400f - Cockpit upgrade to give me better information.+ Seating and toe pad mods.

[400 Cafe Racer]

Hi Guys,

Update. POST 1

After the engine rebuild I felt it was necessary to have some better feedback information to monitor the engine and decided on improved instrumentation.

The PO had fitted an Air/Fuel ratio meter. The new additions are, Oil Pressure Gauge, Oil Temperature Gauge and Voltmeter.

With careful planning while the unit was out, I managed to pick up the OP feed from the OP switch location, without any cutting of the casing.

Seating mods were to improve comfort from the 15mm plank foam.  Rear set mods to the toe pedal to widen them to give better "feel" to gearchanges and braking. Daylight running lamp beneath headlamp.

Dennis

[400 Cafe Racer]

POST 2

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Tidy looking instruments you have added there Dennis.

[TrickyMicky]

Some interesting modifications there. Unfortunately Anno Domini has dictated that I have to maintain the the normal riding position these days, thinking of erecting a hydraulic lift to get me off the bike at the end of a good day out!
    At the risk of sounding "picky", I zoomed in on your pics and couldn't help noticing the angle of your gear change lever to your Johnson Rod/adjustment bar. It looks as though when making an upward change, the rod will perform a rearward and slightly upward motion, whereas the splined arm wants to go rearwards and downwards. Rather like the cases that used to be often seen on cable/rod drum brakes when the shoes were worn and all the slack had been used on the adjustment. Gave lots of feel, but no effect.  Maybe it's possible to to move the operating arm round on the spline to a slightly more vertical position and lengthen the rod. Could possibly give a more precise feel to the gearchange. If it's a trick of the camera angle then I will eat a double portion of humble pie. Stay Safe. Mike.

[taysidedragon]

Too much for my taste,  looks like the flight panel of the Starship Enterprise or one of those scooters with loads of spotlights and mirrors! Your bike though, enjoy.

[400 Cafe Racer]

Tidy looking instruments you have added there Dennis.

Thanks Ted and others,
space is at a premium as you can see, but they all sit comfortably within the small central area. The AFR gauge is slightly larger in diameter so will not "sit" fully aligned like the others.

Some people, generally engineers, or on racing vehicles, like instruments to know in advance of trends or potential problems or behavious within the engine, which can be detected in advance by changes in readings. Many vehicles with critical or important roles will have this sort of panel information.

Uncharacteristic changes in engine oil temp, oil pressure or charging can be spotted and monitored, whereas with only warning lamps, its reached its critical limit before you know, and can be too late. The Oil Pressure light on the 400f does not come on until a drastic 4.5psi.. A little too late at 10,000rpm !!!!
With the Voltmeter I will always know the condition of the battery and charging.

I find the bike fun to ride in its present form and character, its nice to hear that 400f do its workout. Since setting up the tuning better the engine is pullling 6th gear with very strong acceleration, almost like it needs a 7th and 8th gear.  The better breathing of the engine and burning correctly the extra fuel of th 85 main jet has made the extra power possible.

For me I am very happy to be better informed by the instrumentation, which was my objective and felt it may be of passing interest to others.

Thanks

Dennis

[400 Cafe Racer]

Some interesting modifications there. Unfortunately Anno Domini has dictated that I have to maintain the the normal riding position these days, thinking of erecting a hydraulic lift to get me off the bike at the end of a good day out!
    At the risk of sounding "picky", I zoomed in on your pics and couldn't help noticing the angle of your gear change lever to your Johnson Rod/adjustment bar. It looks as though when making an upward change, the rod will perform a rearward and slightly upward motion, whereas the splined arm wants to go rearwards and downwards. Rather like the cases that used to be often seen on cable/rod drum brakes when the shoes were worn and all the slack had been used on the adjustment. Gave lots of feel, but no effect.  Maybe it's possible to to move the operating arm round on the spline to a slightly more vertical position and lengthen the rod. Could possibly give a more precise feel to the gearchange. If it's a trick of the camera angle then I will eat a double portion of humble pie. Stay Safe. Mike.

Hi Mike,

The angle of the pedal arm relative to the clevis pin fulcrum arm is fixed and so it's dictated by where I need the pedal for comfortable changes. I have set it so my toe is beneath the pedal while riding, only needing to flick up for upward changes.  The splined arm on the engine is set to the most advantageous angle consistent with the length of adjustment available on the linkage.
If you were designing new from the drawing board you could no doubt optimise the angles for a given bike.  The ones fitted are TTR.

I have found that since making my final adjustments and lengthening the toe pad by 30mm, that it gives a good feel to the two stage operation of the selector and drum rotation within the gearbox, allowing more finesse during gear changes.

Thanks for you comment

Dennis

[400 Cafe Racer]

I think I'd have stopped at 2 gauges, oil pressure and volts. Both are useful to know. I can't see any reason for air/fuel or oil temp myself, if I want to know if the oils hot I just feel the engine, if I burn my hand, the oils hot 

Seriously though the position of the top 2 gauges is exactly where I also fitted mine in 1979, I mounted them in a sealed pod to stop rainwater getting on them, the oil pressure was useful BUT although you say you can keep an eye on them you don't really. I had an oil filter collapse on the motorway, this resulted in severe loss of oil pressure and the first real warning was the oil light not the gauge, your so busy with your eyes on the road at high speed you don't get a chance to look at the gauges except occasionally. The warning light though does attract your attention. Not detracting from the idea, just giving you real life feedback.

Hi Oddjob,

Initially I was going to just put the OP gauge opposite to the AFR gauge, + the Voltmeter, but felt that a single gauge at the top of the cluster would be better balanced by a pair (as you did). The obvious addition for me was the Oil Temp gauge. Since using this set up, just glancing, you can see the direct relationship between O/Pressure and Oil Temp. As the Temp rises high, due to over thinning/viscosity of the oil, you can witness the change in max oil pressure and if necessary "cool down" things a little + no burnt hand.    She is a dry weather summer ride so heavy rain won't be an issue and the gauge faces are waterproofed, the set up suits me well and I am pleased with the outcome and feedback I get.

I have retained the function of all the existing warning lights.

The AF gauge as you know would have been an expense I probably wouldn't have gone to but was fitted by the PO, but its worth has been proven by objective measurement of combustion efficiency by analysis under all road conditions, as you can therefore check your carb setup for any speed and load without guess work. I used a similar system extensively when tuning multi carburetted sportscars long before Engine Management Systems were in use.

Cheers

Dennis