How to fit a Trickshifter with a Kliktronic into a Fireblade kit car.

['The Gaffer']

How to fit a Trickshifter with a Kliktronic into a Fireblade kit car.

Decided it would be great to have clutchless up and down shifts with auto blip on down shifts fitted to my Fireblade 919 powered kit car. Not being a mechanic I was at first a little reluctant to carry out the work, especially as it meant combining two products to achieve one goal.

My interest in the technology soon won me over though, especially as it meant I could change gear in 50 milliseconds!!

I already had a Kliktronic gear changing system with an aftermarket ignition kill module installed on the car, so I just needed to add the Trickshifter to enable the clutchless downshift with auto blip.

First I contacted John at Trickshifter and had a long chat about what I wanted to do. John is a very friendly and helpful guy and gave some very good advice.

I also talked to Keith at Kliktronic, another equally friendly and helpful guy for whom nothing was too much trouble.

From discussing my requirements with both companies it was decided that I needed an additional small Kliktronic box added to my existing Kliktronic unit that has an extra blue wire that triggers the downshift blipper on the Trickshifter.

I also needed the Trickshifter kit less the shift rod assy as I already have switches on the steering wheel that operate the Kliktronic (The shift rod essentially does the same thing as my wheel switches except it relies on pressure switches to activate the Trickshifter)
I was supplied a loom with a blue and yellow wire in place of the shift rod that simply connects to the new blue wire on the additional box supplied by Kliktronic and the yellow wire goes to the yellow wire on the main Kliktronic box. Blue-to-Blue + Yellow-to-Yellow = simple.

Both companies dispatched the goods in lightning fast time, but I was at a bit of a loss after studying two sets of instruction manuals as to how I was going to make the two systems work in harmony. One call to Keith at Kliktronic and all was clear within seconds.

So I set to work
First by removing the carbs, this has to be done to remove the idle control cable and knob, this will soon be replaced by the Trickshifter downshift actuator which doubles as an idle controller.


Next the downshift actuator rod is placed where the old idle controller used to be (Centre of pic)...


Next you have to fabricate a mounting bracket to help support the downshift actuator out of the supplied strip of stainless steel. I found this was the hardest part of the project, as all the angles have to be spot on to fit.


Downshift actuator in place. I had to use a little PTFE tape on the idle control rod as the threads were a little worn on the carb assy. Note the support bracket attached to actuator plus one of the carb float bowl screws...


Before refitting carbs, find a good vacuum point, the most convenient on the Fireblade is the on the engine just below the furthest inlet from the timing chain end. Take out the screw (in my case an allen screw) and fit the supplied adaptor. This is where you fit the vacuum pipe from the downshift actuator box...


Next up, refit carbs with actuator and vacuum hose fitted...


Fitted actuator control box to firewall shelf using velcro. Blurry pic sorry, but box is mounted in front of the battery. The idea is to keep vacuum hoses as short as possible. Also shown is the wiring. The wiring diagram in the Trickshifter manual is universal but pretty easy to understand. I used a switched 12v+ to one side of my twin coils rather than the colour coded wire shown in the diagram as it wasn't easy to find on my car.


Next, secure the Trickshifter control box. I fitted mine on the firewall sheltered below the bodywork. The box is splashproof, but not waterproof.


Once you have wired the Kliktronic unit and the Trickshifter units together, you can test its operation using the test switch on the Trickshifter control box.

Once you are happy that everything is working, it's time for a test drive.

What can I say? Well the combination of the two units is far superior than the excellent Kliktronic on its own, even with an aftermarket ignition interrupt, the Trickshifter interrupt feels a lot smoother. Gear changes are lightning quick and can be achieved at almost any speed, even crawling along in traffic. The system's will take a little getting used to, especially 1st to 2nd as the units have to compensate for neutral in between. I find a longer firmer press of the button helps here.

Am I happy? Yes ecstatic. Had a great deal of fun today with the Trickshifter / Kliktronic combination and cant wait to try it out on a track day. That said, this combo is equally happy on the road, fast or slow and makes everyday driving so much easier in a BEC.

I have suggested to both companies that they get their heads together and come up with a single boxed solution so maybe they will, maybe they wont .

But rest assured both companies provided service and equipment that impressed the hardest of cynics... namely me

A big well done to Kliktronic & Trickshifter

I hope to get a video up soon of the combined systems in action.

Discounts for club members, contact me for info and I hope you have enjoyed my mini write-up.

More info.
Klikronic http://www.kliktronic.co.uk/
TrickSHIFTER http://www.trickshifter.com/index.html

[Bulldog Bri]

Nice one Phil, just need to get your diff sorted then you'll be one happy bunny 

[Richard]

Good write up, enjoyed reading that. You can hear your enthusiasm jumping out of the words.

Can imagine that will make a great difference.

You'll going to have a very transformed car soon.