Engine Installation and Head Installation

With the engine assembly mostly done, I wanted to get it installed into the frame. The frame was a rolling chassis and was ready for the engine to be installed. I decided to not install the head as without it the engine was a managable weight I could handle alone and wouldn't need assistance to install the engine.

I began by masking the entire right side of the frame of the bike around the engine area. I didn't want to scuff up the powder coating and althought it is tough I wasn't going to take chances. I also dug into my bag of powder coated parts and found all of the newly coated engine mounts and all of the bolts. I cleaned up the chrome bolts and prepared to install.

The most difficult thing about installing the engine besides the akward weight, is to get the shaft drive to mate up with the engine. I prepared for this by liberally greasing the u-joint and ensuring it would go onto the drive, and also by placing a jack under the bottom of the engine to be able to adjust the height. I then moved the engine into the frame and set it on the jack below, and began to maneuver it into proper position. Once the drive shaft is mated up properly, the mounts can be installed. I did the front two first and then the rear upper and then both loweres. This process took about 45 minutes start to finish, and in no time I had the engine installed. Here is a photo of the finished process. Notice the head gasket partially installed.


Next I needed to install the head. I first cleaned the mating surfaces of the cylinders and head and then placed the head gasket in place. I then put the cam chain guide into position and finally lowered the head into place. It took some doing as the cam chain guide is tricky, but once it dropped into place the head mated up and I was all set. The picture below is of the head in place just before bolting it down.

There is still work to do on the head such as adding the lifters and camshafts and all of the other small parts. That is my next task when I find time in the garage.

Clutch Rebuild

Since I was rebuilding the engine I wanted to ensure that all assembleys are refreshed. This includes rebuilding the clutch and installing new friction plates and springs. The steel plates were in great shape and did not need to be replaced. I purchased a set of EBC clutch plates and Vesrah high-performance springs for the job. Pictures of the parts are below. Notice the difference in length between the stock springs on the right and the new springs on the left.

This was a very simple upgrade to perform and the only difficulty I had was installing the new springs. As they were longer, the bolts holding them in place didn't want to catch on the threads. A little downward pressure was all it took to get them to catch, and the overall job took me about 30 minutes to complete. There is an ongoing argument about whether to wet the friction plates with oil or not. I decided to wet them as this is considered a wet clutch and most posts from actualy certified Mechanics seemed to favor that approach.

Engine Paint and Assembly

It has been quite a long time since I have had much time to work on my project, but I wanted to summarize up the past several months efforts. Having a child will definitely put a damper on project time.

During this time I have been working to get the Engine sorted out and ready for installation. This effort includes disassembly of the entire engine, cleaning stripping and repainting the engine cases, and reassembly of the engine. During this effort I would be replacing the bottom case of the engine as the original one had a leak. I would also be replacing the head with one that has all of it's fins as the original one had several broken ones. Here is a photo of the engine before I started:

Notice the broken fins and dirty corroded and scuffed valve and side covers. When I disassembled the engine I planned to also replace the valve cover and side covers, or polish and refinish them. Disassembly went quickly and honestly was done in about 2 hours. I had done an rebuild before and it goes quickly when you have some experience. I bagged up and labeled all the parts and prepared to clean up and refinish the engine cases.

The next big step was to get a new head and bottom case. I bought a head off Ebay that had all fins and was from a running bike. I also bought a complete case locally from another enthusiast and was ready for my rebuild. Sometime during the spring I did the massive cleanup of the cases. I took the top and bottom case and used a serious degreaser to remove all of the outside crud. This involved a few hours of scrubbing and elbow grease, but in the end I had parts ready for paint. I then masked them up and painted them over the summer with VHT high-temp satin finish barrel paint. I also purchased an Athena gasket kit that includes all gaskets, seals, and washers you need for a complete rebuild.

The head I purchased was very dirty and would be very difficult to clean, so I found a local shop that was willing to use their sandblaster to clean it up, and they also stripped off much of the outside coating as well. This was a very worthwile step as I don't think I could have possibly cleaned it sufficiently without doing this. The final head before paint can be seen in the picture below as I am reinstalling the valves and installing new valve seals. I polished up the valves and removed all carbon deposits, and also refaced the valve faces with laping compound. I then masked the head and painted it.

Once repainted I began reassembly. There are a few photos below that show some of the stages, but mostly this was a fairly simple process if you follow the manual. Notice the nice new finish on the outer cases and cylinder. Also notice the new copper gaskets on the bolts that hold together the top and bottom cases.

Next I will install the engine into the frame and rebuild the clutch.