A Newbies Adventures in Maintenanceland!

Actually, I was going to do it with a drill, but I read somewhere that that would not be the best, so I just did it with my hands (I am kind of a neanderthal). It seals well enough, so I figure it worked out! The drill method would have been much faster and easier on my hands, but apparently that would just cut grooves into the seats and not "scuff" them up which is what lapping is supposed to do (I guess).

its supposed to basically machine the valve face and seat surfaces together by hand.my problem has always been that when the motor warms up the expansion of parts will outgun what youve done with the lapping.when you get the head back together flip it over on its front side exhuast ports down and fill intake ports full of solvent and blow compressed air around the face of intake valve where it meets the seat on each cylinder and watch for bubbles in the intake ports,then flip head over and repeat on exhuast valves.this is the best low buck way i know to check if valves are sealing

obviously lapping is not as effective as cutting new seats, BUT it's better than what I had...and when I get my valve clearances set I will be WAY better off, this poor old girl really needed a day at the spa.

Although my assembly lube looks like raspberry jam, it doesn't taste like it.

itll be allright! :laugh:

Just a quick question, my timing advancer seems to be in fine condition, but it's covered with surface rust. I have cleaned it up as well as I can, but was wondering what the best way to prevent it from further deterioration. While the engine is apart, would soaking it in some sort of penetrating oil help? I will make sure the ignition cover is on there better than it was as well.

spray it down with carb cleaner and scrub with an old toothbrush,put a drop of oil on pivot points.check the springs while youre in there too.

So I honed out my bores the other day, and the Flex-Hone works amazing. BUT I need to do it again, the black carbon ring around the top of the cylinders just below the head gasket is still present a little. I am going to quickly go over the bores again to get rid of this to truly give me a brand new surface. When I was washing the bores out after honing it the first time I noticed that I was developing surface rust within seconds...I washed it with hot water from the shower and a toilet brush and some dish soap, then rinsed it out really well. By the time I was able to dry it off and clean the bores out with some lighter fluid and toilet paper there was an even coating of surface rust that I ended up wiping off...is this rust something to worry about, or will wiping it off with the the lighter fluid till the paper comes out clean be enough?

use carb cleaner and a handfull of toilet paper to scrub out the bores,keep scrubbing till you get no more black crud on the paper.tp wont leave lint in bores like shop rags do.unlike some i dont oil the bores before installing pistons,but thats another story for another time! :laugh:

I feel truly honored to get the popcorn!

the popcorn is good,when ya get the red foreman ya know ya screwed up! :laugh:

When he reminds you daily with "What the hell you'd do that for Dumbass" then you know you screwed up... :S :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Don;t ask why I know this for fact....:blush:

So I redid the honing, and I still have some of the black ring around the top of the cylinders, I don't want to take away too much material from the bores, so unless leaving anything in there is bad I will leave it. I believe that this black ring serves the purpose of helping the compression ring do its job, will leaving a little of the ring behind not just help with compression?




These were taken after the first time I honed. Like I said I did it again, and it looks better now.

Another thing I did last night was work on my ducktail. I got one over the weekend while dealing with a beligerant drunk...My bike of course was not fitted with a tail, and I wanted one, so I got one and am going to have to make it fit somehow. I took my dremel and cut basically the entire "pocket" area away, and chopped the sides off.




I cut those notches in the side areas so thatthey slip under my seat.

My girlfriend refuses to ride without a sissy bar, so here is roughly what it will look like, kind of upswept like a 650:



The tail section will be mounted to the sissybar, and to the bike at 6 locations, so it should be on there pretty good.

Other than taht I did some more polising,


I am going to fill in the "Kawasaki" on the cs cover and clutch covers with some black paint after I am done polishing...anyways, back to work!

btw, I would appreciate comments on the honing dilemma :S