My first engine rebuild on a 1980 KZ1000 LTD

DoctoRot wrote: sorry for the lack of posts i have been out of town for a while, but im back now.

@wireman little confused here "use something soft like a brass drift and tap on it with a hammer to see if they move" are you talking about the valve guides?

@jimmyjoe I cant seem to find it at the moment but there is a pic of one in the clymer manual, i took a photo of it, when i find that thing i'll put it up here. I used a PVC pipe and no pad.

I picked up this solvent sink and started cleaning the engine cases

The gaskets are really stuck on there, my friend suggested i use a razor to slice them off, but because the aluminum is so soft, I seem to be slicing it as well. Is there some easier way to get the gaskets off? Then I remembered I read somewhere that its good to have all the mating surfaces machined down when you rebuild an engine. Is this true or did I make this up? I know you need the head resurfaced, but what about the top of the engine case, and between the cases?

wrist pins from pistons

Dude you are doing a complete break down. If the crank looked goood i was just going to leave it in but I guess wee see. I i much more work to break down the lower half? I have my clymer manual on the way but i am nervious about tearing it apart.

Bye the way what all did you have done to the head and how much was it?

I decided to upgrade the engine a bit. I'm going with 1075 pistons, and I decided to have Larry Cavanaugh do his 3 way porting job on my head, with new valves, springs, and guides. I'm also going to get some mild cams to wake this engine up.

As far as splitting the cases goes, I thought it was easier than removing the top end, there is more bolts to remove but doesn't seem too much harder. Its the putting it back together stuff that gets complicated, but we shall see. The crank just lifts out once you split the cases, and i wanted to check the bearings to make sure they were all solid, I also dropped it off at a local motorcycle shop to inspect the crank to make sure its straight and there are no cracks.

I am also having M.R.E. undercut my transmission.

I have been spending my spare time prepping the engine cases for paint. Meticulously sanding every surface, either by hand or with these



they are great for sanding in the fins, probably other uses as well.

when i was talking to Larry Cavanaugh, he suggested i get a "gasket remover wheel" which is basically a tougher brillow pad. After soaking the gaskets for a few days, hit it with this and they melt off!

When I was trying to get the clutch hub bolt off the manual said stick a screwdriver in between the hub and the basket so you can remove the bolt. I tried this and the screwdriver slipped and i put a small gouge in the clutch hub. Do i just sand this down or do i have to get a new hub?
I also noticed the clutch springs had some wear on them. Should I replace these as well?


I finished ordering parts and they are on the way. I'm gonna try and finish up the engine cases today so i can start putting it back together.

I'd replace the springs they're pretty inexpensive and it needs them anyway.

I think you can dress that nick out without any issues.

Dress the slots where the clutch plates slide on the hub. You don't want any nicks or gouges on those as the clutch plates need to slide back and forth freely and any nicks will catch the plate tabs and may cause problems.

whats a good site to get all the parts for a rebuild

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