My left-hand side main bearing stayed on the crank when I split the cases and I'm having trouble finding a bearing separator/puller big enough (they all seem go up to 80mm max and the bearing is 90mm O/D). I have thought of two possible solutions to getting the bearing off the crank... 1. I have some fairly heavy duty angle iron and an angle grinder so I could have a stab at making a bearing separator. 2. I thought if I fired a weld or two onto the bottom race that might put enough heat into expand the metal and the bearing would 'drop off' Any thoughts, or proven ways of removing the bearing? Nicely 'modded' Ivan
Still waiting on my machinist, I've been eyeballing some used heads online but no luck so far, everyone seems to want them more than I do right now. My scoot is back on the road though, better than nothing at all. I do need to work on the XL's leaking forks and try cutting down the knobs on the front tire, it's alittle cupped. Shakes my eyeballs at 85mph/136kmh Pete
You're not wrong there Pete. My 'forced' GS brake refurbishment is getting in the way of XL business at the moment, but the GS is, otherwise ready to go so it's first in the queue. I'm missing having a bike to ride ;-) Now found one at a reasonable price... http://www.workshopping.co.uk/product/bearing-separator-75-105mm/PS988/
...still I'm hoping to get back onto the XL soon though. I've just about replaced everything on the GS's front brake system. Stay tuned
Don't feel bad buddy, I'm wait on odds and ends till I can get mine back together. I some how miss placed two jug washers and a dowel pin from the head and they haven't even shipped out yet, ordered last week :eek1, and have yet to start working on the seals and springs in the side cases yet.
I must have an awesome parts guy at my local Honda dealer. 98% of the time I order parts I get them in two working days.
XL Update: I managed to score a NOS LHS airbox-to-carb hose off ebay. That might not seem much of a high point to many of you, but it's a key piece of the puzzle for me. They are a discontinued part and these XL bits (along with side panels, etc.) are uber-rare in the UK - this is the first I've seen for sale since I started looking months ago. While there are plenty of them in Germany or France, the postage really does bump up the end cost and I'm working on a budget here . I could have gone for separate cone filters but I'd rather get it running well as a stock bike before I start modifying it. I've also just ordered the bearing puller for the crank bearing and put decals on the fuel tank - a pic of that will no doubt follow but I can't get into my garage right now as the doors are locked by ice :eek1 . Sounds like you're getting a great service there.
My next parts order is going to be from my local dealer so we shall see how they do. How far are you from the ohio river? I'm just south of columbus.
I too just won some parts from ebay we didn't fight over anything did we? Just got the top end back on last night, still need some bits for the left side cover and a stator though. want to borrow my torch Jim?
The bearing puller arrived this morning. I just had to try it out when I got home from work, you know how it is All I can say is, there's nothing like the tool for the job! going... goi ... uh ...gone! Next job? Tidy up the bench and put some tools away! Then get some balancer shaft bearings and build the bottom end
Well, the engine is still in bits, all for the need of balancer shaft bearings! They're out of stock items in Europe and Japan; I haven't investigated US sources yet, but I'm not hopeful. I think I can have the 'nearest' bearings (15id x 42od x 13w) machined to size - out to 17mm inner diameter (doable) and 1mm off the total width of the bearing shell, I'm not certain whether they can do that, I didn't ask my bearing guy. In the meantime... I decided to build up the engine cases, barrel, head, etc. and slip the motor back into the frame - boy, was that easy with no engine internals! This evening I've made the top motor-to-frame plates from 5mm Ally and I was going to fit the exhaust so I could figure out what to do about a right-hand side panel... more of that to come, but here's where it stands tonight -
I'm really pleased with it how it's working out so far, the photo's probably flatter the finish but honestly, I don't want to build something that I'm frightened to get dirty. Your 'do a proper engine rebuild' idea was inspired though. I'm really looking forward to the moment when I can kick that motor over (I think!). Hopefully the rest of the will hold up OK ... particularly my crucial bit of frame welding and those top mounts :eek1