How to Make and Airhead Sing

Last winter I took (mostly cut) a load of crap off the bike. This winter I've gone down the tuning route in the quest for silverware. Hopefully this two pronged approach will give me the edge I need to bring it home.

To make the most of that fantabulous 2 into 1 cobbled together exhaust... we have try make her breathe better at the front. Standard air-box (as on most bikes) is a hideous monstrosity. Even with the hack-saw mod, it's still crap.

So... I attack it at 15 000 rpm with the most bad-ass Dremel bit I have. Ten minutes later, with a garage full of tiny bits of molten plastic that I'll be cleaning up for the next five years, we have an air-box that's one third of the size...

bit of a clean-up and it starts looking purposeful.

Some council-estate kudos here - Pipercross!

The whole thing slots right in :-) and get this... weighs a whooping 1/2 kg less than the original. Win - win!

Man! She's gonna breeeeeeeeeeathe!

If I can ever get my oil-in-the-top-cylinder issue sorted, we'll get her down the dyno and see what fruit these sacrifices to the God of HorsePower bear.

Classic TT Build - Air-box

HRC spend millions every year developing cutting-edge race bikes. The best air-filter they can come up with is steel mesh - just a something stop stones, birds and other object being swallowed by the engine. I like this simplicity. For years I've raced my Aprilia RSV completely open with no air-box or filters with problems (thankfully I never put her in the gravel). Vee twins like to breathe. The less you put between the velocity stacks and cool air, the better.

HRC Air-filters as used in WSBK

With input from my mate Steve Hillary at Redmax Speed Shop (my engine man), I decided to go for a completely open airbox. 'Box' wouldn't describe it... too restrictive. It would be an 'air-area'. I didn't want to risk anything getting into the engine that shouldn't be there, so got some HRC air-filters. With the trick Oronero carbon air-runner supplying cool air, I reckon it'll work.

Onto the job of making something to attach the air-filters to. Needed to do 2 things:
1) secure the air-filters
2) shield the air going into the velocity stacks from the hot air coming off the engine.

This is where they'll go

 

Heat-shield cloth - NASA stuff!

Measure it up, cut and mark it...

Resin the air-filter bases

Cut some holes...

Fit

Resin in place to get the right shape...

... once set, trim to shape and get going on the tricky front cylinder...

Riv-nut the filters - no possibility of anything coming loose then getting sucked into the engine

Fabricate some ally brackets

After a whole lot of fitting, adjusting, fiddling and a lot of swearing, we're just about done...

I didn't have time to tart it up before I dropped the bike off at Steve for the engine rebuild. A splash of paint over the pink resin would make it look less home-grown - any ideas on color? I was thinking a plain matt grey or black.

I also fitted the Oronero air-runner and other carbon deliciousness... more of that later. Steve has been working on the engine and I'll get pics of that up soon as well. We're getting there!