MikeM
Novice Class
Posts: 49
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posted June 11, 2002 07:21 AM
Heavy duty clutch and alternator covers
A while ago someone put on a posting saying a machinist, possibly working at Boeing?, was taking a look at them with a view to machining some. Has there been any progress?
Reason I ask is I have been doing some research over here in the UK and to get the two covers digitally 3D mapped in preparation for either machining or casting heavy duty ones is going to cost in the region of £20 -30k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suddenly paying £300 per set for the OEM covers don't seem so bad.
Any comments or ideas anyone?
  
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
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posted June 11, 2002 10:17 AM
i'm pretty sure it's swft thats having a pair made up. first aluminum, then ti if i remember correctly.
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swft
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posted June 11, 2002 01:52 PM
Yah, I left the project in Necromancer's hands, and it's going nowhere. I consider the covers I leant out for it gone forever...
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
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posted June 11, 2002 10:12 PM
well get that this back on track! i need me some new covers cause i'm a fuckin squid and scratched the shit outa mine. any thoughts on how much weight TI covers would save? or is magnesium so light that it wouldnt make much of a diff? maybe the TIs would just hold up better in a crash (or an engine boom  )?
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MikeM
Novice Class
Posts: 49
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posted June 12, 2002 12:04 PM
Way expensive!!!!
Like I said at the start, to get the covers digitally mapped cost big bucks. The complexity of the shape and the alignment and location of datum points make it impossible to machine any other way. The only other way I can see of doing this simple (relitavely!!!!) is to involve someone with access to a rapid prototyping facility. You know the light sensitive resin that you expose to a laser and "build" up in layers from a bath of the stuff, then maybe transfer this into a lost wax investment casting process!!!!!
But, looking at a yr 2001 ZX6 the clutch cover at least seems visually similar to the 12. I know that Kawasaki give them different part no's but does anyone know what differences there are? As there are h/d covers available for the 6 could an adaptor be produced to allow a ZX6 clutch cover to fit on a 12????
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Zhooligan
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posted June 12, 2002 08:46 PM
Before Necromancer took the project on for free, where were you going with it Swft?
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future; -- Youth is forever.
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swft
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posted June 13, 2002 03:58 AM
It wasn't for free. Basically, he had met a boeing engineer who was interested in doing it. I provided both the covers, and never saw them again.
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MikeM
Novice Class
Posts: 49
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posted June 13, 2002 11:01 AM
 Edited By: MikeM on 13 Jun 2002 12:01
Latest new...
A company has been located in the UK who appear to have the ability to produce heavy duty cases. They make complete vintage engines and components from scratch, when I say vintage I mean along the lines of John Surtees' MV engines !!!
They are talking about making a wooden mock up to then transfer to sand castings and in turn machining the castings.
Will try to keep you all up to date.
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swft
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posted June 13, 2002 12:39 PM
Edited By: swft on 13 Jun 2002 14:36
Cool! That's the one place in the world that I don't have a part that's on my bike from:
Race bodywork: Japan, Germany
Rearsets: Germany
Shock: Sweden
Wheels: Italy
Chrono: Australia
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MikeM
Novice Class
Posts: 49
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posted June 13, 2002 01:11 PM
swft - bodywork from europe?
Tell man, tell!!!! Who? I thought you uset a-tech for panels, but surely they are Japanese?
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swft
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posted June 13, 2002 01:37 PM
Edited By: swft on 13 Jun 2002 18:57
Whoops! Yes, the good bodywork is from A-Tech. The iffy-ok stuff is from Sebimoto, which is Germany. Technically, I got it from oppracing, which is Vancouver, BC.
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MikeM
Novice Class
Posts: 49
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posted June 15, 2002 08:43 AM
IMPORTANT QUESTION
A question for everyone who has made posting in this string.
"What is your need for heavy duty engine covers ?"
Is it to improve the bikes chances of survival in a crash?
Is it because you are grinding away your standard covers as you have run out of ground clearance?
Is it to save weight?
If it is to improve survivability this is where I can help. If it is to increase ground clearance new covers are not going to help, nor is weight saving an area that can be worked on.
Please post your answers so I can get an idea of what everyone is looking for.
Thanks
Mike
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
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posted June 15, 2002 09:25 AM
in my case, i'd like to lose weight (as would everyone) but i'd also like them to be more durable. they just scratch up too easily.
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Zhooligan
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posted June 15, 2002 09:12 PM
Most of the Road Race organizations require them. They are less likely to crack and or wear through and spill oil as result. The extra thickness will also lessen the chance for internal damage.
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To those who do not count their life in years, but in how life
has touched them in the past and how much it can hold in the
future; -- Youth is forever.
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swft
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posted June 16, 2002 05:09 AM
Yep, if you are going to roadrace your 12 in some form, be it sprints or endurance racing, you are going to need them.
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MikeM
Novice Class
Posts: 49
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posted June 20, 2002 11:59 AM
Thinking around the problem
Due to cost, complexity, limited market etc. for heavy duty covers got thinking. On the Honda 4-stroke GP bike they protect the water pump in a nylon shroud which wraps over the lower half of the housing and mounts on the same bolt holes as the pump itself.
It would be about 5-10mm thick and would go a long way towards spreading impact loading away from a point source and would prevent sliding damage to the covers.
The downside is added weight, I would guess for the 12 to provide adequate protection for both alternator and clutch covers you would be adding 750g to 1kg in weight. The other possible disadvantage is reduced ground clearance. Now I,m an ex national level racer and I've not been able to get the cases down on my 12. Is this an issue likely to affect anyone here?
The previous answers saying that they wanted lighter covers is going to be a hard one to do. Magnesium is about the lightest of the sensible metals. Titanium is a heavy metal, well, heavier than Aluminium or magnesium for a given volume (You only get the benefits of titanium in certain instances ie. when you can reduce tube wall thickness or can replace a stressed steel component with Ti). The only material that is lighter than Mg is Berrilyium and that is way nasty stuff to work with, if you inhale the dust produced during machining you die of a nasty lung disorder called Berillyiosis (or similar?).
What does everyone think? Nylon covers as Honda use on their Moto GP bike, or not?
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22348bCVC
Zone Head
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posted June 20, 2002 12:35 PM
Yes!!!..replaceable nylon covers (black, clear, or color matched for the poseurs like me  )...reasonably durable and priced...like knee-sliders/pucks...way cool...hurry and make them so I can cover my boo-boos....
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
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posted June 20, 2002 01:20 PM
i like the idea of some nylon protection, jsut like frame sliders. i'v seen a number of bikes with a stainless steel bit covering the lower half of the covers. may not look beautiful, but would keep the covers from being destroyed in a silly tipover or lowside, especially on the track. basically, i'd love to have enough frame sliders on the bike so it could lowside and never get any damage. damn, that would be fun!
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EastBayDave
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posted June 20, 2002 05:54 PM
quote:
Yes!!!..replaceable nylon covers (black, clear, or color matched for the poseurs like me )...reasonably durable and priced...like knee-sliders/pucks...way cool...hurry and make them so I can cover my boo-boos....
I want a clear plastic one, so I can watch the clutch go around & around....
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02' ZRX1200
00' ZX12R sold
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