Has anyone installed a full stage 4 kit on their 1500? Including: intake/exhaust; cams; cylinders/pistons; hi-flow heads/throttle body. I am not having much luck finding resources on builds, components, etc.
I know many people have upgraded the performance of their 1500. Some of the resources/components they used were from other bikes and local customizing. Suppliers aren't as readily available and the kits that used to be available may no longer exist.
This is a quoted post made by ROK (from the old DRF forum). He did a lot of mod work to his bike.
From: Rok (rokkinhorse)9/14/10
Bro,
You can pretty much go as wild as you want with engine upgrades, the difficulty IMO is with bumping the compression.
There's so much ignition advance that these aftermarket pistons, pretty much all of them, will at the very least require an ECU change to a Classic 1500 box.
The two boxes are near identical but the Drifter brings on more ignition advance and faster than the Classic.
If you're just in the market for a cam changeout, take a gander at these guys: http://www.webcamshafts.com/ (http://www.webcamshafts.com/pages/main.html) (Editor Note: this company is still around but don't know what they have for the 1500 nowadays.) You'll find the grind for a Kawi 1500 that enables the use of stock valve springs. They also offer a service to modify and upgrade the rockers.
From what I've been told, you have to be very careful of binding the stock valve springs with too much lift OR by altering the rocker ratio. The more lift you put into replacement cams, the more work the heads will need to accommodate that lift. Pistons might also have to be relieved, especially if you keep to the same or similar exhaust duration/overlap.
If money were no object and I could do anything I wanted with my Drifter's engine, it'd be outfitted thusly (100+ cubic inch displacement):
1. Nomad 1600 crank, gearbox and electricals.
2. Mean Streak heads, intake and injectors
3. JE pistons, 11:1 ratio (note: JE makes ALL the aftermarket pistons for Thunder, Muzzy's , etc. The casting and piston characteristics remain the property of the vendor)
EDITOR NOTE: Thunder MFG still exists but I don't think they produce performance products for the 1500. Muzzy's is gone. JE Pistons may still make pistons which will work on 1500s.
4. Custom-burned aftermarket ECU, to maximize the mods without detonating the engine to death., i.e. modified spark curve. There could be several maps and spark curves that could be changed at the flick of a switch to match the type of riding you plan to do. Have access to racing fuel that's 106 octane or better? You could have a configuration in the controller to make it work.
Another consideration is the max RPMs of the stock ECU; at 5750 RPMs, most of the head mods that could be done are just beginning to work. Thus, the custom-burnt Engine Control Unit. (starting at $2500).
The good news there is that you can also control the ignition, something impossible to do with a Power Commander or other commonly available controller.
Head porting, polishing and flowing would somewhat be wasted on an engine that will only spin <6000 RPM. A simple cam change that would put some of the HP down lower would be money well-spent IMHO.
Good Luck! If you research any of this, please post it and share what you find. Disclaimer: The above is opinion only, based on my own very limited understanding. Corrections accepted:-)
Rok
thank you. this is most certainly more info than i have found anywhere else. do you happen to know if the vn1500j block is the same as all other kaw 1500s? surely somebody has built a performance motor with one of these kids. does kawasaki have a performance division or any speed shops dedicated to kawasaki motors?
I dropped in a 2003 1600 from a Classic. Running a Baron's air system and longshots. The difference in power, especially low end grunt over the stock 1500 is very noticeable. Quicker than my buddy's 2014 Road King with a stage 3 set up. I can pull away from him every time up to 60-70 mph.
was it a pretty direct swap or was there quite a bit of fab? did the electronics from the 1600 go on the drifter too?
direct swap. no fabrication. I did have to swap out the fuel intake setup. Electronics plugged right in, but the 1600 has two alternators....an outer one like the 1500 and an inner one. I only plugged my regulator into the outer one and tapped off the inner one and tucked it inside the side cover. An electrician friend of mine told be that would be fine....I thought about taking it out, but he said don't bother....
The cpu is the stock Drifter one....seems to work perfectly fine with the bigger engine (longer stroke). The low end gain is definitely noticeable. Plus, the newer engine is MUCH less noisy....almost as quite as my 800 was. Really, the lifters are much quieter on this engine than on the 1500...so far, anyway.
There isn't really a gain in Hp....maybe a couple over the 1500, but I think the 1600 puts out at least 10-11 more lbs of torque. And you can tell it when riding.
Look for a low mileage one (I got mine with 1 mile on it from a wrecked 2003 Classic...guy wrecked riding it out of the dealership) Paid a total of $1300 for the complete engine ready to drop in.....including shipping.
I detailed the swap in a post last winter
Seedman, not to highjack this tread, but I was just wondering if you have faced some trouble with your local Departement of Motor Vehicles.
Here in Italy, your kind of mod might involve serious problems, because of the new registration it takes within...
none so far...registration is for two years at a time here in Oregon....plus they only check the VIN on the frame for title identification. I also don't have to go through emissions testing in my county....to rural. I would expect it to pass if I had to....
Quote from: OR Seedman on December 18, 2021, 09:17:05 AM
they only check the VIN on the frame for title identification. I also don't have to go through emissions testing in my county....to rural.
Wow!
Now I can understand the reason why you yankees are so far ahead with customizations... ;)
So I went with the Baron's Big Air Kit, Hardchrome 2-1 Sideburner exhaust, and a Power Commander V. Still playing around wit tunes... but there is a huge increase in torque and noticable increase in power.
A couple of questions if you don't mind High.
I realize that you did many things at the same time. Do you have a sense of whether you would have needed the power commander if you had only changed the exhaust?
HardKrome does not list the Sideburner as fitting the 1600. They only show the 3" Big Straights and the American Classic II. What model bike did you choose to get the Sideburner that fit the Drifter?
thanks much
Grant
the 02 mean streak 1600. I did not test run the parts individually however all accounts say an exhaust swap alone will not need a PCV
bike.jpg
A QUICK UPDATE- i now have the machine running correctly.
NOTE- If you choose the Baron's Big Air Kit, do not install the reed valve delete blank off plates. Instead, use the marble technique and leave the reed valves alone. Baron instructions say to blank these guys off... the engine will not run properly.
currently running PCV tune .39- muzzy 2-1 and baron big air kit... the bike idles a bit high (1235 RPM @ 1% throttle). I think the dyno tuner will fix that... will update in a week or two.
so i put 30 miles on and it ran well other than the high idle... i started her up 4 days later and its back to running like shit. runs choppy, blows oil out exhaust. i was sure the reed valve vac system was the culprit... now i just dont know. anyone have any ideas?
What makes you think it's oil? A rich mixture mixed with condensation will look a lot like oil.
i guess I'm not 100% certain its oil. It looks like oil and feels like oil on my fingers... but when you wipe it out of the muff with a paper towel, it appears sooty.
Sounds like it's just running extremely rich. I would start by disconnecting the power commander, and let the oem fuel map do the job it was programmed to do, and see what happens.
I run the same Baron's unit on my "1600" Drifter with dual longshots and reed valves capped. No programmer. Engine runs smooth and quiet. My personal opinion is that the programmers are over-rated and cause more issues than they are worth. Had one on the bike when the original engine was in. One day it just started dumping fuel into the cylinders through the injectors...dropped my mileage down below 20 mpg and it ran like crap. Pulled the unit and set it back to stock but with the Baron's Air and the longshots. Ran better than ever, so I set everything up the same way on the new 1600 engine. Burns clean with a light charcoal colored coating in my exhaust tips.
Quote from: OR Seedman on July 12, 2022, 17:50:04 PMEngine runs smooth and quiet. My personal opinion is that the programmers are over-rated and cause more issues than they are worth.
I had the opposite experience. Lots of issues with popping, decel backfires, etc. Added the box and it immediately corrected the issues. That was about 19-20 years ago... still runs strong.
Okay fellas I'm still fighting this thing. I put a new battery in. What is happening when I start the machine, it ran for 12 minutes before the mixture got extremely rich and choked it out. Previous to the new battery it would run for 7 minutes before it would choke itself out. I'm gaining on her. But I need it to stay running to ride it. Next check is for the Inlet air temperature sensor. I really need some help here guys. Thanks in advance.
Inlet air temperature sensor is out of spec. ordered a new part. waiting for delivery will update.
Please keep us advised. Our bikes are getting older and weird stuff happens.
I installed the new intake air temp sensor yesterday and the machine choked itself out by running too rich within six miles of the house.
I have taken the PCV off and sent it to DynoJet back in NV.... they have replied in short order stating that the unit I had received was faulty and they are sending a replacement. After removing the unit, my bike is running well although a bit high on the idle... Props to DJ for standing by their product. A damn shame I spent all summer wrenching instead of riding.
Set the idle down to approx 1,000 rpm with the knob located on the right side, below the air box. Forget about the tuner box, all they do is screw up, anyway
Quote from: Troll on October 05, 2022, 09:48:43 AMSet the idle down to approx 1,000 rpm with the knob located on the right side, below the air box. Forget about the tuner box, all they do is screw up, anyway
Be careful not to lower the rpm too much.
The Drifter ECU's are very robust so most people never need an add-on box unless they do significant fuel/air mods or want to remap for performance reasons.
I added a box to my bike to stop decel backfires and popping after a pipe mod... 20 years ago. I really wasn't interested in the dyno tuned mapping versions. I just needed a little adjustment to correct a minor problem. This worked for me.
Quote from: chief on October 06, 2022, 16:41:06 PMBe careful not to lower the rpm too much.
The Drifter ECU's are very robust so most people never need an add-on box unless they do significant fuel/air mods or want to remap for performance reasons.
I added a box to my bike to stop decel backfires and popping after a pipe mod... 20 years ago. I really wasn't interested in the dyno tuned mapping versions. I just needed a little adjustment to correct a minor problem. This worked for me.
i lowered the rpm via knob... it sounds good. DynoJet came back and said it was a circuit board issue on their part and sending a new PCV. I think im going to put it on and go for the custom tuned map. I'm looking for performance... im a big guy. I appreciate all the help on this everyone... even tho it was their components fault, i find this forum and invaluable resource!