bolts right up to the ZRX cases with one hole that needs to be drilled and tapped (boss is cast in identical to Concours cases).

5) Concours oil pan bolts right up with no mods and oil cooler is connected via bogus oil line on ZRX.

6) Carburetors line up to Concours airbox and plug right in with ZRX boots.

Big job, great rewards. I had the blessing of the Rex owner for this although he didn't know about it until I began the surgery.

JMHO

Dan

Hey Dan, Great job!

I don't know if I would've attempted it, but it looks like it went pretty well. :thumbsup:

Congrats!

Thanks for the compliment! Here is one other picture I forgot to post:

JMHO

Dan

 

[bergmen]

I thought I would post up some views of the engine mount design I came up with. I have CoCreate OneSpace Modelling on my workstation here at home (formerly know as SolidDesigner) and was able to do the design work at my desk.

To begin with, I was able to obtain a new, unused Concours frame to use as an engine mount design jig:

I mounted on an elevated plywood platform to do my work so i wouldn't have to be sitting on a stool for the long hours of work.

From here, I mounted the ZRX engine using the rear mounts only:

I set about taking measurements and fine tuning the engine position:

After that, went to the CAD system and designed a mount assembly:

I then had the individual parts machined at two different machine shops and did a trial fit on the jig frame:

Then after drilling and tapping holes and sent out for plating:

After mounting satin black ceramic coated headers and oval locknuts:

Finished assembly:

Link to webshots album of the entire project:

https://community.webshots.com/album/559174...vhost=community

I didn't have any interferences or fit issues. It bolted right up and I'm riding it today on it's second rear tire (the first one went "poof" after crossing Nevada both ways at 100+mph with a full touring load).

JMHO

Dan

 

[GunMD]

VERY cool. Nice work.

 

[Toecutter]

VERY cool. Nice work.

Gunny!

Now, ya think you could put an '09 V-Max motor into an FJR?

 

[FJReady]

One nice feature is the easy access to the Connie oil filter and drain plug. I always hated how long it took to do oil/filter changes on my Connies.

Nice work Bergmen.

 

[bergmen]

One nice feature is the easy access to the Connie oil filter and drain plug. I always hated how long it took to do oil/filter changes on my Connies.
Nice work Bergmen.

And with the spin-on oil filter adaptor kit, it's even easier:

Thanks for the compliments, much appreciated.

A goofy thing I discovered after this engine changeout is that it now takes four full quarts of oil to bring the oil to the top line on the left oil sight glass. I have two sight glasses (one on the right-ZRX, one on the left-ZG). I use the left one since I think it represents the proper level. There are two filler caps also. The ZRX one on the right is a cinch to use, the ZG one on the left is harder to get to because of the crowded conditions:

On the right:

Another photo just for grins (this was deep into everything, and I mean everything ripped apart and scattered over the entire garage):

JMHO

Dan

 

[mmonroe]

I am really enjoying this thread.

:yahoo:

Mark

 

[bergmen]

Some more details on the project.

I had to split the cases to change out the ZRX five speed transmission and replace it with the Concours six speed. This was necessary to provide an output shaft with the built-in coupler for the bevel gear housing to complete the conversion to shaft drive. A few pics:

Here is a view of the bottom case of the ZRX engine removed with the five speed tranny in place:

Here is a comparison of the input shafts (Concours shaft on top):

Here are the output shafts, Concours on top again:

I really wanted to keep the five speed of the Rex. I figured all I needed to do was slide off the gears from the Rex and put them on the Concours shafts. No go, since the shaft splines and other details are not compatible.

The transmission details (bearings, C-C dimensions, input shaft splines, etc.) were identical. Lift the Rex tranny out, set the Concours tranny in:

The shift drum, shift shaft, shift indexing mechanism, shift forks, all plugged right in, no modifications or adjustments:

My next challenge was to adapt the bevel gear case to the Rex engine cases. It turned out the case mounting bolt pattern was identical between the Rex engine and the Concours engine except one minor detail. There was one missing threaded hole:

The boss was there, just not drilled or threaded. So, I set about to fix that:

Marked the location by touching surface with 9/32 drill:

Went back and center punched location:

Trial mounted bevel gear case to use for concentric drilling of tap drill to desired depth (tie wrap is for drill depth):

Removed bevel gear case and bottom tapped hole to M6.0:

Test fit and bolted up bevel gear case:

Removed the case, gutted it out and had it powder coated to match clutch and valve cover of Rex engine (along with the pulse cover):

That's it for now. Stay tuned for the next chapter...

JMHO

Dan

 

[bergmen]

The electrical systems of the Concours and ZRX had to be consolidated in order for this conversion to work properly. I marked up a wiring diagram to indicate the necessary wiring accommodations:

Then I went out and found a used ZRX1100 harness and had my good buddy Jerry double check my new wiring diagram:

Jerry totally unwrapped the ZRX1100 harness and carefully pulled the individual wires out so we could blend them in to the existing Concours harness:

This is what we had left of the Rex harness after Jerry's surgery:

And after much painstaking work, the completed harness plus IC igniter installation looked like this:

All the rest of the electrics were the same between the two bikes (alternator, neutral switch, oil pressure switch, etc.).

The only weird thing I have going on is the neutral light glows dimly when I am running, in gear and the clutch is out. Otherwise all is good. Oh, one other goofy quirk. If I shut the engine down with the handlebar cutoff switch, I have to turn the key off, switch the switch back on, turn the key on and start it back up. I can't just switch the switch to "Go" on the handlebar and hit the starter. Goofy.

That's it for now...

JMHO

Dan