One for the engine techs

[WizzBang]

As you may have read, the engine for my CBR600RR-4 has been stripped down for head gasket replacement.  Also mentioned elsewhere, I have mentioned that a tuned head has turned up on ebay.




I've asked the seller for as much detail as he can provide, but the answers came back along the lines of......


Gas flowed and skimmed, kit valves, kit valve springs and kit (Kent) cams with slotted sprockets.






Will this work as a bolt on for a standard bottom end ?


Would there need to be any more work done on the engine ?


Due to being skimmed, would that affect the compression ratio too much, also would a standard head gasket be sufficient, or would that have to be upgraded too ?

[Millhouse]

I guess it would be a steel gasket at the very least, probably ok on a std bottom end but would want a fresh oil pump and the pickup cleaned out.

then more dyno time.

but the real answer is ask the person that did the work in the first place. as you should know

[WizzBang]

I know it was tuned by FW Developments, but doubtful they can give me much info on it without original customer details/invoice number etc.


I have asked the seller if he has or can get any more details, but nothing back from him yet.

[m6rk]

phone the company that did the work.. i did the same on some zxr400 engine bits i bought and people can be surprisngly helpful..

[WizzBang]

Seller has responded with

"The head was fitted to a 2004 CBR600rr engine and was a spare for a race team from the Swindon area run by Dave Lawrence.
It would have been skimmed to raise the compression & built using a HRC kit Head gasket but I could'nt say exactly how much.
The bottom end had a balanced crank,pistons & rods and a HRC kit gearbox which I am still using after a rule change forced us to use standard heads.
Dave Lawrence is a trustworthy bloke who has been involved in racing since the 70's & I did not doubt anything he told me.
I have no paperwork related to it."

Cant contact FW Developments between now and auction end though

[mc101]

I know it was tuned by FW Developments, but doubtful they can give me much info on it without original customer details/invoice number etc.


I have asked the seller if he has or can get any more details, but nothing back from him yet.

If its from Frank it'll have a FW serial number on it just like MSS, Seton, Dave Allenby, Slick Bass all put on them to identify what/where and who ... if its devoid of marking then I'd be a little suspect. Anyone can claim its an ABC --> unless you can prove its very buyer beware - whose to say its not nicked !

To give you an idea, I have Dan Kneen's TT motor in my ZX10R.  It simply says "Slick: NNNNNN" on it ... so I called Slick and asked him (he prep's Dan's motors) if he knew and could vouch for the refresh.  He preps around 30 TT engines a year and when I said it was from Dan's bike he simply said "it'll say "slick: weirdo" on it .. its built using some kit development parts pre them getting part numbers so Slick simply called it wierdo (no idea why).  But he immediately told Phil everything inside the motor inc shell colours, timing, kit gasket sizes (there are several for each engine) etc etc.  Good engine builders keep very detailed records!

[WizzBang]

Its all academic now, both sellers 'sold' their items on ebay, and then claim that the seller has pulled out.  No second chance offers to the next higher bidder (me).

Really winds me up, why not just start the auction at a price they are willing to accept, or at least put a reserve on it, instead of shill bidding or refusing to sell due to the auction not going high enough.


Anyway, I haven't got either of them, so I'm going to stick with the engine being standard and maybe buy some bolt on bling once it's all back together.

[WizzBang]

If its from Frank it'll have a FW serial number on it just like MSS, Seton, Dave Allenby, Slick Bass all put on them to identify what/where and who ... if its devoid of marking then I'd be a little suspect. Anyone can claim its an ABC --> unless you can prove its very buyer beware - whose to say its not nicked !

To give you an idea, I have Dan Kneen's TT motor in my ZX10R.  It simply says "Slick: NNNNNN" on it ... so I called Slick and asked him (he prep's Dan's motors) if he knew and could vouch for the refresh.  He preps around 30 TT engines a year and when I said it was from Dan's bike he simply said "it'll say "slick: weirdo" on it .. its built using some kit development parts pre them getting part numbers so Slick simply called it wierdo (no idea why).  But he immediately told Phil everything inside the motor inc shell colours, timing, kit gasket sizes (there are several for each engine) etc etc.  Good engine builders keep very detailed records!

This is no longer about either of the two heads that were for sale, but my own motor (which as you know is in pieces)


I've been having a bit of a look over it, and have found some engraved markings on both the head and the both cases


Head first



Close up



Also on the head



Then hand written inside the head is "110" on the inlet side, and "160" on the exhaust side





Then on the cases



Close up





Anyone able to decipher what they are, or why they are there ?

[mc101]

I cant say I recognize them but it certainly looks like its been to an engine builder at some point !

[WizzBang]

Cheers Mark, I've put some posts up on other forums asking too.


Hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on it.