This weekend I finally started on some modifications to the R1 engine. These were pretty simple and included installing an oil sump baffle plate to help prevent oil surge during cornering, as well as installing stiff clutch springs to better accomodate the increased torque demands of the car versus the original bike.
The first thing we did was to remove all 15 bolts from the oil sump. Prior to starting work on this, I made sure to acquire a new oil sump gasket, as this must be replaced each time the oil sump is opened opened, especially if the engine has been run since the gasket was last installed. When removing the gasket after its been on the engine during use, you'll notice it becomes very dried out and when attempting to remove the old one, you probably won't even be able to get it out all in one piece. They haynes manual also mentions that several of the O-rings need to be replaced, as well. However, I didn't bother with this as the o-rings all seemed pretty healthy. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me.
A note: When removing the sump, its a good idea if you can have the sump facing up. It was a pain removing the sump while it was positioned vertically as all additional oil that wasn't drained came pouring out. Notice the stains on the table beneath the engine!
Once the oil sump / pan was removed, several pieces then had to subsequently be removed in order to get the baffle plate installed. This included the pressure relief valve (cylinder in bottom right of above image), the strainer (big black piece with screen), the drain pipe (pipe sticking straight out of the photo, just above the screen area of the oil strainer in photo above), the return pipe (pipe mostly hidden by the strainer, above), and the Oil Pipe.
Of these, recommended o-ring replacements includes: oil strainer o ring, relief valve o-ring, drain pipe o-ring.
Notice the return pipe and drain pipe from this view (above). The return pipe is angled at about the same angle as the strainer, and sits immediately above the strainer. The drain pipe is the pipe perpendicular to the baffle plate just above the return pipe.
Once the parts mentioned above are removed, the baffle plate then easily slides on. I purchased a CNC'd baffle plate manufactured by Fluke Motorsports and purchase at http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/yamaha-20042007-sump-baffle-p-1062.html. This was benefical because its made such that no holes need to be drilled and tapped into the engine webbing to retain the baffle plate. Instead, the bolts on the Oil Pipe hold the plate in place.
The above photo shows the R1 clutch with the clutch cover removed. It also shows the springs in the process of being replaced. I installed new Barnett Clutch Springs, about 25% stiffer than the stock springs and similar to the YEC springs, which I couldn't acquire. I recommend the Haynes manual for all of the work, as it provides some good tips and tricks to making these procedures easier.
A couple weeks later than expected and the kit has finally arrived! If you remember, I ordered the kit as a rolling chassis. In this case, the kit was (thankfully) shipped with some scrap steel wheels and tires installed just to aid in transportation to and from the shipping freight truck. After a quick trade-off between the semi-trailer that carried the chassis from Florida, to a local flatbed tow truck, the chassis / kit was dropped off at the end of the driveway and easily rolled around back to the work shop. Had it in its work place within 5 minutes of delivery. Sweet!
