Hypercharger Installation

Paul Cook (WOLF01) has been kind enough to provide us with the results of his trials and hard work. Listed below is his document “So You Want a Hypercharger for your Shadow ACE 750!” in its entirety.

Click on any of the pictures for a full sized picture.

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READ THIS NOTE FIRST!

Some time after Paul completed this document, he had some problems with the jetting. Eventually, he had to pull the carbs completely apart to replace a stripped pilot screw (air mixture screw) and discovered that his carbs had 45 size pilot jets! This was apparently the source of his jetting problems. At that he point added a notice to the document indicating that there were some problems with the information presented (the jetting part basically) and the this information should only be used as a reference until he could revise the document with updated information. That is still the case now. Paul has been very busy with work and home, and other things like annoying the people in Japan in person, so it is unknown when, or if, he will ever have a chance to update this document.

Due to the helpful information contained herein, excluding the jetting part, we continue to make this document available for your reference. Please view it as such.

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By Paul Cook
Friday, April 27, 2001

So you’ve been drooling over the Kuryakan Hypercharger for your ride, but have heard NOTHING but bad things about it. Well, to be perfectly honest, it has had some development problems but I now have a procedure that will get you up and running in no time.

Let’s give you some back ground information first on how it works and why we had such a hard time getting it setup. The Hypercharger is a poor mans Ram Air System. It’s not very efficient but if it was, it wouldn’t work for our rides. As the air enters through the front, it actually has the ability to pressurize the Carburetor venturi to the point that fuel flow will be cut off. So we had to come up with a method to compensate for the additional pressure.

After a lot of research and contact with some of the Hypercharged Kawasaki Vulcan guys, (Hi Tweek) I found a solution. Pressurize the float bowls to keep the pressure in the bowls slightly more positive than that of the venturi, ensuring a stable supply of fuel at all speeds from idle to full throttle. Amazingly, it works quite well.

Then of course came the fun part! How do you jet a carburetor that has constantly changing air pressure into it?

As it turns out, the problem solves itself easily! In the following pages, there are step by step instructions on how to install your Kuryakan Hypercharger and have it work the way it’s supposed too. It’s a beautiful piece of equipment and gives a nice boost in performance. I hope you find the information contained within to be useful.

*************** DISCLAIMER*****************

Of course you have the standard acknowledgement that I will not be held responsible for any damage done to your bike by you following these procedures. This was written and is posted for the intent to inform those of my experiences that are curious about the equipment. I’m just someone who loves to ride and likes helping my fellow riders who like to “tinker” like myself .

I’m also not informed of the specific laws of each State nor am I qualified to inform about the laws in your area regarding legal and illegal modifications to your bike.

This information was developed and posted at no small expense and is the sole property of myself with the intention to provide people with the ability to review this procedure and comment if they wish. It is not meant for reproduction and distribution and will not be sold or distributed in part or in whole by any company or individual without my specific written permission for the purpose of financial gain.

The only individual who has the right to display this information or to make available for download is myself and Steve B., aka Blacktop of the “Strictly ACE 750 Forum” on “Delphi Forums”.

This is the first installment in what I hope will become the most complete data base of information for the Kuryakan Hypercharger on the web. O.K. Now that I have covered at least a minimum part of the crap we have to deal with in today’s sue happy society, lets get to work!

Wolfhead01@aol.com

Strictly ACE 750 Forum

Blacktop’s ACE 750 Shop

Paul Cook

April 27, 2001

Now for the fun stuff!!!

The first thing we have to do is the EASY part. It will get progressively more complicated after this. LOL.

Remove the seat by using the appropriate tools for your situation. For me, it’s an 8mm box end wrench to remove the Corbin Stinger seat. Fig. 1 shows the bolt location.

The next thing is to remove the Gas Tank. Since you will be working with open fuel lines , NO SMOKING! Figure 2 through 4 show how this is done.

Fig. 2 shows removal of the screw at the back of the tank. This is a 12mm.

Next, place the fuel shut off switch to the “OFF” position.

Remove the left side cover. Grab the spring clip holding the fuel line to the fuel tank and slide back to where it no longer secures the fuel line to the fuel tank.

Remove the fuel line from the tank and remove the vent line underneath the tank on the opposite side.

Remove the tank and set in a safe place. Your bike now looks something like this! Fig. 5

Figure 6 through 13 show the removal of the Stock Air Cleaner:

Fig. 6 shows the loosening of the air box band screw. This connects the stock air cleaner box to the actual air box located under the tank itself.

Fig. 7 shows the screw on top of the stock air box to the right.

Fig. 8 shows the left side air box screw.

Fig. 9 shows the back of the now removed air box

Fig. 10 shows the removal of the left hand “Air Box Bracket” from the rear cylinder.

Fig. 11 shows the removal of the right hand “Air Box Bracket”.

Fig. 12 shows your “Air Box Intake” removed from the air box itself. The intake is made of rubber and uses a black soft RTV type substance and is easily removed from the Air Box without damage.

Now we have our air box removed. But remember when I said we had to pressurize the Float Bowls? Now is the time to make one of the parts we need so we can assemble our Hypercharger and be ready for the installation later. The instructions may get tedious here but it’s the only way to properly relay the information you need to evaluate the quality of the modification. So the next group of pictures relate to the fabrication of the pressure fitting that is installed in the Hypercharger as a “TAP” point for air that is slightly above atmospheric. I got all my materials at a local auto parts store with the exception of the screen used as a filter to the float bowls. This item I picked up at a local Pipe and Tobacco Shop.

Fig. 13 shows the adapter. It’s a 3/8 inch brass vacuum fitting that we are going to modify for a little bit more efficient operation for our purposes.

Fig. 14 shows the first mod to the fitting. The number designation for the drill bits comes from a drill index inside the box that matches the size of the bits. A drill press comes in handy here for the next couple of steps.

To open the fitting so that it will pass as much air as possible without weakening the fitting walls too much, we need to drill the fitting. Since it is Brass, it is a soft metal that you should be careful when you drill. We will be modifying the fitting in two parts to increase air flow through the fitting and provide a method to put a screen in the path to prevent little creepy crawly things from entering the Float Bowls. You should wear safety glasses of course when operating power tools.

Drill completely through the fitting using a # 31 drill bit as shown in fig. 14.

Fig. 15 shows that for the next drilling procedure, you use your # 22 drill bit but only to drill down far enough to make a “shoulder” inside the fitting. This shoulder will be what the screen actually sits against and keeps it firmly in place.

We are now down to the easy part. Use a # 23 drill bit (non bit end) to insert the screen into the fitting by wrapping the screen around the bit and gently pushing the screen into the hole. The screen should end up looking like the screen in the middle of the picture in Fig. 16. Even though the picture does not do it justice, the screen in the middle of the picture is a small, tight fitting filter element with good air passage capabilities. But the screen is meant for smoking through, the combination of the fine screen/filter weave lends itself beautifully to our application.

So now we have our float bowl pressure fitting. My total cost was less than $4.00 for the fitting and screen. But we still don’t have a place to install it. What we need to do now is drill the fitting access hole. I used a 3/8 inch drill bit and located the hole in the molding mark on the inside, top, front of the Hypercharger. Fig. 17 shows the location. MAKE SURE THE HOLE IS LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE AIR FILTER!!! Pre-fit the K&N filter to make sure the hole you are going to drill in your “New” Hypercharger is located in the right location. Remember, measure twice and drill once.

Your Hypercharger may come with another hole drilled in the back of the unit. Some kits sold apparently use this as the float bowl pressurization point and provide a fitting. Since I didn’t have the option to go this route early on, I am documenting my specific setup. In my setup, that hole is not used. It is only mentioned because some may decide to buy another vacuum fitting and insert the fitting in this hole. I cannot say how using this point would effect the overall operation of the Hypercharger Unit. It may make little to no difference! I just have no data to support that conclusion.

Fig. 17 shows the hole location.

Fig. 18 shows the vacuum fitting installed on the top, back side of the Hypercharger. Once the fitting is installed, there should be very little shoulder inside the housing. You want it to remain as flush as possible with the Hypercharger body. So the size of the tap used is important. It will also most likely be a standard thread and not metric.

If you need to manufacture a tap for your new hole, here’s something I have used for a long time. Go to your local hardware store and find the same size bolt as the hole you want to thread. Use a file to cut a groove straight up the threads starting from the bottom for six or so threads. If you have a Dremel tool, you can cut multiple grooves. What you have done is just make your own tap. The bolt will still have most of it’s threads and so the slot you cut into the bolt will act as a scoop for the removed material. It’s cheap and it works.

Figure 19 shows the “Air Filter Tube” mounted to the back of the Hypercharger housing. It’s a good idea to try and run a bead of RTV sealant around the outside to ensure a good seal. Air leaks will make you life miserable.

And finally, Fig. 20 shows the fully assembled Kuryakan Hypercharger! Oh man, I bet you are Sooo ready to just bolt that thing up and run it aren’t you? Sorry, you gotta wait!

Now, the fun moves back to the bike. It’s time to start removing our carbs. I will say this once and once only.

LABEL YOUR HOSES!!!!!!!

I don’t know how to state the importance of that statement more than that. If you get the wrong hose back in the wrong place, your bike may not run, you could do some damage that requires more time and more money to solve and that doesn’t even come close to the shear aggravation of not being able to go ride and check this thing out. I guarantee you, you will wish you had taken the extra 10 minutes you need for this task. Drawing it out is an even better idea.

My Hypercharger is mounted to a California Edition Bike. That means I have different connections and more of them than the 49 State model’s. Just because you don’t live in California doesn’t mean that your ride isn’t a 49 state ride. It could be a CA edition too depending on what got shipped to whom and what state your in.

But the reason I talk about this is the Hypercharger has these cool butterfly valves that need a vacuum to work off of. Otherwise they just sit there in the full open position. Now what’s the fun in that. And many will tell you the 49 State bikes don’t have a place to plug into to make them work. Well, that’s partially true. You have the port, it was just never drilled out. But I get ahead of myself.

Fig. 21 shows the biginnings of the carberator removal process. It’s not really the big bug-a-boo that everyone makes out of it. You will have three hoses at the air box. Two large and one small that connect on the back side. One goes to your crank case vent which is located on top of the rear cylinder and looks like a silver box. Locate the two large rubber tubes that come from the Air Box to the tops of the carbs. You will see that they are secured by one ring clamp each. They both use a single phillips head screw to tighten the large hose from the air box to the top of the carbs. They should be accessable from one side and then the other. But since I have no idea as to how your specific clamps are rotated so I’ll just say loosen them.

Fig. 22 shows the location of the hex head bolt that holds the choke lever to the engine casing. Remove that bolt and let the “Choke Knob” dangle for now.

In Fig.23, you are now removing the two screws that hold the throttle cables in place. Remove the screws and disconnect the throttle cables them selves from the Carbs.

Now look again at the carbs and locate the two large rubber tubes that conect the Carbs to the Cylinders themselves. Loosen the TOP ring clamp. The one that connects to the Carbs. Do NOT loosen the bottom clamp that connects to the cylinder.

Fig. 25 shows the approximate location on the right hand side of the bike. The screw driver is locted in the very bottom middle. My apologies for some of the poor photo quality.

At this point, CAREFULLY remove the remaining hoses to your carbs, double checking your labels to ensure you can reassemble your bike completely with as little difficulty as possible. The fuel hose may leak a small amount of gas when it is removed form the carb or some may come out of the vent holes on top of the carbs, so again I say “NO SMOKING” at this point. Pull up on the carbs gently to remove them from the rubber hoses attached at the bottom. Then pull the carbs out of the left side of the bike. This will give you easy access to the fuel line. Your choke cable is the last item to watch for. The more attention you pay in this process the easier it is to get through this.

Jetting

O.K. In for a penny, in for a pound. Rejet the carbs using a Dynojet kit for the Honda Shadow ACE 750 following manufactures instructions. At todays prices, you should be able to buy your kit for $81.00. You need to order four extra main jets that are not included in the kit normally. One each. 120 main, 122 main, 124 main, 126 main. The part numbers from Dynojet for the mains are DJ-120, DJ-122, DJ-124, DJ-126. This should cost an additional $8.00 since for now they are $2.00 each but their customer support for me was excellent.

These are the correct size “Main Jets” for the Hypercharger to give a good plug read on my bike. I use 120 front and 124 rear. But who knows, somebody may actually like it tuned for a small bit of the sound that a slightly richer mixture gives and install the 122 and 126 mains instead.

I also have to say that I have no vested interest in Dynojet or anybody related to them. This is the kit that I used and is the only configuration that I have collected any data with.

1. Needle jet settings – The E-Clip on the second groove from the top for both the front and rear carbs.

2. Pilot valve screws – Set at 1 1/2 turns out on the front Carb and 2 turns out on the rear. (this is one other way to slightly richen up your mixture and gives an option to play around without having to rejet again. This only effects idle to 1/4 throttle though so if you are adjusting for top end, forget it. For me at sea level, I get no popping or back firing on either roll on or decel.)

3. Main jet Front – 120 (or 122).

4. Main jet Rear – 124 (or 126).

This would be a good time to talk more about the reason we pressurized the float bowls.

When under speeds of 35 MPH or so you wouldn’t notice that anything was wrong. But get above those speeds or give the throttle a good twist, you really feel the bike bog down. Then on the highway, it just feels like it surges. Sometimes getting a more favorable air flow through the filter. Man, it was a “dark day” for me when I ran into these problems. But what happens is, the air filter will actually pass enough air at a high enough pressure through the airbox to send air through the fuel ventury’s and litterally push it back towards the bowl. So that’s why we pressurize the float bowls.

The pressure supplied to the float bowls has not been measured, but the pressure fitting on the Hypercharger does allow enough air pressure through the tube, keeping a more positive source of air for the float bowls and thus preventing the carberators ventury pressure from doing “the bad thing” to our carbs. A pressure above normal atmospheric is picked off a point inside of the Hypercharger. The air enters the front and runs smack dab into the filter. Since the filter is round the air compresses at the mold machine points that you saw earlier when you drilled your hole for the pressure fitting. This is how the air is sent to the float bowls at a pressure above atmospheric. With a 70 or 75 MPH wind being stuffed down it’s throat, you know it get’s to a higher pressure! Sending that air to the float bowls has a dramatic effect on the performance. After you get it running, pull your Float Bowl pressure hose and see the difference in how your bike runs.

One and a half and two turns out on the Pilot Screws is close to factory settings which are almost always lean. For me the results are a normal smooth operating bike through all ranges of the throttle. My milage is greater than 36 MPG in city. I also have a high flowing exhaust system called the SRF Thunder Pipe. The information on how to make your own SRF Thunder Pipe is also available on-line at the SA750 Forum on Delphi. The Site Sponsor is SteveB. Good guy to have around and is always willing to help…

O.K., your done jetting and ready to get on with it already.

Float Bowl Vents and STUFF

It’s time to become intimate with your particular carberator. The next few figures displayed will be identifying points that you too must find on your carberator and make a few decesions. Fig. 26 shows a point on the top of the Carbs where the Float Bowl Vent Tubes come out. These are the two connections that are connected to the pressure fitting on the hypercharger. In the middle of the two tubes is a screw. This is the Carberator Synchronizer Screw. We will NOT be doing anything with this screw. Locate these on your own Carb.

Fig. 27 starts a busy time of investigating. That’s the side view of the carbs showing the idle adjust screw (with the black knob), the vacuum port you will be using for the butterfly’s. And a plug covering a previous connection.

Fig. 27A shows the location of the vacuum fitting for my butterfly’s and the unused connection that is plugged.

Fig. 27B shows the exact place that the vacuum fitting for the butterfly valves is connected. It is a port with a small hole drilled in the middle. There is one located on the second carburetor but it is NOT drilled.

This brings up the next topic I wanted to point out. If you have a 49 State bike, these will NOT be drilled. If you wish to do so, you may use a # 45 drill bit. But only drill one or the other. Drilling that port is the only method I know off to pull a vacuum on a 49 State carb.

Fig. 28 shows a bottom view of the carburetors.

Fig. 28A shows the other two plugs on my carburetor. The second large one in the upper left and the small one on the bottom middle.

Fig.29 shows the two hoses that come from the Carburetors to the Hypercharger. As it turns out, the bottom hose in the picture is the hose stamped # 1 from my original setup. Of course the Dyno shop disassembled all of them trying to figure out how to make it work.

I think I would like to take a moment here to rant again. The Hypercharger really can’t be tuned on a Dyno because the pressures just are not the same coming into the front as when your moving down the road or especially the highway. I spent a lot of money and let them have my bike for almost two weeks. The bike was returned in barely running condition because the pipes were not “standard” pipes. Or so they say. Hell, after just a few tries I had it very close and could have saved myself a lot of cash if I would have just “tried“. I of course had to anyway. But this just gets to my point. You should maintain your own bike. It’s not that difficult. And you can take the motorcycle experience just that much further. Now back to our sponsor!

The upper hose is the 5/16 inch inside diameter vacuum hose and two into one fitting that I got at the auto parts store. Like I said before, I bought two feet of hose. The two smaller pieces of hose are about 3 inches each. The way the vent tubes come out of the carburetor, if I had cut them too short, they would crimp over and a good air flow wouldn’t be possible. Just to ensure I’m clear, the top hose shown goes to the two Float Bowl Vents and the pressure fitting on the Hypercharger. The Bottom hose goes to the Vacuum fitting and the Hyperchargers Butterfly connection that is located on the bottom of the round box.

Fig. 30 shows the Butterfly Valve vacuum hose connected to the vacuum fitting located just behind the throttle linkage. I think you get the idea.

Fig. 31 shows the Float Bowl pressurization hoses attached.

Well, I have just about beat this horse to death. I reassembled the carburetors back in my bike, PAYING ATTENTION!, making sure my hoses are in the right places. I Install the Air Box and am so close to firing this puppy up.

Fig. 32 shows me putting some grease around where the Air Box Boot will hook up to the Air Box. This is to ensure that I had a good air tight seal. It didn’t need to be heavy. Just an even, thin coating.

Fig. 33 shows the Butterfly Vacuum hose connection connected to the hose to the Carburetor. Disregard the white “T” Connection in the photo.

Fig. 34 shows the Float Bowl pressurization hose connected to the fitting I made earlier and the Float Bowl Vents on top of the Carburetors.

And finally!!!! Fig. 35 has the Hypercharger hooked up to the Air Box. I tightened the compression clamp and installed the nut on the back of the Hypercharger following the Hypercharger installation instructions supplied with my kit. I kept the rubber grommet inside the bracket that the Hypercharger bolts to. I also needed to get a good size washer and lock washer to go with it since my kit didn’t come with them included.

Fig. 36 hooks my throttle linkage cables back up.

Put your choke cable back on. Reinstall the tank, hook up the fuel line and turn the Fuel Valve “ON”. Insert your key and start her up. It took a few seconds because I had no fuel in the lines or bowls. But the fuel pump moved it there quickly enough.

And if you aren’t absolutely sick of reading this by now. It means you must be serious. Have fun. I am.