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Nice! I put mine on dry cause i was worried about that. The one that was on when i took the jugs off was a PITA to remove.
I almost glued my top end together like that also! Even got the gasgacinch and yamabond; but i decided not to at the last minute just because i didn't want to remove that when i get the new head. Id bet Joe does it so thoroughly just so he can assure his customers they won't leak.
I haven't had any signs of leakage yet but i bet the extra 10 ft lbs the ape studs give me help with that.

Hardgun wrote: Nice! I put mine on dry cause i was worried about that. The one that was on when i took the jugs off was a PITA to remove.
I almost glued my top end together like that also! Even got the gasgacinch and yamabond; but i decided not to at the last minute just because i didn't want to remove that when i get the new head. Id bet Joe does it so thoroughly just so he can assure his customers they won't leak.
I haven't had any signs of leakage yet but i bet the extra 10 ft lbs the ape studs give me help with that.

i'd have to say that the cylinder base gasket had to be the WORST gasket I have ever removed. It was glued on HARD. Come to think of it, the whole motor was glued together hard. There were still remnants of the base gasket when I reassembled the engine. It would have been easier to remove the studs, then use the scotch brite disks to remove the rest, but as usual, hindsight is always 20-20. I may use the scotch brite disks next time. IDK.


The thing with the grease coating is that it lets the gasket conform to all of the small surface inconsistencies, and at the same time causes the gasket material to swell slightly, while allowing disassembly without tearing that $30.00 OEM base gasket. After it is run the engine oil wicks in and causes it to swell slightly.

I would say you are correct as to why Joe glues (and recommends gluing) the motors together, >comebacks<.. OR clueless customers that want to blame him if a motor they assemble themselves, yet going by his instructions leaks from those neato O-rings.

Yeah i took the sleeves out and took a milled aluminum plate with 400 grit sheet glued to it to evenly remove the rock hard remnants off the jugs. Still a little there but i started to hit the surface so i left it. Thought about doing that on the case surface but i didn't want any silica glass to end up down on my crank so i just used lots of lacquer thinner and a couple hours of scraping to get it as good as i could. 35 years and what i would assume is some glue from factory really makes that gasket solid.

Yeah they are a PITA especially if it's the first time apart since new.

Well I got the cam caps all on and threads fixed with Helicoils. Worked great everything is golden, or so I thought.
Still got the noise, sounds worse this time around. Started losing power and struggled to stay at 75 on the highway. So I pulled her over and trailered it home.
Horrible noise and looking when I pulled over I was getting oil bubbling up into the breather filter on my crankcase. Almost sounded like it was coming from the back towards the transmission, but it's hard to say for sure from sticking my head down there while I'm riding on the highway.
Any ideas?
Needless to say I'll be pulling the whole darn motor and taking apart the bottom end. Thinking about just buying a spare motor for parts if it's not gonna be a cheapish fix.

Drop the pan and see what you got. Might be a broken cam chain guide
Steve

What type of noise, knocking or rattle?

SWest the guides looked fine the last three times I've been in the top end and had virtually no wear when I had them out and checked them, so I doubt it's that, but you're right my next step is to pull my pan and see if I can get some clues.
baldy110 it's most definitely a rattle. Loud and only at 5k plus RPM while in gear. I can get the sound out of other gears but it seems to be the worst when in 5th and pulling on the throttle past 5k RPM. If I baby it and keep it below that then everything sounds fine but as soon as I hit that point you know something isn't right. It's gotten worse since the first time I noticed it and this last time I actually experienced power loss.
I stuck my head down there and listened and felt the engine with my hands while riding and like I said hard to say from that, but it felt and sounded like it was in the bottom end towards the rear.
I could also see oil bubbled up into the filter on my crank case breather, which I've never had happen before. Not enough to even leak from it, but a noticeable amount for sure.

What did the clutch basket springs look like when you had it apart?

Well the looked fine. I don't have a way to measure the spring tension per FSM and the bike only has a total of 14.5k on it so I assumed (I know bad move) they'd be ok, the whole assembly showed almost no signs of wear and all measurements and clearances checked out.
Got stuck helping a buddy change his brakes he muffed up last night, but Ill pull the whole clutch basket this evening and go over everything, its been over a year since I had it out, might as well replace the springs while I'm there (like I should have done in the first place).

Well I pulled and checked out the clutch basket assembly and plates. Everything checks out great. friction plates are at about half life. I'll go ahead and order clutch springs since I have no way to test the tension on the ones I have. Tonight I'll deglaze my steel plates and drop the oil pan and see if I can figure more out. In summary I don't believe my clutch is the issue.

I was referring to the clutch basket springs NOT the clutch or clutch springs. Ive had the clutch basket springs actually break and come apart then bugger up the tranny gears. They make a terrible noise when they do. Not saying that is your problem but just something else to look for.