Hello All,
I've been reading the great forum posts here for the last few months in order to educate myself. I have to say, the wealth of knowledge and experience here is amazing, and has really helped to make things easier for me so far. So thank you all for everything you share on the site!
When it finally started getting cooler here last weekend, I decided to get the engine out of my SL350. This is the only motorcycle I've owned, and I've never had it running, though I've owned it for a bit over two years now. Just been spending time acquiring missing parts and chasing electrical gremlins. Anyways, since my wife was out of town for the weekend, I hauled the engine into the living room, and broke open pandora's box to find:
1) Shredded tensioner wheels - I expected this, and have already purchased a KA Slipper, have not yet ordered a Tsubaki chain, but it's on the list.
1a) Improperly-installed timing chain guide opposite the shredded tensioner
2) Aluminum particles in the oil, a lot of aluminum - more on that later
3) Silicone gasket sealer had been used on pretty much every surface, including inside some oil passageways.
4) Some metric, some imperial hardware
5) Mildly rusty bores
6) Top end obviously starved of oil at some point in its life
I found that the camshaft had some heat discoloration, the tach-side bearing block is completely shot, and the tach-end of the cam has some really nice deep grooves in it (Improves oil retention?!?!
) I have yet to crack the case halves apart, on account of having found too many atrocities and now being fearful of what it might hold.
The big picture: I'd like to restore the bike and have it as a daily rider. I don't ever plan to use it on a race track, but it will be used on the occasional forest road tour up in the white or green mountains. Realistically, it won't often (if ever) see 10k RPM, or a jump, or speeds in excess of 70 mph. However, I'm not bound to sticking with stock stuff everywhere either, as long as the overall look is maintained. Primary goal is an engine for around town and in the woods that is as close as possible to infinitely reliable. I don't care much about weight or high HP/TQ or high revs.
My plan: Convert the cam to needle bearings, install Tsubaki chain and KA Slipper, have Bore Tech re-do the cylinders for me, new 65.5mm cast pistons, new gaskets, seals, and wear items, and then throw this all back together.
My Question: If the cam bearings on either end of the cam box are worn so badly that they wobble, can they still be converted to needle bearings? Or will this not-round-ness make it impossible for a machinist to correctly mount and line up the end pieces for machining? Do I need to buy new (NOS or lightly used) points and tach housings to supply for a machinist? Is anyone here on HondaTwins doing the machining for this conversion? I know RRR posted a little while back that he does it, but I'm on the wrong side of the pond. Captb seems to have done it for himself, but isn't in business for it.
I've read all the great posts from Outobie, RRR, and captb about needle bearing conversions, but I have limited knowledge of the processes, and no equipment, so I'll be farming it out to someone else. Thanks for all the info!
I've been reading the great forum posts here for the last few months in order to educate myself. I have to say, the wealth of knowledge and experience here is amazing, and has really helped to make things easier for me so far. So thank you all for everything you share on the site!
When it finally started getting cooler here last weekend, I decided to get the engine out of my SL350. This is the only motorcycle I've owned, and I've never had it running, though I've owned it for a bit over two years now. Just been spending time acquiring missing parts and chasing electrical gremlins. Anyways, since my wife was out of town for the weekend, I hauled the engine into the living room, and broke open pandora's box to find:
1) Shredded tensioner wheels - I expected this, and have already purchased a KA Slipper, have not yet ordered a Tsubaki chain, but it's on the list.
1a) Improperly-installed timing chain guide opposite the shredded tensioner
2) Aluminum particles in the oil, a lot of aluminum - more on that later
3) Silicone gasket sealer had been used on pretty much every surface, including inside some oil passageways.
4) Some metric, some imperial hardware
5) Mildly rusty bores
6) Top end obviously starved of oil at some point in its life
I found that the camshaft had some heat discoloration, the tach-side bearing block is completely shot, and the tach-end of the cam has some really nice deep grooves in it (Improves oil retention?!?!
The big picture: I'd like to restore the bike and have it as a daily rider. I don't ever plan to use it on a race track, but it will be used on the occasional forest road tour up in the white or green mountains. Realistically, it won't often (if ever) see 10k RPM, or a jump, or speeds in excess of 70 mph. However, I'm not bound to sticking with stock stuff everywhere either, as long as the overall look is maintained. Primary goal is an engine for around town and in the woods that is as close as possible to infinitely reliable. I don't care much about weight or high HP/TQ or high revs.
My plan: Convert the cam to needle bearings, install Tsubaki chain and KA Slipper, have Bore Tech re-do the cylinders for me, new 65.5mm cast pistons, new gaskets, seals, and wear items, and then throw this all back together.
My Question: If the cam bearings on either end of the cam box are worn so badly that they wobble, can they still be converted to needle bearings? Or will this not-round-ness make it impossible for a machinist to correctly mount and line up the end pieces for machining? Do I need to buy new (NOS or lightly used) points and tach housings to supply for a machinist? Is anyone here on HondaTwins doing the machining for this conversion? I know RRR posted a little while back that he does it, but I'm on the wrong side of the pond. Captb seems to have done it for himself, but isn't in business for it.
I've read all the great posts from Outobie, RRR, and captb about needle bearing conversions, but I have limited knowledge of the processes, and no equipment, so I'll be farming it out to someone else. Thanks for all the info!