So, here it is December of 1999. It's eight years and 122,000 miles since Ol' Blue rolled out of the showroom, and time's a come to overhaul the motor.
I decided that although the motor as supplied from the the factory did an outstanding job, pulling a taller gear and riding at the speeds I like to go, a little more torque would be a Good Thing(tm). However, I don't have the need for a super fast daily rider, and also do not want to sacrifice the incredible reliability and longevity I have gotten.
So, with that as the criteria, I opted to do the following:
The above changes will yield a 89.5ci motor, about 10% more than stock. Hopefully the heavier wheels and lighter pistons will reduce the steady state vibs a little bit.
The machine work and balance will be done by RE Engineering of San Jose, CA.
Progress Report, 1/18/2000
I pulled the motor out 12/22/1999, and took it to the shop. Roger at RE got it all machined, and was truing the flywheel assembly. I got a call 1/12/2000 from Roger, said them Truett & Osborn wheels I had would not true up. .001" the sprocket shaft, but .005" on the pinion shaft. Well shit.
I called T&O, and talked to Paul Osborn. He said send the flywheel assembly back, and he would take care of it, including replacing the flywheels and reassemblying/ truing/balancing. OK, so in the mail it went.
2/18/2000 Got the flywheels back, and commenced to reassembling the motor. Everything went fine, til I got it in the frame and spun it over. Clunk! It locked up! Turns out, there was some interference between the front rod and the case. So I pulled it out of the frame, and tore it apart, filed some rod clearance, and reassembled. OK so far.
I finally got it all in and hooked up, and attempted to fire it up. We cranked on it a while with no fuel, to get the oil system primed. However, the oil light would never go out. After some fidgeting around, checking this and that, lots more cranking, it finally built up oil pressure. Must have been air in the oil feed line.
So I turn on the gas, pull the choke, crank it up, and it fires instantly! Yeah! Lots of tappet clatter, though. It finally cleared up. Next day I went to take it to the gas station to fill the tanks. One of the tappets would not stop clicking. I though it might after a little ride, but got as far as the first stoplight, and noticed oil pouring out the nosecone. Turned around and went back home. The tappet was clicking badly now.
Bob thought I might have broke a tappet wheel. Pulled the nosecone, and the first thing I notice is no nosecone cam seal. DOH!! Then, I notice that there is a little grit here and there inside the cam chest area. Damn, must be leftover bead blast. I removed the tappets, and the front ones had a bunch of grit in them. That explained that! Cleaned 'em all out, and reassembled. Fixed!
3/1/2000 Have about 300 miles on the motor, it's running pretty good. First impression is that there is definately more vibration than before, but not objectionable. Not yet, anyway. Have not had it above 70mph. We'll see how it runs at 80 after it's broke in. Power seems good, but I can definately tell there is a little less low end with this Crane 316 cam. Might be inclined to swap in a 310 sometime, just to check it out. There is a very noticeable cam whine, and I will need to deal with that. Swap a smaller cam gear. Other than that, the motor is pretty darn quiet. I have not been able to time it with a light, as them T&0 wheels are so wide the timing window plug won't screw in. Will need to make one that will.
Well, here it is.
Looks kinda cool in bare aluminum.
