GS(X)1100E turbo EFI

[ArttuH]

Hello everyone,

I have been reading this forum for years and now I think it's finally time to introduce myself and my project. I'm Arttu from Finland and my bike is GSX1100E '83. I have owned this bike for several years and it's in daily use at summer times. I started modifications few years ago by replacing carbs with Megasquirt fuel injection. Then I did some suspension and brake upgrades and the latest step was turbo installation during last winter.

I used Garret GT1749V, a smallish VNT turbo from a diesel VW Golf. The engine is almost stock except GSX750 oil pump gears, strengthened clutch basket and minor porting. Even the compression ratio is stock. Therefore I have used quite low boost levels, 7-8 psi. The bike haven't been on dyno with turbo so power is a question. I except something like 150-160 hp.

Originally I planned to make a nice web page with full project story but it seems that I won't have time for that before winter has gone. So now there is a simple picture gallery: http://www.iki.fi/arttuh/mopo/turbo/index.html

 

[Hap Call]

That is sweet! Keep us posted!

Hap

 

[49er]

ArttuH

Congratulations on a well thought out project.
The Sweedes did a similar thing with their turbo Volvos. I think that they ran water injection on their setup.
It appears you don't get any turbo lag when running higher static compression ratios. It does limit the amount of boost used though.
Do you run an anti knock sensor? What boost will your turbo produce when not wastegated?
Cheers
Ian

 

[Guest]

VERY NICE, Would like to see some more pictures of it! I'll bet that VNT works great on that. Someday, I would like to build a system for mine using a small mitsubishi that I have laying around from one of my old turbo Dodge's that I also play with. 20 psi with a front-driver is a real hoot.

 

[ArttuH]

Thanks for the compliments!

I don't use a knock sensor, yet. Actually I already have one, I just need to find suitable mounting point for it. Interesting to see how it works. I'm afraid that an aircooled engine isn't the best application for it. All that mechanical noise can cause some trouble.

I have no idea what boost the turbo would produce without any limiting, at least 20 psi I guess. I have fuel cut set to 10 psi. I don't want to blow the engine. At first I thought that the VNT system is enough to limit the boost so I tried it without a wastegate. The boost hit to 10 psi limit at 5000 rpm.

VNT seems to be quite nice system. It starts to produce boost under 3000 rpm. But there is pretty much tuning involved. And every time I adjust the system, for example opening point of the vanes, I need also tune fueling. That's because the VNT affects to exhaust back pressure and therefore to fueling too.

 

[Guyver]

Amazing...

Amazing...

Your project is great and your ability to make it all come together is amazing. ~Gene

 

[jaberwok]

Nice project man!

 

[ArttuH]

Late update about recent progress.

I started a small winter overhaul project in October. My plans were:
-brace the frame and paint it
-get better brakes
-make all the wirings again from a scratch
-fix burnt clutch and maybe make it stronger
-deepen the oil pan and modify the oil pickup to prevent oil starvation under hard acceleration
-maybe fit some kind water injection

The goal was to get everything ready for beginning of May but I missed it miserably, the bike is still far from ready. I hope to get it ready within a month if everything goes well.

 

[ArttuH]

When I started to plan frame bracings I noticed that the fuel rail for the injectors will conflict with the bracings. So I decided to swap to "Bosch style" injectors and make a new fuel rail for them. This gave enough space for the bracings.

 

[ArttuH]

I managed to source a complete front end from a -91 Gixxer and a 5.5" rear wheel. So the brakes were in order and I hope some improvement to suspension too. Before welding the bracings I test fitted the front end and rear wheel. Both fitted just fine. An offset sprocket (12 mm) was needed to get chain line correct.

 

[ArttuH]

Then it was time to start welding.

After welding the frame and the wheels went out for sand blasting and powder coating.

 

[ArttuH]

Meanwhile I played with engine parts.

DIY (Destroy It Yourself) turbine housing porting.

Ceramic coating for headers and turbine housing.

Oil pan and pickup modifications.

 

[ArttuH]

The clutch gave up at the end of riding season. No wonder since the disks were never replaced as far as I know. The steel disks of the clutch had got nice new tones. Fortunately they weren't warped so I decided to re-use them after glass bead blasting

Some cam timing...

While disassembling my "new" front end I found this. Time to get new inner tubes . (Ouch! $$$...)

 

[ArttuH]

Got the frame and the wheels back. The colour of the wheels was a disappointment. Originally I planned something like dark graphite but the coating company didn't have anything like that. So I selected ordinary silver. And the result is light gray with a hint of metal flakes! Well, maybe I can live with that...

 

[ArttuH]

Finally got the last bits for the front end.

After some swearing and sweat I managed to get old slide tubes off.

After that installing new ones was easy. But then well started progress stalled. I had got wrong oil seals. Damn!

 

[ArttuH]

Eventually got correct seals and the bike back on the wheels again.

 

[ArttuH]

Got the engine back in to the frame. And installed some other bits too. Doesn't look so desperate anymore

 

[ArttuH]

Speedo/tacho assembly mock up. There is still plenty of space for the boost gauge and other bells and whistles.

New gear display under development.

 

[KoolKat]

Awesome project!

 

[ArttuH]

I have been way too busy last few weeks so the bike isn't progressed much. But something little anyway.

The original chain guard needed minor chopping to fit.

New coil pack in it's place. It was quite tricky to get it in there.

New mounting plate for the regulator, fuses and relays.

Installed the wastegate just to get some visible progress.