Well, I guess it's about time I made a build thread about my latest project.
let's start at the beginning.
This bike was bought in January of 2009 at Ray C's extreme in Lapeer MI and taken STRAIGHT to Barkers performance for some R&D, and became the test bed for Barkers line of YFZ450r Parts.
The first thing they did was create an exhaust system for it, and right away put that into production.
soon after that Barkers did a custom ported head for it, and designed a Cam for that head.
then head was tested, and tweaked for maximum gains, then digitized so now anyone can buy a CNC ported head from Barkers for the YFZr
call them for pricing and availability (810) 658-0052
http://www.barkersexhaust.com/The TB was also bored out and in the end the bike made 52.5 HP on Barker's Dyno and then again on Mike's Dyno in Waynoka OK at Little Sahara Sand Dunes.
The bike was taken to the Dealer show in Indy to showcase Barkers Exhaust System
Notice the sexy Carbon Can!
Since then it has been photographed many times and used on websites such as
kbmotorsports to advertise Barkers Parts
As time went on things were added for cosmetic type stuff, like hipers, Flex Bars and a JVR seat cover, and it was ridden well.
It ran great and had no problem keeping up with and beating 3 mod Raptors.
In the spring of this year I decided to play around a bit, and be the first one to create a YFZ700R.
I love the power and Torque of the 700 but can't get used to the look and feel, IMO the YFZ450r is the sexiest beast ever made, and it just made sense to see how far we could take it. so, I contacted Tim at Barker's to see what we could do, and to my surprise, he said Let's do this!
In no time I had a VERY low hour 2009 Raptor 700 engine sitting on my bench that I bought from a guy on one of the Raptor forums.
I called Barker and lined up a Stage 2 head and a 11:1 Piston for this beast.
Tear down went fast and smooth, in no time the 450 was out and the frame was ready for the 700
the only real modifications that I had to do was trim the swingarm a little to accept the 700 engine between the bearings
I guess I could have trimmed the engine down, but measuring things made more sense to hack on the swingarm.
the left side did not need to be trimmed, just the right, and because of this, the chain lined up perfectly. AWESOME!
That was an obstacle I was very concerned with, and it worked out perfectly!
then on to the front engine mounts...
the stock 450 mounts were almost perfect, BUT they were exactly opposite of what I needed, so I took the left one and put it on the right side and flipped it around, and bent it into position, and it fit perfectly, I then did the same to the other side, and that problem was solved!
once the engine was in place, it was taken to Barkers for the fabrication part of the job
The new engine is HUGE, and it pretty much takes up the whole gas tank area... what to do?
We decided to fabricate an aluminum Fuel tank and put it under the seat (Airbox area)
(tank picture taken after the trip.. all covered in sand)
but that makes a problem with the airbox.. where to put that?
we opted for a K&N Pod type filter hooked directly to the Throttle body
we just had to remove an aluminum brace in the frame for that, Plasma cutter took care of that job!
we had a little problem with the exhaust, but nothing Tim Barker can't solve, we shortened a set of Barker (raptor 700) head pipes and they cleared the 450 radiator just fine!
Of course something this cool deserves a set of custom dual Barker exhaust (powder coated black of course!)
We had to design a oil tank for the engine because the 700 still has an external tank unlike the 450R.
Tim came up with a simple design using a 3" aluminum tube and we capped the ends and it was good to go
We then located it under the old fuel tank filler hole for ease of access, worked out great!
After all the Fab and internal engine work was 100% I took it back home for the final assembly.
I had a bit of a struggle getting the wiring to lay nice, but overall it went pretty smooth.
the plastics hide the custom work pretty well, and for the most part it looks totally factory natural.
Keep in mind, only a few choice people knew about this project until I unveiled it at Little Sahara OK on 9-29-11
and it was received very well, most people didn't even know that anything was done to it.
OFF TO OKLAHOMA
Left MadDog's Raptor 700 - Center Tim Barkers KLX450 - Right My YFZ700R - Under (in bed) X-Rider's YFZ450
but that rack is whole other "build thread" lol
We dyno tuned it on 9-30-11 and it made 67hp and 46TQ. Not too bad for a stock bore and stroke Raptor 700 with a piston and Barker stage 2 head.
keep in mind we are running a small K&N pod too, NO INTAKE AT ALL
we are only running a PC5 for fuel tuning, no MSD or ignition timing at all.
the weekend went pretty much without a hitch. I did forget to tighten one of the inspection covers and oil spewed on my leg, so I bought a new one and cleaned up, changed the oil, and it treated me well all weekend.
Most of the questions I got were regarding weight, and I have not weighed it yet, so I don't really know how much more it weighs
if I had to guess, I would say about 10lbs or so
the balance on jumps feels as good as it did before, it flies NICE!
the "Not Revving" it was weird, but by the end of my first ride, I had it all worked out
it looks great and feels totally normal..
I love it!
Let the endless barrage of questions commence!
