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Author Topic: Empulse White Noise Racer  (Read 6408 times)

BrammoBrian

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Empulse White Noise Racer
« on: October 06, 2015, 09:55:22 AM »
As I reported in my write-up from Miller, I half-way converted my 2014 street Empulse R to an eSuperSport race bike when my HVR bike broke in Race 1.  When I got the bike back to the shop, the prudent and logical thing would have been to convert it back for street duty, especially because I won't be attending Barber.  :(  Being neither prudent or logical, however, I decided to keep going with the conversion from street bike to eSuperSport racer... 

Here's a couple of photos of the work in progress... 

Original Bike:


"White Noise" in process:




So far, I've lightened up the wheelset by using a 4.5" Aluminum Marchesini rear wheel we had from the Isle of Man program in 2009 and a front wheel from the new Victory Empulse TT.  I'm still planning on running a single caliper and disc on the front based on the performance at Miller and the weight savings (roughly 5lbs). 

I've also removed the on-board charger underneath the seat, which pulls 12.3 lbs out of the bike.  It's not a simple task as you end up having to remove the entire seat subframe, but the weight savings is significant.  I've left the main terminals for the B+/B- connection hanging out of what used to be the charge port, and it's my plan to charge with an off-board Manzanita Micro PFC-40.  I haven't actually done this yet, so I'll report back on how well (or IF) that works out.



I'll post some progress photos as I have time.  I'm hoping to get down around 420lbs for the complete bike without resorting to anything a "normal" racer wouldn't be willing to do with their bike. 
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Brammofan

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2015, 10:41:35 AM »
This looks amazing, Brian. Looking forward to hearing about whether the off-board charger works. Performance figures would be nice to see, too.

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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #2 on: October 06, 2015, 10:36:45 PM »
Of course, any race bike needs rear sets. Especially true for the Empulse where the packaging of the motor and gearbox required a bit wider placement of the foot pegs than a typical bike. The chassis begs you to crank it over, so better to get the hard parts out of the way. Luckily, Woodcraft has a  great fully adjustable and surprisingly affordable option available...






It's true that you lose the kickstand, but that's more weight saved (heavy steel knuckle assembly) and race bikes don't have kick stands anyway...  8)

I also love being able to move the shift linkage to a GP shift configuration, which I strongly prefer for the track.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2015, 10:39:12 PM by BrammoBrian »
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Consultec

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Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2015, 10:37:00 PM »
Nice.  I'm working on doing some custom fiber layout..


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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2015, 10:58:40 PM »
A couple other mods I'm considering:

I really like the idea of a full length belly pan for fluid capture on a race bike sharing the track with others. I bought a vintage belly pan from Airtech Streamlining for my HVR bike and liked how it turned out, so I'm thinking of picking up another for this bike.



Here it is mocked up. It would most likely be painted white to match...



I'm also considering replacing the stock radiator with the same KTM 690 unit I used on the HVR and moving it to the same location, which you can see in the photo above.  You probably couldn't do this on a 2013 bike based on the location of the VCU, but looks like it could work on the '14 bikes.
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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2015, 11:03:40 PM »
Quote from: Brammofan on October 06, 2015, 10:41:35 AM
This looks amazing, Brian. Looking forward to hearing about whether the off-board charger works. Performance figures would be nice to see, too.

Thanks, Harry! I've got an AIM sports My Chrono GPS lap timer on the handlebar bracket, so I should be able to provide some performance figures when the build is done. I don't know why I think I need two race bikes or another project, but it helps to know someone out there will appreciate the effort.  ::)
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Consultec

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Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2015, 11:57:27 PM »
Brian,

What are you going to do with your original tank cover? Wanna sell it? Need a spare to paint or convert to carbon fibre.


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« Last Edit: October 07, 2015, 05:37:46 PM by Consultec »
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2014 Empulse R (Red), 2010 Enertia (Burnt Orange), 2000 BMW R1200C, 2010 Enertia (Red) coming for wife.

alain

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2015, 07:16:07 AM »
Awesome! I especially like the white rear wheel, though it must be a pain in the @#& to keep it looking clean.
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Consultec

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Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2015, 07:05:51 PM »
Apply a nice coat of wax (wheel wax)


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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2015, 12:44:39 PM »
Quote from: Consultec on October 06, 2015, 11:57:27 PM
Brian,

What are you going to do with your original tank cover? Wanna sell it? Need a spare to paint or convert to carbon fibre.

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I'll be keeping my original tank cover, but if you email Adam Lukoic @ Brammo, he can probably get you what you're looking for. 
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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2015, 12:45:28 PM »
Quote from: alain on October 07, 2015, 07:16:07 AM
Awesome! I especially like the white rear wheel, though it must be a pain in the @#& to keep it looking clean.

The high price of looking good!   8)
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Shinysideup

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2015, 07:37:33 PM »
Quote from: BrammoBrian on October 06, 2015, 11:03:40 PM
I don't know why I think I need two race bikes or another project....

Two word answer: Obsessive Empulsive ::)
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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2015, 09:31:00 PM »
Ok... not too much progress to report as it turns out I'm actually expected to work on real projects during the day...  ::)

I was able to do a quick dyno test (52 RWHP) and then roll her up on a set of scales to see where I ended up.



421lbs, a 40+ lbs reduction over stock.  I'm pretty pleased with that.  I've got some parts to add and subtract, so I think I'll end up pretty darn close to my target weight for the bike.  The production TTX bikes we built back in 2013 were a couple of lbs lighter, and I think this was mostly down to the forged magnesium OZ Racing wheelset. 

I'm a little concerned about the weight balance, but looking at some records on the TTX, I think with rider it balances out to near 50/50 weight distribution.  I'm not too concerned about it yet.  I'll know more after the first track test. 

I've got my charger cable extension dongle now, and I ran the bike down to about 90% SOC on the dyno, so I should be able to do a test charge with the Manzanita Micro tomorrow.   

In other news, the HVR lives again after a gearbox rebuild. The decision was made to switch over to some Bel-Ray Gear Saver 80W oil over the lighter weight racing stuff I had been using.  Initial impressions are favorable and it doesn't feel as though I'm sacrificing much power to the thicker stuff.  If it helps me finish races, I'll happily trade some HP.
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Shinysideup

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #13 on: October 09, 2015, 01:20:52 PM »
Quote from: BrammoBrian on October 08, 2015, 09:31:00 PM
In other news, the HVR lives again after a gearbox rebuild. The decision was made to switch over to some Bel-Ray Gear Saver 80W oil over the lighter weight racing stuff I had been using. 

Interesting... I've got a bunch of expensive synthetic gear oil in my garage, left over from my BMW shaftie days, but I've always been afraid of dumping it in the Empulse tranny since it doesn't have the JASO T904-MA or MA2 wet clutch rating on the label. Does the Bel-Ray?
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BrammoBrian

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Re: Empulse White Noise Racer
« Reply #14 on: October 09, 2015, 10:38:18 PM »
Quote from: Shinysideup on October 09, 2015, 01:20:52 PM
Quote from: BrammoBrian on October 08, 2015, 09:31:00 PM
In other news, the HVR lives again after a gearbox rebuild. The decision was made to switch over to some Bel-Ray Gear Saver 80W oil over the lighter weight racing stuff I had been using. 

Interesting... I've got a bunch of expensive synthetic gear oil in my garage, left over from my BMW shaftie days, but I've always been afraid of dumping it in the Empulse tranny since it doesn't have the JASO T904-MA or MA2 wet clutch rating on the label. Does the Bel-Ray?

The Bel-Ray is formulated for wet clutches.

http://www.belray.com/bel-ray-gear-saver-transmission-oil
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