Weight of engine

[James England]

Could anyone tell me how heavy the XS1100 engine is (minus its oil and carbs) please? According to my manual, it's a two man lift to get the engine out of the right side of the frame. Could anyone advise me of just how hard it is to remove the engine from the frame? Thanks

[crazy steve]

Yep, it's two man job (unless you're strong) as the motor weighs roughly 260 lbs.

You can get it out single-handed, but you'll need to block the frame carefully, rig something to set the motor on, and slide it out sideways. Another method is to lay the bike on it's side, unbolt the motor, and lift the frame off. Removing the oil filter will help. None of these will be quick or easy....

[James England]

Yep, it's two man job (unless you're strong) as the motor weighs roughly 260 lbs.

You can get it out single-handed, but you'll need to block the frame carefully, rig something to set the motor on, and slide it out sideways. Another method is to lay the bike on it's side, unbolt the motor, and lift the frame off. Removing the oil filter will help. None of these will be quick or easy....

Blimey! That's over 18 stone! Presumably, getting it back in willbe equally difficult. I was thinking of having my frame powder coated but I'd hate to see it get damaged whilst trying to get the engine back in. I suspect the laying it on its side method might be less damaging to the frame? I wonder how they did it in the factory?

[DGXSER]

Rob....aka..79XS11F has a thread where he showed his method of removing the engine and sliding it back in single handedly. It invovles soem wood slats, and a jack, and movable platform IIRC. It is a pretty slick setup and looks like it would work out REALLY well.

Check out THIS thread.

[Cobia]

No damage involved, I just unmated the engine from the frame on my J.
I removed the upper front engine mount bolts, took the nuts off the lower ones, as well as the long bolt in the rear. I originally thought I could remove the engine out the left side... not so. So, we then layed the frame and engine on the right side, removed the bolts and lifted the frame off the engine.
Of course, I had nothing but the frame and engine at the time and I lowered this on a blanket, I placed another blanket to the right side of the engine. Then I pushed it over and layed all of it on the blanket on the right side, removed the bolts, and lifted the frame off the engine. Immidiately thereafter I righted the engine and it was free from the frame. I then ran pipes through the upper engine mount damper holes, as well as the rear ones to use as handles for lifting the engine and manipulating it as needed.
BTW - You can do this by yourself, it's best if you have someone helping you. I had a neighbor helping.

[James England]

Unfortunately, I don't have the platform and jacks etc to do the 'engine slide' method. So I reckon it will be the laying on its side on blankets method.I bet Yamaha didn't do it like that though......

[petejw]

i tried removing the engine from the bike
while laying it on its side, its still a 2 man
job, as the engine wants to catch on anything
it can catch onto.



if ur going to take apart the engine, remove all the upper bits down to the barrells, (rocker cover, carbs and head) remove the middle drive, oil filter cover and oil pump, then u should be able to remove the engine by urself.

other than that the way rob removed his, was the way i reinstalled mine.

[James England]

i tried removing the engine from the bike
while laying it on its side, its still a 2 man
job, as the engine wants to catch on anything
it can catch onto.



if ur going to take apart the engine, remove all the upper bits down to the barrells, (rocker cover, carbs and head) remove the middle drive, oil filter cover and oil pump, then u should be able to remove the engine by urself.

other than that the way rob removed his, was the way i reinstalled mine.

I think I would most probably lay the bike the other way ie on its right side and lift the frame off the engine. Rather than lifting the engine out of the frame. well... that's the theory....... at the moment....

[petejw]

lol
thats what i did,
probably didnt explain it to well.

also i said u needed to remove the oil pump,
its only the filter housing that needs removal.

you need to lift the frame/bike evenly
which is some thing you cant do by urself.

[DGXSER]

If you have another person helping. The strap method shown earlier works out pretty well. When I wrecked ole Thunderstruck ealier this year and had to part her out, two fellow XSives came over to help me get the ball rolling while I was still wheelchair bound. They used the straps and without ALOT of overworking got the engine out and place it on a furniture dolly for me. That way I could roll it to wherever I needed to and even do the disassembly work while still in the chair.

[Yahman]

Removing an engine by yourself is extremely easy, if you know the trick. It's getting it back into the frame without damage that's difficult.

The following steps are performed after you have removed the headers, seat, battery, gas tank and carbs.

1. Remove the middle drive.
2. Remove the shift and rear brake levers.
3. Unhook the wiring that's connected to the engine.
4. Drain the oil and remove the filter.
5. Remove all of the mount bolts.

Once the engine is just sitting there in the frame, you are ready to begin. On the right side of the bike, place a piece of carpet or heavy cardboard on the floor. With the bike on it's side stand, standing on the right side of the bike facing the engine, grab the bike and slowly lean it toward you until the engine is just touching the floor. At this point the bike is ONLY leaning enough for the engine to touch the floor. Next, wiggle the front end of the bike with your right hand, so that the frame starts to walk away from you. Do this while holding the top of the engine in place, at your knees, and it will lift out of the mounts in the frame. Now continue to hold the engine in that orientation while lifting the frame to it's upright position. Rest the frame back onto it's side stand, and lower the engine so it's upright.

The engine will almost fall out of the frame, with just a little wiggling if done right. I have done this twice and it only took 2 to 3 minutes the first time, less than that the second time.

The next time I remove an engine (probably next summer), I am going to video tape it so everyone can see how easy it really is.

Larry

[James England]

Thanks everyone for that. Very useful indeed. I'm going to do it. As I mentioned before, my bike is in for its exhaust system to be made and I sent off my tank etc for a respray with proper decals. Basically, my bike is an engine frame+forks and wheels and, given the other work I'm having done, and work I've already done, I'd be daft not to get the frame and swinging arm done. I've weighed up powder coating v paint and decided to go for paint because it's shinier, more glossy and more original. Also, not so thick in important places. They're shotblasting, using a 2K etch primer and 2K topcoat, so it should be a nice job.

No doubt I'll be posting next, asking if there's anything I need to know about swinging arm removal!

[Shappers]

This pictures shows how I got mine back in without a scratch on the frame. It took two of us to lift the engine onto the planks and then slide it down into the frame.

The job becomes much easier if you remove the middle drive and fit that later.

If you look closely I protected the frame with foam pieces held by cable ties.



Have fun but watch your back!

[fredintoon]

Unfortunately, I don't have the platform and jacks etc to do the 'engine slide' method. So I reckon it will be the laying on its side on blankets method.I bet Yamaha didn't do it like that though......

Hi James,
nah, they got robots'n'stuff.
I use a garage crane. A crane works better than 2 strong friends because it don't want to go for a beer before the job is done.
I stood in line at the tool store to get mine at less than 1/2 price.
The best shot I have only shows it in part:-