Bimota Forum

[Gavin944888]

After the Rocker arm it was on to the CNC for some programming on the water pump cover.

You know that I had reservations regarding the efficiency of the Bimota water pump.

Guido had explained that he also found the VDue pump wanting for performance and spoke about a controllable variable speed pump.

In particular he had developed a unit which increased from 30% speed at up to 50 degrees temp then sped up to 60% for a higher temp then ran at a full 100% for anything over 70 degrees.

This helped reduce temp in order that NO fan was needed on the track.

This could compensate for my use of a smaller rad ....and solve a potential problem.


Go on then......bag it...all up, Guido.




[img]IMG_0039 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]




The pump in the image above is driven via a temp sender in the radiator to this controller which dictates temp and speed of the pump.




[img]IMG_0040 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]



Once back in Essex.....I had a blanking cover made for the old water pump location and re routed some new silicone hoes to suit.




[img]IMG_0036 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]



It is not finished yet as the bike has now gone off for final wiring....but you can get the drift.



The final couple of days was spent on body-work and particularly the seat and side panels.




[img]IMG_0050 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]



James turned some boss sections and tacked them in place whilst I was holding them off of the Expansion pipes.




[img]IMG_0052 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]



Once tacked....he was free to fully weld in place.

He could not understand what I wanted but I held everything place as he welded....it all made sense.



Here are the final units ....once back from the platers.




[img]IMG_0058 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]



These were bolted on the bike and they are excellent side panel support stays and a shield for holding off anything from touching the expansion pipes.



[img]IMG_0071 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]







[img]IMG_0047 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]




So......all done ....the bike is wheeled into the van for another trip to the wiring guy...RUPE'S REWIRES and in a couple of weeks ....it will be back and body work can start in earnest.



In Germany...I questioned why I build theses things ?

I prefer the engineering and problem solving to just buying something.......2Bims is a testament to that.

I know that we are all different....that's what makes it... all the better. From the CRAZY colour schemes of KINETIC ART BIMOTA's of the 1990s to the naked YB street fighters...we all have a place.

BUT these VDues guys are NUTS!!



More soon.................


Gavin
The Scottish Engineer.
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger

[2bims]

You have to be a nut to recognise a nut.....liking the work so far....especially the coating of metals...nickel plate or somesuch....I have oodles of ex-chinese takeaway trays full of rusty oily tarnished bolts that would look spanking new with that electro plating process...I should have thrown a few trays at you when you were last up my end....

[Gavin944888]

Morning to you all.........the bike is away being wired, however

I spent a few emails with FRP and Guido regarding his water pump conversion.

Reason being.........this is an image of his of his set up ...HIS race bike.





[img]IMG_0010 by bear (as in animal ..not gay idol), on Flickr[/img]




As much as I looked....I found questions.....ie..the water flow is going the wrong way.

In other words...the standard Bimota version gets its inlet flooded by the radiator then it is pumped through the engine and onto the thermostat.

So far so good.....but Guido's system takes the water from the engine, then pumps its throigh the radiator then onto the thermostat?

Perplexed....I reach for the keyboard....

Email....Answer...YES..it is right.

Email Question...if that is the case... how does the thermostat work properly?

Email Answer.....No need for a thermostat with the Temp controlled Water pump assembly.

Phew....it makes sense but it didn't....hence the questions.


Okay....now I am Happy

regards



Gavin
The Scottish Engineer
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger

[Gavin944888]

Morning Gentlefolk of Bimota, another update as LOCK DOWN 2 approaches!.

We left off where the Cagiva Bimota thingy, was back from Germany and the DYNO of Guido...all good ..no issues.

A quick stop at the workshop just to tidy up some of the snagging which showed up under power and whilst be inspected.

I removed the rocker arm and sent the new ratio details off to Belgium and BM Suspension.

I used to say that he was from HYPER PRO but reality, I have found out it was the other Dutch/German/Belgie company TECHNO FLEX

...that's what happens with contacts, you forget where you found them! But you can still see the old T/F styling hues in his product.




[img]IMG_0082 by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]




Bart (the owner) seems to have entered his 'Dark Period'.....I asked for 'any spring colour' except the obvious Yellow.......I got Black with Black on Black.




[img]IMG_0086 by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]





But as usual......... the custom engineering and workmanship of the custom shock is superb.................this came in at just under 900 Euro delivered!





[img]IMG_0092 by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]




Each component is machined, there are no cast marks.....everything milled and turned ...Bart did me a deal and used some demo items to keep the price keen.



[img]IMG_0084 by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]



Also........he sets the range of travel ...to your spec allowing you to change to suit without ever being at the end of adjustment.



[img]IMG_0089 by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]



I have no financial interest in BM Suspension other than, I want them to still be in business, next time I want them for something.


They also modify the EXTREME shock range as well as build their own product.




more to follow

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger

[Gavin944888]

PLEASE NOTE .....I have changed my flickr name as I was being followed by some, who wanted to see my tool and I don't mean my toolmakers clamp!

'Bear' was I thought an fairly 'straight forward' name (I was called it when I grew up in Glasgow along with Tank....it alternated, don't ask) the emphasis on the first part, (straight forward) but alas NO

I was emailled images of other 'bears'...I don't mean the furry kind and I was sent an invite from...Bear:TheBareBackBear


Something had to change................I was not having this, I contacted the folk involved and thanked them for their interest, but I was changing my Flickr page name....wished them all the best in their pursuit of gratification

Back to the story......








.......onto the next bit....the bike is at RUPE'S REWIRES in OUNDLE near Peterborough ....another craftsman based in the UK.

In the past I have used Electro 34, Ferret and now Rupe's.....all have their plus points and it really is down to timelines and best working relations.

Rupert built a simple 'dirty race loom' to get the bike working and ready to go to Germany on a budget...Germany cut and moved things to suit and then back in the UK ....where I cut, added and moved even more things.

It then went to Rupe to incorporate all the things that Germany and I had changed.....and added!






[img]loom by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]





You can see the main spine and wire route....the fuel tank had be modified (again) to allow better wiring loom clearance.




[img]powerc by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]



Here you can see the power valve actuator unique to the Bimota...I was warned not to use ANY other replacement types

Bimota used standard parts but that replacement has not been made for 20 years and the others are similar in their range but not as the original Bimota spec.


Guido has issues with the non standard Bimota items and modifies his to the exact specification after hours on the dyno and linking it to the Zeeltronic


Naturally, I am from a 4 stroke background and ....a bowl is fruit is a bowl of fruit...but a banana is a bit different from a kiwi fruit......make your own choice on what to use.

Here is the Coil Pack as supplied the Germans.....neatly wired.





[img]ht l by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]




I am using a smaller radiator and I have selected to use the Zeeltronic power variable unit for the electric water pump....again all good BUT finding a German spec EV6 loom connector is not easy.


The fan switch trips the fan....the temp switch is married and matches the signals the Zeeltronic needs to change the rev range

It runs at 30% speed up to 50 degrees....60% speed for the next 15 degrees and once at 70 degrees switches up to 100% until brought back down.....the fan is a fail safe.


The thermostat will be removed and used to hold a door open...it is not required or necessary



[img]rad1 by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]





Next is the front of the bike and the small Honda NC21 endurance style headlights......also called CBR250RR

The alloy section below the headlamps is a custom section which spaces out the fairing..

It was fabricated by Shaun the Fabricating Sheep....he made the fuel tank and also the alloy screen.





[img]das.h by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]




All the loom has been made to fit in the nose cone and under the dash.

The dash is still on rough FOAMEX plastic material until everything is is place and can be transferred and shaped into something suitable.



[img]dash by The Scottish Engineer, on Flickr[/img]



I still have to fabricate a tank for the 2 stroke oil as recommended and fix a sender to what was the fuel gauge but is now an oil level gauge on the dash.

The bike will run on premix but I will need to carry some oil and this takes care of that.


Next up......machine a new rocker actuation arm in stainless....fit the new shock and start on the bodywork.

More updates soon

regards

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer.
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger

[2bims]

Nearly 37,000 views and yet only 184 comments....Project started March 2019......but there has been over 60 reply comments this year....I think most of us think "Why?"....."WTF".....or just lookaway in shame that we dont have the same imagination or gungho attitude of "It'll be fine in the end" to even attempt such a thing....Thing is no where near the correct word.....but a Supermotard 125cc model with a transplanted 500cc big bang Vdue twin 2-stroke engine?...The work of a genuis...or a madman....theres a fine line between such......I'm holding judgement until test ride day.....I just hope he has some strong and long wheelie bars fixed to the back end for when he unleashes the beast...Yes...Its "just a 2-stroke"....but....until you've ridden one.....best of luck "trying" to run it in and keep it in the required rev range

[brian]

[brian]

[2bims]

[brian]

[Gavin944888]

Well....................I am guessing that my last 2 sections have disappeared into the internet space....they have disappeared along with my request for assistance on the neutral light switch issue.

Ho Hum...

I will try to re instate or recreate with images...when I can


regards
Gavin
The Scottish Engineer.
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger

[Gavin944888]

Hello.................another Monday afternoon ...no time to upload the lost images, but I need your help on the Neutral switch problem I have.
It seems crazy that with all the fabrication and design work I cannot get a neutral light!....but hey...have a look.

Here is the text of an email from Rupert the electrical guy who wired it all up.




>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Normally with a neutral switch when the bike is in neutral the wire going to it connects with earth (in this case the engine casing it’s screwed into). This is how the neutral light comes on.

Fuller explanation: when you switch the bike on you get a +12V feed to the neutral light. The wire out of the neutral light goes to the switch, which earths when neutral is selected. As soon as it earths, a circuit is created and the light comes on.

You can see this on the wiring diagram. A red/yellow wire (+12V) goes into the warning light display, and a white/green wire comes out.

For some reason the V-Due switch won’t earth. It seems unlikely that a new part is fault, but I tried going in and out of neutral a few times without any connection happening. I have had a few neutral swiches do this, on various bikes, so it is not unheard of.

By convention, most bikes earth their starter solenoid through the neutral switch, so that the starter only turns when the bike is in neutral.

So the white/green wire to the solenoid is also the neutral light wire. Again, you can see this on the wiring diagram. Don’t worry about all the wires on the diagram – you only need to see the red/yellow and the white/green.

So at the moment you can start the bike, but the neutral light won’t come on (unless you touch the white/green wire to earth).

I hope that explains it, and if I have been patronizing I apologize.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


So...........there we have it....I have by-passed the earth from the neutral switch and earthed the solenoid in order to start the bike BUT ...do the switches fail?

Any advise would be appreciated

Thanks

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer.
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger

[2bims]

Hhmm.....and....do consider i'm treading down to the bottom of the garden where the electrical gremlins and fairies live....A place I never frequent....

You have a standard Vdue engine.....with changes by you....with a standard Neutral switch in the crankcase in the underside of the engine...LHS....but...youve fitted it to your own design steel frame thats been powdercoated.....What earth tag and where have you got the frame earthed to the engine...and the where on the frame is it earthed to the battery.....because One part of the neutral switch runs its other contact via the engine casing...and the only wire on it to the neutral light itself....Ducati Temp senders/thermistors are the same.....where the brass screw in element earths through the engine....and the engine earths to the frame....I'm running away now as the lepricauns have started whispering to me....

[DB1 860]

Im much the same as 2bims when it comes to electrics, Im guessing you bench tested the switch out of the bike to see that it worked.
I removed a neutral switch from a motor that I had bought from Japan and it had an extra 1mm washer on it, which seemed strange at the time, does the switch need to be adjusted in the hole?

[trev45]

The Vdue's some times need thinner or thicker washer for the neutral switch

no neutral no start

Out of the six bikes I haved owned

Three bikes used 2mm washer ( Standed washer is 2mm thick )
two bikes used 1.5mm washer
One bike needed a 3mm washer

You can check neutral switch with a ohm meter

Cheers Trev