Turbo Kit????

[acidburn]

Whos doing one for the R1100s bikes, if any.
Any history????
Thinking this may be a way cool way to go vs all those pricey SJ BMW mods?
Really not sure what to do here.
Do need more power, no doubt, reliability is a factor, advice?

[shovelstrokeed]

Acid,
RB Racing has a complete kit for around $3500 or so.

I might suggest a set of lower compression pistons while you are about it. You would probably be OK at 5 PSI boost but I know very few people who, once they experience what a hair dryer will do, can leave the boost knob alone. At the very least, plan on a water injection system.

The basic kit should satisfy most of your need for speed as you can expect about a 40 to 50% increase in torque and probably somewhere North of 135 or so RWHP. That is about the limit of the current cooling system anyway. In fact, you probably would not want to hold the throttle pinned for very long at even that moderate level of boost.

A word of caution from the riding aspect as well. Turbo motors are somewhat unusual in their power delivery characteristic without highly sophisticated electronic controls on the waste gate. Kinda like 4000 RPM and part throttle = 50 ft lbs of torque, 4400 RPM and full throttle = 90 ft lbs of torque. It can get your attention in a hurry but, sure is fun.

Ed

[acidburn]

i was thinking for the BCR track bike, this may not be a good wahy to go, linear is prefered, sure is a better bang for buck ration power wise vs, the SJ mods, but the SJ packages amy be more predictable

[shovelstrokeed]

Luftmeister had a turbo RS for one of the magazine shootout things back about 8 or so years ago. All the engineering and execution was done by RB Racing. On not very much boost it ran in the mid 10's in the quarter and, as I recall, lapped Willow Springs at a very respectable pace.

A properly sized and engineered turbo installation can produce very linear power output. Trouble with most of the hot rod type turbos is way too big a blower which gives that light switch throttle response. The RB kits are pretty good in that respect. You still have to pay attention as the torque to RPM thing is not really all that linear. I doubt that the bike would be uncontrollable, just that it would require a careful hand coming out of the lower speed corners.

Ed

[acidburn]

So is RB Racing gonna screw me, or are they reliable and decent?

[acidburn]

"""and the R1100S model is in final testing as of July 2004"""

http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/bmwturbos.htm#top

[Anton]

I've been looking at their site ever since I bought the Beemer. They seem to do nice work and know what they are talking about. However, I have read things on other forums about lousy service when things didn't work.

[arbik]

I sent them a few emails.
They replied very quickly. short, to the point answers.
bottom line is, its not available yet.

-arbi

[acidburn]

Arbi, Anton.
Thx for digging deeper.
All things considered id be on my way to the price of a new k1200s, kinda makes doing a real pricey mod like that turbo kit look silly ROI wise,
Im going to stick with the SJBMW engine mods and call it done, it will give me a chance to take a look at reasonable sets of mods and be more uesful info over all,
i would truly love to do a trbo set up on the BCR, have not ruled it out and may even explore another avenue, but those guys are extremely pricey and if i end up doing all the set up anyway, welll i have some turbo guys local i am goingt o talk to before i rule it out.

[Skippy]

I think a turbo isn't gonna be much fun if you want the bike for circuit riding cause I think it's gonna be way to trickey in corners if you hit the rev when the turbo kicks in.If you are gonna use a turbo only light boost will be usable on the circuit.There was a guy that posted here that run a turbo(I thought it was a scandinavian guy)so maybe if you do a search you can find something about it.That guy did all the work himself I thought and maybe he can answer some questions fo you.The guy I mentioned is at the end of this thread he turbo'd his gs and got 129 bhp.
Dutch Turbo

[JonyRR]

I have been seriously looking at the RB racing setup also, but I share shovel's and others considerations about the aftermarket nature of this, as well as the fact an S is air/oil cooled....that does put a bit of a hitch in the giddyaup. I owned botha 500 and 650 honda turbo in the '80s and they were my favorite streetbikes...in fact, I wanted my S to have the same power delivery and 'feel' as my CX650T. Some friends and I built a CX650T as an endurance racer; it was pretty fast for what it was, and even finished in the top 5 once, but it DID have kind of a 'light-switch' power delivery after we got done molesting it (if you're used to a TZ250 the power delivery wasn't a big deal, but if you're used to a torquey 4-stroke you'd be in big trouble if you were in the wrong gear at the wrong place at the wrong time on the racetrack).....so the old adage is still true...'no replacement for displacement'...or water-cooling, or number of cylinders. I'm going to molest my S this winter, but it won't get huffed. Anyone ever see the old car dragrace tshirt that says 'injection is nice but I'd rather be blown'?

[motoman]

If you work out the cost comparison between the RB kit and all of the SJBMW mods, they come pretty close. Exhaust, chip, filter, InDuct, fuel reg. pistons, rods, etc, tend to add up. But of course the enormous HP turbo boost is a lot more fun.

Considering the resale market for the S these days, a good turbo just might be the way to go... The technology has come a long way since the Honda 650, and of course they are routinely installed on Jap bikes with little or no problems. Unless of course the owner suffers from 'rapture of the boost' and overstresses his motor... Water injection will go a long way toward controlling high temps even in our air/oil cooled motors... And the large twin lends itself nicely to a turbo because it needs to stuff those big combustion chambers more quickly to make power than is possible otherwise.

[acidburn]

Moto how do you figure it gonna be at least 5k to do the turbo correctly kit , less if you hack one out, the san jose kits and goodies i see around 3000.

[motoman]

Acid: It probably costs less to buy all the SJBMW parts, but are you including labor? I think you would be more likely to bolt on a turbo kit than install rods/pistons/cys...

Also, consider the results: $3000 for 10 hp at best, vs. $4500 for what may turn out to be 60 hp. Once you've spent the $3k for SJ parts, you'll be a lot less likely to go for the turbo...

[shovelstrokeed]

Turbo's offer by far the most bang for the buck, as Motoman pointed out above.

Bob Behn, the owner and driving force behind RB Racing, is something of a character. He is quite intelligent and, for the most part, his shop produces quality work. He is something of an anal compulsive in that he tends to keep tinkering with stuff long after he should have released it and thus, the "its not ready yet"

As to problems after sale, he has some of the worst people skills I have ever encountered. It is not malicious or dishonest, in fact, I know him to be a scrupulously honest person. You just need to know what you are doing when you get into a project like this.

There can and will be issues with a modification like this. A turbo motor has a set of needs in terms of maintenance and usage that differ quite a bit from that of a conventionally modified engine. Super clean oil comes to mind real quickly. Turbo twins have a really nasty habit of producing a whole bunch of boost at low RPM's. This can quickly lead into detonation land with its forest of burned and collapsed pistons, broken rods, twisted cranks etc. Some change of habits on the part of the rider are necessary. Not to say the bike won't remain flexible and easily rideable, just that you have to be careful about inappropriate use of the throttle/gearbox.

You are dealing with a huge effective change in compression ratio. Lots more fuel/air into the same volume. That's where the HP comes from. If appropriate changes to the rest of the system, including the rider, are not done, disappointment is but a short ride away. Bob's biggest gripe when I knew and worked with him was people who were only willing to go half way and then *****ed when the results did not meet their initial expectations and demanded the Bob, who told them so in the first place, fix it for free.

Ed

[acidburn]

well you guys are making me want to investigate a turbo kit more deeply, and i will, bang for buck ratio, i agree with you guys, i think i need to call your contact at RB and get a exchange going, i may even visit them, ya see my desrie is to turbo the BCR if it can be within certain guidlines,
Motor, yah lower comp pistons and mods to the heads so thats on a par with higher comp pistons and new heads for the SJ motor

yup as i thought, they are in the SoCal,Trrance area, down there allot, i tihnk its time for a visit.

[JonyRR]

just to point something out, motoman, your quote:
'The technology has come a long way since the Honda 650'
should read, 'the technology has only recently caught up to the CX500/650TC'...those machines were at least a generation ahead of their time;
turbocharging, EFI, 32-bit CPU control of ignition and fuel delivery, (with a microprocessor that was the most sophisticated in a motor vehicle for over 10 years) watercooling, single-shock, etc. Nowadays, of course the setup is more sophisticated but at the time, a properly-ridden CX650T could stomp any other streetbike out there. I rode the no-wimps 4 times (montesa west, portland, if you're not a pure youngster you might remember that) and won it once, finished 2nd twice, once bailed whilst being chased by the OSP (thank god for a friendly farmer's barn) I'd like to see a huffer S from the factory....kompressor, anyone?

[Skippy]

Just recieved the windscreen I ordered monday from pack-parts Acid so I guess they are stand up guys over there.Everything was delivered nicely and in pristene order and the price was also right.Now just have to wait and see if they didn't loot my visa card...

[buckmontana]

-173.3 MPH IN 1937-

It's time to see what a supercharger can do for a new boxer


I'd rather a supercharger than turbo...

[Mr_Loco]

Get a japanese bike if you want more power! You knew what u got when you bought your īS.