Goldwing's 818 Street, The Phoenix

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great job Rich, what's next?
Bob

[Goldwing]

If you would, please expand a little bit. I've only spent a couple minutes on a motorcycle so I don't really understand what you are talking about, but I'm very curious about the feel of the k-tuned shifter.

Hmm, direct, mechanical feel (no mushy business here).
Short, sporty throw in both directions (left/right & forward/back), compared to most vehicles I've driven with varying throws and mushiness, this was the shortest throw and most crisp feel I've driven. Great for quick shifting. Because, small movements at the shifter are comparatively greatly magnified at the tranny case, I felt clumsy at first, overshooting neutral. I didn't find myself thinking about most of it after a couple trips around the neighborhood. Several times I didn't feel the detent going into gear after passing neutral, lol, especially reverse. I saw that evidence the first trip down the driveway in the video. To try and recreate the mental image of the feel, think of a sporty manual transmission you've driven. Then shift the 818 transmission using the FFR shift bracket directly. Think of the KTuned shifter being about halfway between the feel of the two. Tough to put in words, I had to think about that a bit.

[Goldwing]

Great job Rich, what's next?
Bob

Thanks Bob! Go pick up some body panels at my buddy's house! I'm assuming the metal splash guard panels and other aluminum panels are behind body panels in the build manual for a good reason? I was just looking ahead in the manual to plan out that question I was also asking myself. I have a little more tidying up to do in the garage as well.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Thanks Bob! Go pick up some body panels at my buddy's house! I'm assuming the metal splash guard panels and other aluminum panels are behind body panels in the build manual for a good reason? I was just looking ahead in the manual to plan out that question I was also asking myself. I have a little more tidying up to do in the garage as well.

I'm planning on a couple of autocrosses in go kart trim to make sure everything is sorted out.
Bob

[Boog]

Hmm, direct, mechanical feel (no mushy business here).
Short, sporty throw in both directions (left/right & forward/back), compared to most vehicles I've driven with varying throws and mushiness, this was the shortest throw and most crisp feel I've driven. Great for quick shifting. Because, small movements at the shifter are comparatively greatly magnified at the tranny case, I felt clumsy at first, overshooting neutral. I didn't find myself thinking about most of it after a couple trips around the neighborhood. Several times I didn't feel the detent going into gear after passing neutral, lol, especially reverse. I saw that evidence the first trip down the driveway in the video. To try and recreate the mental image of the feel, think of a sporty manual transmission you've driven. Then shift the 818 transmission using the FFR shift bracket directly. Think of the KTuned shifter being about halfway between the feel of the two. Tough to put in words, I had to think about that a bit.

Cool, thanks for the description.

[Goldwing]

I'm planning on a couple of autocrosses in go kart trim to make sure everything is sorted out.
Bob

Ah well, if you must! Lol.

[wleehendrick]

Hmm, direct, mechanical feel (no mushy business here).
Short, sporty throw in both directions (left/right & forward/back), compared to most vehicles I've driven with varying throws and mushiness, this was the shortest throw and most crisp feel I've driven. Great for quick shifting. Because, small movements at the shifter are comparatively greatly magnified at the tranny case, I felt clumsy at first, overshooting neutral. I didn't find myself thinking about most of it after a couple trips around the neighborhood. Several times I didn't feel the detent going into gear after passing neutral, lol, especially reverse. I saw that evidence the first trip down the driveway in the video. To try and recreate the mental image of the feel, think of a sporty manual transmission you've driven. Then shift the 818 transmission using the FFR shift bracket directly. Think of the KTuned shifter being about halfway between the feel of the two. Tough to put in words, I had to think about that a bit.

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the detailed description of the K-tuned shifter. Half the people I know don't get why I'd spend so much when the kit comes with a perfectly usable shifter; the other half (gear heads and engineers) take one look at it and just drool! I'm a bit of a shifting junkie; neither my wife nor I have ever owned a slush-box, and our current vehicles are all front-engined, longitudinally-mounted, so I'm used to a short direct shifter linkage. My concern over the feel of the stock plastic shifter with extra long looping cables is why is why I splurged on Wayne's kit. The shifter has two pivot positions for both lateral and fore/aft throw, doesn't it? Is yours in the shorter or longer throw positions? I want it to feel as good as it looks!

Thanks,

Lee

[Goldwing]

Happy to try and put that into words.

There are two positions for fore/aft movement, one for lateral. I'm currently in the longer throw position. So, I would classify the two options as short throw, and shorter throw for fore/aft. I had many of the same concerns on the shifter, asking those ahead of me the same questions. I bought it for the drool-worthy bling, but I'll enjoy the feel too. I vaguely remember talk of a change in the throw position department since buying mine, so if yours turns out to have an extra mounting hole, there may have been an update.

[Frank818]

There is an adjustment for the side-to-side (lateral) movement? You mean there is one movement possible or one adjustment which means 2 movements? Like short and shorter, or just one short movement?

[Goldwing]

On the k shifter, there is only one cable mounting position for side to side movement. I guess that is all that's needed since the FFR bracket in back has adjustment holes to change the throw laterally.

The short and shorter applies to fore/aft gear engagement movement. I already have trouble feeling the detent going into gear in some cases. I have a feeling that's why Wayne added the inner mounting hole (short throw) for the cable in the VCP kit. At the original (shorter throw) cable mounting hole, it has to be a little on the clumsy side. Going from being short throw and crisp to the point of not being able to feel what is happening. I hope that helps explain.

[Frank818]

Ok, so if I would want more distance to the left it may be complicated. That's my personal problem, as since I will use my VW tranny, the reverse is left of the 1st (not down or right of the 5th) and the 1st is already quite close to the 3rd on the K shifter. I have to fit 2 gears there, not one. I'll have to deal with it.

[wleehendrick]

Thanks for the additional info, Rich. I think I mis-spoke; I know there are two pivots points for fore/aft throw, but yeah, only one for side to side. So based on your comments, definitely start out, and probably stick with, it in the 'long' throw position, which is plenty short.

[Goldwing]

Ok, so if I would want more distance to the left it may be complicated. That's my personal problem, as since I will use my VW tranny, the reverse is left of the 1st (not down or right of the 5th) and the 1st is already quite close to the 3rd on the K shifter. I have to fit 2 gears there, not one. I'll have to deal with it.

The bottom arm for lateral movement has room for mounting the cable further up the arm, though it might limit how much range of motion you can achieve at the transmission end. So, it could work, but depends on what you need, shorter throw for feel or greater range of motion. Above the cable mount, the arm thins into an I beam, so you would want to fill the hollow wherever you wanted to mount the cable. So if you wanted more throw up top, you could achieve that. If, to be thorough, you wanted a greater range of motion at the transmission end, it would require further modification to build a longer arm, but in effect creating a shorter throw while driving. I'm curious, I've owned a VW manual before, is reverse as simple as going another step left from first? I never took the shifter apart to see what was happening as I pushed down to release the lockout from reverse. Will you duplicate a lockout in the 818? Like a shift collar ring pull to unlock extra range left?

[Goldwing]

Frank, thinking about it more, I believe there is greater range of motion available at the shifter that isn't used with the Subaru gearbox. You probably have the range you need without modding the arm. Yours will simply swing a little more up top. If the throw is too much on top, and you aren't close to not having enough range of cable movement, you could mount it further up. I bet it works fine.

[Frank818]

Hey Rich, tnx for the info, I guess until the cables are all connected I won't be able to see the throw I have. Now I just play with it without any cables and the lateral distance between full left and neutral is very close (the angle is narrow).

About the reverse mechanism, I have seen drawings but not actually removed mine, I can only assume it works that way for now. The way it seems to work is the shifter rod has an L shape end at the bottom, the L facing right hand side. When not pushed down, the bottom edge of the L blocks on something inside the shifter. When you push down, the bottom edge of the L slides under what used to block it, allowing for a further lateral motion equal or so to the length of the bottom edge of the L.

I will build any technique that'll make sense when I see the K mechanism. I have to block the rod from going to the far left and then use either something I pull, slide or push in order to allow that extra motion. So far that's my plan without having anything plugged in yet. The solution, or 1st version of it if I ever improve it in the future, may be somewhat barbarian, as long as it works and doesn't look ugly.

[Goldwing]

If it is that simple, I bet a somewhat stiff spring sitting at the limit of normal travel for forward gears might do the trick. Such that you would have to push against it to reach reverse, but stiff enough to act as a gate to prevent inadvertent reverse selection. Simple and hidden. It might put unwanted pressure against the gear in use, but since it isn't used for very long (only while backing up), I don't see any problems. Should be relatively easy to mount underneath. Just an idea.

[Frank818]

Good idea Rich! Although I would probably add another component to that. I need to check how the motion will work, but it's possible if I just use one spring the rod will be blocked only when on the spring, but as soon as I move fwd in 1st it will fall alongside the spring and would want to go in reverse. So probably a shim or something that would be the length of the motion from far left fwd to 1st and using 2 springs on each end of that shim. The rod would slide on the shim and that may work. Then pushing hard to the left to engage R. Yeah I'll keep that idea in mind and check it out this Autumn. tnx

[Goldwing]

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So, I found another use for the seat bracket.

A local shop buys wrecked STIs and sells upgrade kits for WRXs, parting out the rest. This Cobb bellmouth came twisted after the cat from the wreck, so he sold it to me for cheap. After moving the cat, I used an exhaust donut to twist around and up into a C6 Corvette muffler (new dealer cutoff). Driver's side, I think. With my lack of welding skills, I managed to tack most of it into place. Going for daily driver comfort on the noise, but still wanted something breathable. I thought about the mufflers with the internal valves, but it seems without equal length headers, they rattle terribly on the WRX's exhaust pulse pattern. This was my solution. I'm keeping it all tied to the engine, this the seat bracket crane setup.

[Goldwing]

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So, I found another use for the seat bracket.

A local shop buys wrecked STIs and sells upgrade kits for WRXs, parting out the rest. This Cobb bellmouth came twisted after the cat from the wreck, so he sold it to me for cheap. After moving the cat, I used an exhaust donut to twist around and up into a C6 Corvette muffler (new dealer cutoff). Driver's side, I think. With my lack of welding skills, I managed to tack most of it into place. Going for daily driver comfort on the noise, but still wanted something breathable. I thought about the mufflers with the internal valves, but it seems without equal length headers, they rattle terribly on the WRX's exhaust pulse pattern. This was my solution. I'm keeping it all tied to the engine, thus the seat bracket crane setup.

[wleehendrick]

Clever! I went with with a short Flowmaster; it'll be loud, but I don't mind. I realized getting a quieter muffler would require some plumbing. That's a nice re-use of parts there.

[Goldwing]

Thanks! The FFR setup wasn't too bad going through the factory cat and the turbo. I threw the muffler on the end and liked how the drone-ish sound (which wasn't too bad to start with) completely disappear. I have yet to hear how it sounds revved up. I guess I have to wait for my welder to get back from vacation. I started test fitting body panels, which put the exhaust high on the list as the bumper interfered. Don't want to cut more than one exit hole, right?

[nkw8181]

well if you do I guess you will have dual exhausts?? lol

[Goldwing]

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I was NOT looking forward to cutting this exit spot out, just fearing I'd miss by enough to make it look off. I'm not sure how I'll trim it out yet, maybe something matching the other vents? I'm trying to decide if the angle of the twin tips is cool looking or 'off'. I think I need to pull the car out of the garage and take another look outside to help decide. At first impression I liked it. What do you guys think? Obviously it is subjective, and in the end my car, so I have to like it. With some effort, I think the tips could be lined up better to the bumper line.

[svanlare]

My brother in law is finishing a pair of strip plank kayaks for me and the most nerve racking step for both of us was when he cut the finished deck to make the hatches.

I like the look, but do think if pipes lined up with the bumper it would be even better. No need to change though, I hope to do as well.

[AZPete]

Rich, I like it but I agree that lining up with the bumper would be good.

[Goldwing]

My brother in law is finishing a pair of strip plank kayaks for me and the most nerve racking step for both of us was when he cut the finished deck to make the hatches.

I like the look, but do think if pipes lined up with the bumper it would be even better. No need to change though, I hope to do as well.

Yes! That same nerve racking feeling I have felt before! I remember making a special trip to find the sharpest, cleanest cut making blade I could find. Many hours of work riding on that cut in a very visible spot. I'd love to see pics when they're done. Any particular kayak model? Mine is a Guillemot (Nick Schade).

[svanlare]

That cut was my first thought when I looked at your bumper photo. They are CLC wood duck 12's. We'll be adding sail kits so it will be a bit like a hobie adventure island when all done.

kayak1.JPGkayak2.JPG

[Goldwing]

Nice work! A pic of mine is on the first page of my build thread. Finished it right before my 818 showed up. If you have a little extra wood, fiberglass, and epoxy left over, the back of Nick Schade's book "The Strip Built Sea Kayak" gives directions and plans for making wooden paddles as well. They complete the look and have lasted me 7 years so far without issue. If you go for it, aim longer when you're making the shafts. I seemed to keep losing length when cutting the joint in the middle to feather the shaft so the blades were set properly. I used them as a warmup project. Enjoy your kayaks. From experience, allow extra time getting to the water, people will comment. Drive them to the lake in your 818, and you may never see the water, lol.

[svanlare]

I knew I had seen a kayak on this site, but didn't realize it was yours. Is the christmas kayak going to reappear this year?

Maybe I'll do up the paddles as well. I had been leaning against it since I had wooden paddles for the pair of Klepper kayaks we have, but I've replaced them with the plastic ones over the years as they seem to work better for us.

[wleehendrick]

Rich, I like it but I agree that lining up with the bumper would be good.

Ditto. Keep the orientation, but staggering them might work nioce. You could try trimming the hole with door edge protector trim like Aloha used. I got some from Pepboys; it looks good (simple, black) and goes on over the FG edge nicely.

[Goldwing]

Since my garage is filled with 818 stuff, the kayak is still on display in the living room, sans Christmas lights. I pull it down as needed just having a strap screwed to a stud near the bow holding it upright. So, yes, when the Christmas lights come out, the Christmas kayak will return to spread good cheer.

A little iPhone Photoshop work here. It occurred to me that the easiest fix to the exhaust is to lengthen the tip that is recessed so that their reveal follows the line of the bumper. Like this:
image.jpg
I like it better. Still mulling over possibilities.

[Goldwing]

Or, yes, what you says wleehendrick. If we didn't post so closely together, I would have looked bad there, lol. We are thinking along the same lines. I hesitate to reorient the tips as the bumper hole might look too big then. It's difficult to undo that cut! The staggered look has something to it.

Reminds me of some WWII fighter planes, fewer tips of course.

[wleehendrick]

A little iPhone Photoshop work here. It occurred to me that the easiest fix to the exhaust is to lengthen the tip that is recessed so that their reveal follows the line of the bumper. Like this:I like it better. Still mulling over possibilities.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to verbalize. I like it!

[wleehendrick]

Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to verbalize. I like it!

reminds me of the early 928 exhaust:



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[Goldwing]

Keep this up and I'll be aching to put an H6 in there!

[wleehendrick]

Keep this up and I'll be aching to put an H6 in there!

but 928's had a V8 up front, remember? Porsche's GT/muscle car.

[Goldwing]

I don't know my Porsches well, but have always loved their flat six sound track. Music.

[wleehendrick]

I don't know my Porsches well, but have always loved their flat six sound track. Music.

Yup!

[Goldwing]

Literally!

[svanlare]

Thank you for that! I love the flat-6 sound. And yes, the photoshop version looks better. The stagger works well.