Removing engine covers..

[gareth]

It's time to polish up the aluminium on the bike. The timing and valve covers come off easily enough. I want to remove the crankcase covers on both sides and do a full job while my enthusiasm holds up. When I have drained the oil, what is involved in removing the "wet" covers? Is there anything likely to fall off when I do this? Any seals, like around the gearshift and kickstart that will tear and need to be replaced? Any springs that will fly across the shop? Any need for specialized pullers, or will they just pull off by hand/ slight persuasion?


Thanks,

Gareth.

[trbig]

All the covers have gaskets that may tear. The clutch cover can sometimes be tough, but I've found that if you use the wooden handle of an old hammer or something in the filler hole (Big plastic screwdriver handle also.. something soft to not mess up the threads) and use that to pry, it will pop off. You'll just need to take that circle cover off first and get your clutch cable unhooked. Bend up the little retainer tab, pry up on the little clutch arm asnd remove the cable. No need to mess with the arm or center adjustment screw or anything.. this will all come straight off with the cover.


Tod

[bikerphil]

kickstart shaft

When taking off the clutch cover, make sure the kickstart shaft doesn't pull out with the cover. There is a recoil spring on that shaft which might come off. It's a pain to get everything lined back up correctly. It will stay where it is supposed to if careful. HTH.

[randy]

Removing the clutch cover, loosen all the bolts and pull the clutch lever, that will pop the cover from the motor, then you can remove the cable.

[TopCatGr58]

Just a followup on Tod's note regarding the clutch cover. There is a small spring on the bottom side of the clutch cover lever, and you'll need to use something strong to first pry/rotate the clutch lever up since it's pushing against the clutch springs, to release the tension on the cable end, even if you loosen and allow some slack at the handlebar.

But once you get the cable off, that little spring may not be tight enough to stay in place or keep the lever down. The problem that can occur when putting it back together is that IF that lever moves/rotates the loose little ball bearings can fall OUT! And then the lever and throwout rod won't work right IF you don't realize that it has occured! The Manual describes this pitfall, but don't know/think that you have one?

Also, have you had any problems with downshifting?! The shift lever return spring is easily accessible under the left cover, and so could be replaced while you're in there, along with checking the alignment of the shift pawl and levers....see the pictorial in the tech tips about the return spring. There is a shift drum/shift pawl alignment check and possible adjustment, while the bike is IN 2nd gear, the little engraved notch on the shift pawl and shift drum should line up, if not, readjust!

T.C.

[gareth]

Thanks a lot. Good stuff. Just what I needed.
I was at the local R&S Strauss here and picked up a spray bottle of something called Etching Mag Cleaner. It is supposed to be used on rough cast car rims to clean brake dust and the like off. Its fairly corrosive, so using it on polished surfaces is not recommended...but...
I had been hacking away with paint stripper, 600 wet-or-dry and assorted buffing compounds trying to get the aluminium parts on the bike to look better. The problem was consistency in the final finish. I wasn't looking for an overall high-chrome shine on the stuff; just a look that said that the bike had been lovingly burnished by adoring owners from new, and the stripper/W&D and red rouge wasn't cutting it.

What the Mag Cleaner did, after I stripped the clear coat from another part to test, was etch the metal enough to give it an even, bright overall surface. It was a bit like the satin OEM finish on a show bike. Then I quickly buffed it with Mothers and was amazed at how it turned out. It was just the finish I was looking for. I still have a couple of thing to figure out- whether it's worth trying to etch the metal again after the buffing with Mothers, and how quickly I need to wash the part down, dry and degrease with thinner and then clearcoat to maintain the finish.
But I am really encouraged.
Attention to little cosmetic OEM things on this old bike really make the bike stand out. The stock look is very dignified for a machine that performs so fiercely. The machine just looks so "serious" and I want to keep it that way.
No bling.
It ain't that kind of bike.
Will post photos when the deed is done.


Getting the covers off was job one....

Thanks,

Gareth.

[bikerphil]

polishing tip

A tip I learned from an old timer that works unbelievably well for polishing case covers is Coca-Cola and tin foil. Pour it on and rub it around. I cleaned all the aluminum covers on my Special this way and they turned out great.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Gareth,

RAW Aluminum forms an protective oxidized layer just sitting in the atmosphere. The oxidation can seal/close the pores of the metal, and that could be part of why you had a difficult time to shine it BEFORE you etched it. Etching allowed you to eat thru the OLD oxidized outer layers and get to NEW clean metal where the polish could then do it's job. I don't think RE-etching would be needed. You need to be careful when washing raw aluminum because ALKALI based cleaners/soaps will further etch into RAW aluminum and dull it again!

BTW, there's a recent Product review on Clearcoat that you might want to look at. Probably just need to etch, clean, polish, and then clearcoat. Yeah, pictures would be nice!
T.C.

[TADracer]

Alternator Cover

One thing that I do not think was mentioned in the post above. When you remove your alternator, DO NOT remove the three allen bolts that are in the cover holding the coil windings, unless you are up to setting the clearances again.

[gareth]

Alternator cover

I could see what Mike meant when I took the cover off.
Under the alternator cover is a large circular loom of wire that is fixed to the cover with a series of allen screws around its perimeter. Centered in the cover and held by allen bolts that attach from the outside is another smaller winding coil that has a small spade connector to the wiring harness.

For what I need to do, I don't really have to remove the smaller winding. My question concerns the larger coil around the outside. If this is removed are there any alignment concerns when I reinstall it? In other words, will it just go back exactly where it came off? I can see that the center winding would need to be set up so that there is clearance around the solid "flywheel" basket but I can leave that alone.
Can I remove the outer coil and get enough movement on the spade connector to the center coil to allow the entire wiring harness to remain on the bike while I polish the cover?

Thanks,

Gareth

[randy]

Gareth,

I don't know what 'clearances' Mike is referring to, both the inner and outer coils attach with bolts, there are no clearances to set. You can do what you describe, but be careful to seat the inner coil squarely in it's grooves inside the cover so it's not cocked as you tighten it down.

BTW, that is not a true 'spade' connector, the wires are soldered on at that connector.

[gareth]

Thanks, Randy.\

I wasn't sure if there were any "grooves" or location pegs in these items that would allow them to be removed and replaced accurately, whether they were factory mounted or matched etc.
Those coils are so outta-there in the next ten minutes..

G.

[gareth]

Everything off... easy.
Just for posterity, in case someone else is doing this:

The drivers footrest needed to come off to get clearance to remove the clutch cover...which meant that the long, combined footrest/ engine support bolt needed to get pulled/drifted out the right side...which meant the engine dropped a bit and needed to be levered up with a 2x4 on a brick ( or a bottle jack..) to get the bolt back in..

But since the aluminium footrest brackets had to come off for polishing....which meant dropping the exhaust...which could use a buffing anyway.... it all ended happily.

Gareth.