Started today with radiators and billet guards. Went off the rails from there
Basically, the transfer case to head tube driveshaft runs directly underneath the backbone and thru the head gusset, right where the factory rad inlet "T" hose was. Christini solves this by inserting a custom "Y" hose underneath, the problem I encountered was two fold, the Y hose was contacting the driveshaft, and the hose was way too wide to allow the rads to bolt up to the frame. No spacers or special instructions are mentioned, bolt 'em up and go.
No sweat I thought, I'll just yard it out and trim the bottom to get it to clear the shaft, then trim the inlet hoses to get the rads to bolt up. WRONG. After much time effort, skinned knuckles and pinched fingers, there is no way that hose would work. By the time I had it trimmed to clear the shaft, the angle it leaves the head tube brace at is way too steep as the rad inlets 90 out, combined with trimming its width to get the rads close to the frame studs, it would not seal, plus it put a lot of stress on the aluminum/epoxied rad ports. FFS.
So I'll call Christini tomorrow. Dunno WTF. Maybe I can weld up a custom 2 to 1 adapter, and then search the parts stores for heater hoses with molded bends? Problem is there is no room at all to get it in there, perhaps I will have to pull the driveshaft, to this point i have avoided any AWD
DISassembly.
I could bypass a rad and start it on one but I'll wait.
Question, I have what appears to be a factory thermostat housing that complicates the lower plumbing; can I delete it? Do the XCW's have one? My KLX has no tstat, runs fine.
So i puttered on the reminder of assembly. Forks, which got a nice scar from a tit in the clamps. FML. Fork skins.Fork drive shafts assembled and lubed. Christini carbon fiber fork guards. Kick stand fixed to be a real one, foot pegs, BPG billet "Christini" rad guards, V/R relocated (hit BPD guards), coolant recovery tank, started mocking the controls, HDB clamps and more HDB bling to follow. CR hi bars stock risers to start. Space is tight, the start, kill, and street control switch are huge, hope to integrate kill and start into the HDB brake and clutch perch switch assemblies, might have to look at the Power Parts "euro" control switch, supposed to be more compact. Front brake and speedo pickup on. Probably some other stuff too but I forget.
I don't know why the pics are sideways, Effin Mac.