Rothmans Honda RC31 Project

[cliffman]

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my build. This is a sneak peak of what's to come. The project is called the Rothmans Honda RC31 project. The project has been going since summer of 2018 but the pandemic put a halt to it abruptly. More on that in future posts and YouTube videos of the project.

Is the engine finally came home a few weeks ago after 3 years, to the weekend, at the builder 400 km away. I have hundreds of pics and videos of the garage setup, bike teardown, product unboxings, custom work and assembly. Along with a few interesting stories a long the way. Here is a sneak peak of the finished 696cc engine completely ceramic coated in heat dissipating grey and a custom one off colour for the covers.

A little tease for now.....
IMG_20230220_1745387.jpg


More to come.....


Cliffman

[cliffman]

IMG_20230313_0939314.jpg IMG_20230313_0941277.jpg

Engine unwrapped, big carbs mounted

Before I get too far into this build unveiling I need to thank some people that are instrumental in helping me get this done.
J.D. Hord @ Hord Power Racing - HPR - Hordpower, Art of Twins (Engine parts supply)
Lance Hayward @ Hayward Performance - Hayward Performance – Custom Cylinderhead rebuilding (Head work - will be revealed in later post)
Gord McMartin @ McMartin Racing - worked on the famous Britten V1000 team - (Engine blueprinting and assembly)
Paul Pearmain & Matt Patterson @ Tyga Performance in Thailand - TYGA-Performance (Specialty parts supply - will be revealed in later post)
Ryan B. (Engine coatings - will be revealed in later post)
Last but certainly not least my wife Nadine and my close friends Scott, Steve and Chance

[cliffman]

Can anybody guess what this crazy looking 3D printed prototype part is for? IMG_20230318_2203142.jpg IMG_20230318_2203206.jpg

[Luis]

For the front cylinder cooling hose

[cliffman]

Hi Luis - a logical guess but not correct. Any other guesses? Yes it is for the Hawk GT

[JanM]

A cooling inlet to fit the rear cylinder with clearance for the starter...

[6]

Rear cylinder cooling is all I can think of.

What's been done to the engine? Very nice looking lump you have there

[cliffman]

A cooling inlet to fit the rear cylinder with clearance for the starter...

JanM you are correct. Sorry I don't have any prizes to give away.....yet

IMG_20230318_2226299.jpg IMG_20230318_2225398.jpg IMG_20230318_2225562.jpg IMG_20230318_2226167.jpg

[Ziggy]

cliffman The motor is a work of art.
Looks like you are working on one bad a$$ build.
Looking forward to seeing more.
2 thumbs up!

[cliffman]

Rear cylinder cooling is all I can think of.

What's been done to the engine? Very nice looking lump you have there

6 you are also correct.
"What hasn't been done to the engine" is the answer. All will be revealed in time as I unveil the project from start to finish. Just wanted to give you all a sneak peak at what's to come.

Parts and work have been sourced from countries all over the world. From South East Asia to Europe to the US to here in Canada from Montreal to Vancouver. It's been a fairly large project. With the exception of the engine internal mods, wheels, fairing and rear-sets all the design and machining is done by myself and my friend here in Vancouver.

We have even been prototyping the rear water inlet. I'm tired of getting push starts on hot days at the track. Or rather my friends are tired of it first thing in the morning. And I'm covering the bike back to a dual street/track purpose. I do have a foot pedal push button rear wheel rolling starter thing I may sell or give away here or on YouTube at some point in the reveal.

All in good time I just want to share with everyone the experience and hopefully help some of you resolve some of your design challenges with this information. And get some help from all of you with my design challenges as I enter the final straight.

[cliffman]

cliffman The motor is a work of art.
Looks like you are working on one bad a$$ build.
Looking forward to seeing more.
2 thumbs up!

Thanks Ziggy,

Yes it is a work of art. You may have noticed all the bolt heads are a slightly different, darker tone, than the covers. All ceramic coated and only the bolt heads were coated not the threads so the person doing the work doesn't like me anymore..... Which is not good because I still need more bolts done.

It is not only a work of art as will be intended for the entire aspect of the build but it will be a high performance work of art intended to be ridden hard.

- Target weight = 330 lbs (what it is now in track trim without a lot of electrics, starter sys, battery etc etc.) but with everything to be street legal. ..... Noise may be an issue in some regions.
- Target HP = 88

This is the bike I wanted to build 20 years ago but didn't have the money, technology or the 3D modeling and fabrication experience I have now.

[Luis]

JanM you are correct. Sorry I don't have any prizes to give away.....yet

IMG_20230318_2226299.jpg IMG_20230318_2225398.jpg IMG_20230318_2225562.jpg IMG_20230318_2226167.jpg

But now you need to made one in aluminum, or? I looks very thin in the center

[cliffman]

That is correct - we will probably print 2 more prototypes. I want to extend the neck and change the angle of the neck. I also want to give a little more clearance on the left side and take up a bit of clearance in the middle and right side and make it thicker so I can bore a little more out on the inside.

Once finalized we will then machine one from a solid billet of aluminum.

[Luis]

Nice part for our 3D files thread


You also will need a custom hose or better an aluminium pipe to attach them to the front cooling system so that you dont destroy the nice looking of the engine

[cliffman]

What is the name of the thread and where is it located? I was hoping to post the entire build in one thread. Is there a way someone can quote this or tag this in the other thread? There will be plenty more items like this coming