And I’ve got a whisper in the back of my head that I didn’t triple-check a clearance and the engine will explode on the first start.

Dude, step back, take a break and let the bike sit. Take it apart again and check that clearance. There's way too much money spent on this to blow it all up. If you're talking valve clearance, I don't think it will explode. Timing off by a tooth, not going to explode either but two teeth, yes it might.

Rook, you can add the stage 1 kit to a bone stock engine on pump gas with the 4lb. spring ONLY!, get itchy for more power, 6lb. spring can equal the BIG BANG theory. Boost is like any other addiction once you're hooked too much is never enough...

Thanks Fordtech. I'm breathing a sigh of relief. I'd be happy with a good race exhaust at this point but I was thinking 'why?' Why spend 2-3 thousand on an aftermarket exhaust if I'm just going to tear it off and put a turbo on in a year or two? I'll be very happy to just to hear the bike make more noise at this point. As for the boost addiction, I'll manage that. All the money I've saved over the last year went into buying and building this bike. It's gonna stay with me forever.

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There’s no actual clearance in mind that is scaring me. Just the irrational fear.

Have you made your mind up on your bike’s plan yet Rook?

Thanks for the input Fordtech. I like your bike quite a bit

There’s no actual clearance in mind that is scaring me. Just the irrational fear.

Yes I know the fear....after doing my only valve clearance adjustment ever, taking the camshafts out and hoping I put everything back as meticulously planned. I was kind of scared to start that bike up when Spring came. It was all good.

Have you made your mind up on your bike’s plan yet Rook?

Hell yeah, I'm going RCC Turbos!! I just want to put a couple hundred miles more on the bike stock before I put it up and start the turbo project. That will take me all summer. 2026, I'll be riding on low boost and in the winter, that engine will come out and we'll do the upgrades for high boost. I have a Gen2 Hayabusa to ride in between. Also I hope to buy lytnin's Gen1 08 Midnight Sapphire Blue ZX-14 off of him someday. It's not faster than the Gen2 but that is the bike I love best. Busted the cherry on my 08 and that was love for life. I still have her remains from the wreck and I'll build her back.

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...and that 08's gonna have nitrous on it like i had planned.

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...maybe a Gen2 engine like I had planned too!

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Bought the APE Tensioner. I had the chain jump teeth more than once while rotating the crank with cams installed. Had to pause and disassemble everything. Thinking the tensioner wasn't activating as expected. Irritating to uninstall, line up the marks, and reinstall so many times now. I need to make sure the spark timing is correct. Need to dig into how that works again. Forgot since assembly. I don't want to chase down a poorly running engine all due to timing being 180 out.

That's what I was talking about when I mentioned starting the bike after the valve clearance adjustment. You just never know 100% until you turn that key. You know what you're doing. My only course of action when doing these things is to be extremely careful and go extremely slow. LOL I didn't dare let that chain move off the crankshaft sprocket. I had it all bungied up until it was ready to go back on the camshafts. I don't recall it jumping teeth with the cam chain tensioner in. I must have turned it by hand a couple times to check everything out. Sounds like your stock CCT spring release is a little worn out. Maybe it wasn't released properly when you put the CCT back in. Mine was locked open and then I tapped it with a long screwdriver held down the cam chain tunnel. It popped shut putting tension on the chain.

With the APE tensioner, you tighten it down until you feel contact and then start the bike. Play with tightening or loosening until you get it just right (no rattle). The instructions with the APE CCT were very clear, I have a tutorial on here than should be of help too. It was the older model of the APE CCT but I assume setting the tension is the same procedure.

* Last updated by: Rook on 4/21/2025 @ 4:11 PM *

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April 26, 2025

Installed APE Manual Cam chain Tensioner. Received Brutal Performance Silicone/O-Ring velocity stacks.

I love it! Does it care what velocity stacks you have if it's turboed? I remember Romans went with aftermarket intake bellmouths because they sealed the airbox better than OEM.

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I really think going with the APE tensioner makes sense. I'm just a turbo newbie but that seems like a wise choice because "just incase" happens. ...might as well be covered.

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danmin, I really like the looks of those stacks. I did a quick search and found nothing on them. Where did you source them or do they have a direct website? If I'm correct it appears they'd seal the frame to the throttle bodies much better under high boost. my only concerns would be the 4 small screws that appear to secure the upper to lower half? One fall down the intake track would be catastrophic though a dab of loctite should relieve those concerns? I'd appreciate more information if you would share? Last question that I haven't found an answer to is there's a dual divisional at the Motorplex May 15-16-17-18. Would you happen to know if there's a bike class available??

Here is the link to their site.

https://stores.brutalperformancellc.com/kawasaki/zx14/

Not necessary if you’re going to run low boost. The OEM stacks are supposed to leak around 8-12 PSI, in an ideal circumstance. People use the OEM stacks in higher boost applications but you risk big leaks. I don’t want to try keeping the OEM stacks and then needing to swap them out later. Kind of a pain. Not to mention- my old stacks were soaked in oil and gross with questionable clamps.

Turbo kit arrives tomorrow.

I’m trying to get a welder to come out and weld up the frame for me. I’m not gonna risk a rubber plug or chunk of JB weld falling into the engine. My goal is to never need to take the engine or bike apart more than just wastegate springs and tires/suspension when I turn it up to about 400hp.

I am excited to document what EXACTLY is included in the RCC kits. The online descriptions are too broad in my opinion. I’ll also list all items purchased for this eventually. Still buying odds and ends.

Not sure about the classes. Your best bet is to call Ennis Motorplex and ask for info. (972) 878-2641

TRAC KING clutches and steels have been backed for about 2 months… Getting antsy looking at all the transmission parts just sitting around new and uninstalled.

* Last updated by: danmin on 4/27/2025 @ 1:55 PM *

I'm sure glad you happened along when you did danmin. Eventually, I'll doing all the stuff you are doing. I really need to have a closer look at Fordtech's threads and others but you were perfect timing.

I'd love to see a couple pics of that lockup clutch when you get to it. I learned of this mod from Romans years back. Centrifugal force and weights to lock the clutch, fascinating. All I needed at the time was HD springs but I was lusting after something like this someday when the bike really needed it. That day is just around the corner now.

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Rook my friend. I have great news. The only lockup you need to look at is the 2 stage. The multi-stage is WAY overkill for a street bike in my opinion. They are also wildly expensive. MTC 2-Stage is $400 from Schnitz. I got mine from Facebook for $300 shipped I think, and it came with Brock’s EHD Clutch Springs. Although Rook, you will need a clutch mod kit and titanium hardware kit from SAE Outlaw. That is just my unprofessional opinion though.

I am running a MTC 2-Stage lockup. I will also being running EHD springs (three of them) or I’ll run stock springs and I will just add weight to the arms of the lockup- that should simulate a similar experience but with lighter clutch pull.

* Last updated by: danmin on 4/27/2025 @ 10:40 PM *

HOOF! beyond my understanding just a bit but carry on, I'm watching!

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Ah, gotcha. The picture you sent was of a $2,500 setup. I was hoping to save you the cash if that’s the setup you were considering for your Gen 2 turbo bike.

I've literally done no research. ...just window shopping. When it comes time to upgrade the clutch, I might be tempted to go with something that looks as cool as that Hays multistage even if it is 5x as expensive and even if nobody can see it. I'm just kind of weird that way! The deciding factor is always weight. If something is lighter in weight, I'll probably go with it but with the turbo, I think that tendency is going to be counteracted to some degree. Light is good but strong is better.

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Thinking back on conversations with Romans, I believe he told me the same thing about the clutch that you are, two stage is just fine. I'll have to find out what the difference is! This is all a little down the road for me.

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April 28, 2025

RCC Turbo kit arrived. It is extremely packaged. I have overfilled a standard trash bag with just the bubble wrap and cardboard Ha! At least everything is safe and sound.

It’s gonna take a few hours to get this stuff unpacked… And organized.

(Pictures are of the items received with most of the packing removed.

* Last updated by: danmin on 4/28/2025 @ 7:37 PM *

April 28th, 2025

First impressions are that everything looks pretty good in quality. I haven’t noticed any significant flaws yet. I started on the install. The directions take a few reading attempts to understand (at least for me) which made things a little slower. But I spent about 2 hours installing a few items.

- PAIR Valve Block offs (I had some already but these were shiny)
- Oil Cooler Block off
- Timing cover/oil scavenge pump
- Air Filter Block off plate
- Brutal Performance Velocity Stacks
- Oil vapor drain block off
- Idle Air Control Pass-through fitting
- Large Air box plates and lower hole block offs

I stopped only because a few things required the use of taps to install. I don’t have any I want to use (dull or missing). So I ordered some that should arrive tomorrow. I wish I had known- I would’ve kept going full steam ahead.

The Fuel system install instructions didn’t appear to be a part of the standard install instructions. Maybe there is another USB drive with those instructions on it.

The Brutal Stacks were pretty easy to install. I thought I would need to drill the frame some. Nope. Bolts in. Pretty neat things.

I ended up using the same bolts used on oil pans to secure the large air box block off plates. The original plate bolts I had were too short.

* Last updated by: danmin on 4/28/2025 @ 7:49 PM *

- Oil vapor drain block off

Is this the air box drain with the larger hose leading out of the lower back LH side of the airbox? I over serviced my Gen1 and it blew oil up in the air box. It was probably a year later when I next peeked in there and the air box was dry. I'll be extra careful to not over fill the oil with turbo because it's not going to have anywhere to drain out.

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Correct. The two outlets on the left side of the frame. I’ve made the same mistake before. The bike blew smoke like a diesel because it was sucking in so much oil. Even after a few thousand miles of normal riding and normal oil levels the oily carbon buildup was apparent in the engine.

Richard from RCC just sent me the correct instructions for the kit I bought. I had previously missed the Stage 2 instructions in my kit. It looks like I need to cut the brutal performance plates to make space to squarely mount the injector rail assembly. Bummer. They looked pretty. Now I have to slice them up. I would just drill a hole for it- but the Brutal plates slide around a little bit so you can fit them on the throttle bodies before final tightening. Oh well.. I think I’ll just drill a 1” hole or something in the top and bottom plate for it.

* Last updated by: danmin on 4/30/2025 @ 10:24 AM *

Oh well.. I think I’ll just drill a 1” hole or something in the top and bottom plate for it.

I need to see pics. I have an idea of how the fuel rail mounts. I think you can do a clean job of this, just take your time. Modding mods, I've been down that path a couple times and it makes the bike even more one of a kind.

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Yeah I’ll definitely grab some pictures. There were seriously zero pictures of a couple of parts of this kit being installed, such as the stage 2 fuel system. I have stared at the only handful of pictures of the secondary fuel rail assembly trying to understand it more than once. Now that it’s in-hand it finally makes sense. It’s a unique invention. Once I get holes drilled I’ll grab some pictures of the holes drilled and everything getting assembled. I’ve got to drill a couple holes in the frame. I bought all new bits, taps, and center punches to make sure I get it right.

I surrendered the welding up the frame idea. Quotes I got were outrageous. I’m going to stick to the epoxy provided for now. If it doesn’t seal well after that I’ll add more epoxy or finally buckle and cough up the $500 for 2 0.25” sized holes to be sealed.

Next few steps are gonna be a little slower. Been busy.

* Last updated by: danmin on 4/30/2025 @ 10:24 AM *