ya the two half moon shapped clips right underneath shims on top of the springs in the valves. and its something that you would have definitely noticed when the bike was running, i could only get my bike to run on 2 cylinders which was why i kept thinking that i messed up the valve timing. and the valve tick was almost louder than the exhaust note.

a little bit of scoring is perfectly normal, you're right. i was really catching my fingernails in mine

 

Yeah like I said it ran pretty good so I think the engine is still pretty solid.

 

Okay so took some rags and tooth brushes to it while I'm waiting on parts to arrive, meanwhile I'm looking at some other stuff to do in down time. And I've searched Google, Yahoo, and this forum also and can't find exactly what I'm looking for which is a ''how to'' on the Flapper Mod, and the HTEV. Now are these relatively cheap to do? Or easy while I have everything apart? Now I could not help but notice Conrice (My Question Master lol) you have also done these mods. Could anyone shed some light on this for me and let me know what you've gotten out of it, is it better? Does it make it a big difference below 3K on being sluggish? Like I said I've searched it but all I've really gotten is other people asking the same questions or people saying yes it's worth it and another post after it saying no it's not lol Just looking for some busy work if it's worth it.

Also the bike came with the pciii, but I have absoultly no experience with it at all and have no idea what it is set on, okay so in all if the flapper mod is easy and fairly cheap and good to do then I plan on doing that but so far this is what the bike has, Two Brothers Exhaust(muffler not full), K&N Air filter, and obviosuly the pciii. Now I did notice that in the lower RPM ranges it seems a little slow in reving and then once in the mid range RPM's it was a little faster in reaction, what is everyones preference on the MAP I should choose for these mods on the bike, from the PC site I've found MAP M110-007 Honda CBR 954 RR (Fireblade) 110: Powercommander Downloads, Maps, Installation Guides, Accessories and Product Purchases which seems to be best but I've also herd not to use the MAPS from them that it's better to get it on a dyno, well sadly I just can't talk the ole "ball -n- chain" into letting me spend more money on this thing then I've already gotten too lol. Now if you all agree and think the same, I don't have the USB cable to hook into this thing allthough I do have the software so 1. What type of connecters does it have on the USB cable that I need and is it something I could just pick up at walmart or something. and 2. How do I pretty much start from scratch and set this thing on to what I want/know what its on. I noticed it has the low, mid, and high how do I also set this to what I want. Sorry i don't wanna sound ignorant but I'm learning in progress. Thanks in Advance.

 

as far as the mods....

i did the flapper mod because it simplifys the bike, and it gets rid of something that doesn't need to be there. its the flap in the airbox that opens and closes at certain rpms via the servo motor that is behind the engine on the left (clutch) side of the bike under the tank. unscrew the actual flap inside of the airbox (brass phillips head screws), un plug the cable from the flap, and also unplug the cable from the servo motor. this will make taking the bike apart a lot easier, and there is no difference in performance really (the air intake may be a little louder if anything). this also takes some pressure off of the servo motor (which if it goes out, it will throw a code and there is no way around it other than to get a new servo or get a module that deletes it).

the HTEV mod actually makes a difference in performance imo, and i wouldnt say you should do it unless you have a pciii, but you do, so it's all good. it also makes the bike a lot louder at idle and low rpms. and it takes even more pressure off of the same servo motor that the flapper does because the HTEV is controlled by it, too. first, take off the servo motor cover, and unplug the cables from the HTEV (which you already did when you took the exhaust off). from here, there's two ways to do it. you can either 1.) wire the valve open so that it is open all the time. most say that this is the best method because its makes the smoothest airway for the exhaust ... or 2) gut the damn thing (which is what i did because i broke the valve). i got the actual valve out of the HTEV housing, then took a big, fat, and short bolt, some washers, and a nut with some loctite, and sealed up the side hole on the HTEV. then unplug the cables from the servo, and you're good to go.

as far as the power commander, what kind of power commander is it? is it the basic pciii, pciiir, or pciii usb? if its the usb, you can just use a usb cable. if its the pciii or the pciiir, you need a usb to 9pin serial comm port adapter to work with your laptop. then download the program from powercommander.com under the older power commander models in the download section. there's about 15 maps for the cbr 954 that dynojet puts out. 10 or so are for slip-ons / half systems and 5 or so that are for full systems. then there are some other ones for european models (due to different gas and emission standards). you download all of them when you download your program for your computer. don't pay attention to which one exactly matches your bike. i tried all of them on my bike until i found the one that felt the best (it was the twobros half system that elinimates the htev with a +4 advance on the ignition (pciiir)). if you mess around with some of the maps, you can probably get that sluggishness to go away fairly easy. i went from map to map day to day until i found the best one. ya, its best to get the bike dyno tuned... but its at least $150. i can't afford to do that right now considering i change stuff around and almost am constantly modding my bike. i'll get it done eventually, and you should too, if you plan on keeping and riding the bike. but its not one of those "you'll mess up your bike unless you do it tomorrow" type deals imo.

 

Sweet bro, you would be one of those people that are really good at explaining how to do something lol I'll have to double check which PC I have it'll say on the front won't it? But what if it's not an USB how else do you adjust the settings on it? I haven't ever looked at it that close to pay attention to which it is b/c I've only had the bike for a month lol and ever since pretty much i got on here and started into it But as far as the flapper and HTEV I'll prolly do both of those also b/c if it can save me the servo motor and from putting even more money into this thing then I'll deff. do it. Thanks man

 

if its not the usb, then you have to go to radioshack or ebay and get a serial com port 9 pin to USB adapter. the adapter will plug into your PCIII, then a usb will plug into the adapter and to your computer.

no problem man, the only reason i can help out is because i've been there and had to do it before.

saving the servo is a good idea. it has plastic gears, and doesn't seem to exactly be bullet proof, but when the exhaust gets some carbon build up on, it doesnt turn as easy and it puts a lot of strain on the servo.

 

Okay so tonight I got some time to work with it a bit, I pulled the valve out of the exhaust as you did just need to get a bolt to put in and plug the hole, this seems to be the easiest/cleanest, and most permanent way to do it, and I don't see this effecting the flow that much. I also went ahead and pulled the cable going to the flapper also but I left the servo in the bike, this will keep it from throwing a MIL code won't it?

Okay so next on my "List 'O' Questions" gutting the air box? Like I said I have the K & N filter so other than taking out the flapper what is gutting the airbox? Isn't it just removing the flapper?

And it is the pciii USB, so hopefully when I get it running again I'll have HTEV and Flapper mod K & N intake Two Bro's Exhaust and the PCIII, Now what is, or how can I tell what is the best MAP to kinda tone down the bike I guess you could say untill I get used to it seeing how I have very little experience on street bikes mostly just not on an bike with this much power. I Have about 5 yrs Exp. on cruisers and I've herd the difference is almost night and day, now that worried me a bit and I woulden't have started out on this particular street bike if I was in the market for it I just came across an awesome deal and I have always loved street bikes just never owned one so it was my chance.

Thanks

 

ya, you need to keep the servo on the bike, because it will throw a code. but the thing is now that yours is disconnected from the flap and HTEV, it should last forever. and you're right about it being the most permanent way to do it. i was playing around with the valve, and i was trying some pretty wierd ways of trying to make sure it would stay open... and i broke it, so i did the bolt and washers thing. the bike works great still.

as far as your airbox question... i sanded everything down (those ridges that hold the flap), and epoxied up the holes that i didn't need (the servo cable hole), and the PAIR valve hole (i dont know if you're still using it or not), and there's a few other holes that i epoxied up too, the only hole i left open was the valve cover breather.


and for maps.... i wouldn't try to full system maps or the slip-on maps until you've played around with the maps that are full the half systems (because with the htev gutted, i assume that its most similiar to a half system). i found most of the full systems to be too rich (terrible mpg and i could smell unburned gas in the exhaust), and most of the slip-on maps too be just... off... they'd be great at certain rpms, but i guess because they're mapped for a functional htev, that at other rpms they suck.

 

Okay so just pick 'n' play untill I find the right one for me, I can do that lol

And I was wondering when I was looking at the airbox last night if it would be worth it doing that, smoothing out all the ridges in all, seeing how I ordered my case bolts on the 13th and their still not here I think I'll have some more time to do some more busy stuff like that. and are there any hoses you can remove from the airbox that the engine does not need or that helps it run better?

Also I just got my new trans seal in today b/c my new tranny came with an old seal, are there any other seals I should get or anything? I was wondering too on the case when i put it back togeather should I use black RTV or the indian shlack?

 

i used indian head, no leaks to report. and good job buyin the trans seal... i ended up re-using, but there's no point to cut corners when you're doing all this work.


if you're going to sand the airbox, be careful not to go too far with it because the plastic is thin. but its no issue if you have some plumber's epoxing around that you can use to seal it back up.

and if you do the pair valve mod, you can block off that hose from the airbox... like i said, a lot of my mods thus far have been mods that simplify the bike, and the PAIR is definitely on that list of stuff that should go. the only hole that i didn't epoxy up was the valve breather hose...