trouble reinstalling crank in kz1000

Greetings kzr community.

im finally starting to rebuild the motor on my 77 kz1000. the motor has been disassembled for a while and sitting. the crank was stored indoors and wrapped with oily rags. I installed the ape main bearing studs into the upper case, but when I tried to install the crankshaft I couldn't for the life of me get the holes on the bearings to fall into place over the dowel pins in the case. I set the crank in the upper case and rotated each outer race until it lined up but I couldn't get all of them to fall in. are there any tips or tricks or maybe something simple that I'm missing, or is this a tell tale sign that I have a bent crankshaft. before tearing the motor down it spun freely and had good compression.

Thanks for the knowledge gents

You could mark the bearing outers with marker pen opposite the holes (180 degs) so you know the holes are somewhere in the right area when the marks are lined up facing you , then while supporting one end of the crank with your hand start with the furthest away and work your way along.
You will be able to feel each pin locate and the crank will drop slightly as each pin locates.
Don't let the crank rock on a pin as it will lift off the one's you've done and you'll be back to square one.
Should only take a minute to seat the crank with this method.
I don't actually mark the bearings myself as I just feel them in as mentioned but it should make it a bit easier for you.

I stored my Gpz1100 crankshaft for about 4 years in a box wrapped up with oiled rags. When I went to put the crank back on it was bent, I ended up getting another crank. The crank was true when I stored it. I did not however have your problem all the bearings went back into their respective studs with ease. On mine when I torqued the middle main bearing cap the crank would have a really tight spot when rotated.

i managed to get it. just stepped away for a minute, drank a beer, came back and got it on the first try. thanks for input though!

Maybe, in the future all manuals should include " if it doesn't work Stop, have a beer and work on it later' . How many times has this statement been made??.
For the politically correct we should include a brand name and a statement "do not ride after repairs, get a skipper to take it for a test ride" :laugh: