Mild build on my FXR4

[fxr4mikey]

 
so then, I got to put the new cyl studs in ...
here's the approach that I used, even though the SM says DO NOT USE a ratchet, I did  :yikes: 

I screwed them in by hand down to the shoulders, then I took the torque wrench, held it steady, against the direction that the wrench was going to pull, and SLOWLY pulled it up to 120 inch pounds.  You just need to be as careful as you can to not put any lateral stress on the stud. You do not want to bend it or 'pull it' to the side when you are torquing it down ... the idea is to 'spin it' in.  I guess the studs are sensitive :roflback:

In this picture you see the stud, the ball bearing that is inserted into the head bolt and the head bolt


here's the head bolt threaded onto the stud with the ball bearing inside the head bolt.  The idea of having the ball bearing in there is that it keeps the head bolt from 'seating' onto the stud when you torque it down. Then you can UN SCREW the head bolt WITHOUT loosening the cyl stud ... Kewl huh



OK Then .... here's another reason that I left all that blue tape on there ... when you un-screw that head bolt, that little ball bearing is in there .... you know that it'd would LOVE to find a new happy home in the bottom of your crank case, right under the fly wheel .....
However, you see how I've tilted the head bolt to the side as it cam free from the stud ... there never really was a problem with the ball bearing 'falling out'   .... now maybe that's just because the blue tape was in place  :huh:



here she is with all of her new studs  :DD

[fxr4mikey]

well then .... there came a time when I had to check the end gap on my rings ....  here's how I did mine ..... I read somewhere, LATER, that you could put an old ring on the piston to help with this .... I didn't have an old ring, and I didn't know of that idea at the time ....:blink:

In order to get an accurate measurement, the ring must be 'square' in the cylinder ... I used a piston to help achieve this.

I installed the ring in the piston, you can squeeze it in there with your hands



Then I put the piston in there, upside down, and pushed in down about 2 inches


now at this point, since the piston does not have a ring on it, and there is space between the piston and cylinder wall, the piston isn't 'square' in the cylinder.

So I used a level, on two planes, to insure that the piston was sitting square in the cylinder.
In this pic you see the level sitting on the edge of the cylinder .. you'll see also that it is not level, nor is my bench ... so just get your line, and use that as a reference when you put the level on the piston


here's the level now moved up and sitting on the piston


I did that on two sides to insure that it was 'level' = 'square'

Then I removed the piston and measured the end gap of the ring


My indy told me to expect that it would be near the upper limit of the spec after the cyls had been honed.  He was right.  The upper limit is .020 and I got the following measurements ... both cylinders, both compression rings, all measure the same.

Top ring = .019 (both jugs, both rings)
2nd ring = .014 (both jugs, both rings)

Tomorrow I'll ring up the pistons and consider putting them into the jugs in preparation to install the jugs.

I gotta go to a small job tomorrow too     
but I like having my lil 'play money' for the bike too


here's a shot of the pistons after they were bead blasted ... not too bad

[ClassicRider2002]

Mikey~~

Great tutiorial and photos.....the project continues to move forward!!!

Regards,

"Classic"

SIMPLY, CLICK, VIEW & READ:
LOOSE CYLINDER STUDS

[elvislee]

Mikey...All is looking good man   

[tinkerman]

Yup,

Keep it up Mikey. Loooookiiinnggg good. How did ya get those gasket sufaces so clean. I have done the razor slicing/scraping. I am gonna buy some gasket goo when I get home, but man, that engine of yours looks like a surgical tool.

Tinkerman

[elvislee]

well then .... there came a time when I had to check the end gap on my rings ....  here's how I did mine ..... I read somewhere, LATER, that you could put an old ring on the piston to help with this .... I didn't have an old ring, and I didn't know of that idea at the time ....:blink:

In order to get an accurate measurement, the ring must be 'square' in the cylinder ... I used a piston to help achieve this.

I installed the ring in the piston, you can squeeze it in there with your hands



Then I put the piston in there, upside down, and pushed in down about 2 inches


now at this point, since the piston does not have a ring on it, and there is space between the piston and cylinder wall, the piston isn't 'square' in the cylinder.

So I used a level, on two planes, to insure that the piston was sitting square in the cylinder.
In this pic you see the level sitting on the edge of the cylinder .. you'll see also that it is not level, nor is my bench ... so just get your line, and use that as a reference when you put the level on the piston


here's the level now moved up and sitting on the piston


I did that on two sides to insure that it was 'level' = 'square'

Then I removed the piston and measured the end gap of the ring


My indy told me to expect that it would be near the upper limit of the spec after the cyls had been honed.  He was right.  The upper limit is .020 and I got the following measurements ... both cylinders, both compression rings, all measure the same.

Top ring = .019 (both jugs, both rings)
2nd ring = .014 (both jugs, both rings)

Tomorrow I'll ring up the pistons and consider putting them into the jugs in preparation to install the jugs.

I gotta go to a small job tomorrow too     
but I like having my lil 'play money' for the bike too


here's a shot of the pistons after they were bead blasted ... not too bad

Hey Mikey...Are those SE Heads? I notice in the 5th picture of this series of photos there is a stamped engraving of some sort in the metal; what is that? I ask because it reminded me of a topic we had in another life  about the number "4" being stamped in between the fins on the Fxr4 heads. Anyway, not really important; just thought I'd ask. Also, if those are SE Heads I see they are silver; did ya consider buying the black fin SE Heads? I heard the Black Fin SE Heads are hard to come by for the EVO and that ya might not be able to even purchase them anymore except maybe trough eBay or other venues besides HD. Anyway, just wondering...Gotta go now...Have a new set of shocks to be torqued down and time to ride...Build is looking damn good man...Later...Blaine

[fxr4mikey]

Yup,

Keep it up Mikey. Loooookiiinnggg good. How did ya get those gasket sufaces so clean. I have done the razor slicing/scraping. I am gonna buy some gasket goo when I get home, but man, that engine of yours looks like a surgical tool.

Tinkerman

Thanks !!

The surfaces on the cases were cleaned with a 'PLASTC' scraper (sharpen it on one side if you want to --  be careful if you use a razor on the case (not advised) the case is VERY SOFT and easily damaged by a razor blade, or any other hard sharp instrument. I used Permatex Gasket Remover.   BE CAREFUL ... it's UNDER PRESSURE .... squirt it out in a dish or something, then dip the brush into it and then apply it to the gasket surface .... otherwise you'll have a big MESS !!

After that, I cleaned it up with Brake-Kleen (non-chlorinated - has a green and white label - which leaves no residue)

The surfaces on the cylinders were bead blasted on the tops, and the bottoms were 'Lapped' to clean them up and to insure they were flat.

[fxr4mikey]

!!

Hey Mikey...Are those SE Heads?

I do have SE heads, however you have not seen any pictures of them YET!
What you are looking at Blaine is the tops of the cylinders

I notice in the 5th picture of this series of photos there is a stamped engraving of some sort in the metal; what is that?
Yes, there is a number '4' stamped into the top of each of the cylinders.
There are two differnet stamppings. 
One of the cylinder (the front one on my bike) as this stamped into the top of the cylinder:  4:
The rear cylinder as this stamped into it:  the number '4' inside a circle

I ask because it reminded me of a topic we had in another life  about the number "4" being stamped in between the fins on the Fxr4 heads.
Yes, I remembered that as soon as I got the heads off and saw these numbers on the tops of the cylinders ...


Anyway, not really important; just thought I'd ask. Also, if those are SE Heads I see they are silver; did ya consider buying the black fin SE Heads?
My SE heads are sliver, I did consider buying 'black' ... you can check that out in my post over on v twin when I first started this effort about 15 months ago. Couple of guys posted up pictures for me of silver cases, cylinders and black heads.  Looks OK, but it's not what I wanted for my bike.  I would like to see it in person, that'd be nice.


I heard the Black Fin SE Heads are hard to come by for the EVO
actually I found it the other way around when I was looking to purchase last May. I found more black heads than silver, things change every 3 months, if they need to or not   


and that ya might not be able to even purchase them anymore except maybe trough eBay or other venues besides HD.
The only source that I seriously considered was eBAY. And even then most of the places that you find there are HD dealers. Like I wound up getting mine from a dealer in Ohio .. they sell a lot of stuff on eBAY .... as does many other dealers.  I paid $645 for them, w/top end gasket set - buy it now price last May.

Anyway, just wondering...Gotta go now...Have a new set of shocks to be torqued down and time to ride...
GIDDY UP !!!!!!!!!


Build is looking damn good man
Thanks !!

...Later...Blaine

Latter !

[fxr4mikey]

someone asked about my shop



One of the jobs that I'm working on is a remodel. The home owner was going to throw away all of the cabinets and counter tops .......... WHOA WHOA WHOA !!!!!
So I brought it all home and set them up in the garage .... works out GREAT !!!!!!! and you know what
The price CAN NOT BE BEAT !!!!

Here's a few shots from different angles:

taken from the garage door lookin in
Nice thing about this is that my gas tank is in the cabinet, out of the way, to the left of that and down one, you can see my saddle in there .... so it's GREAT to have a place to put this stuff where nothing is going to fall on it, or that I trip over it.  All the take offs, wrist pins, nuts, bolts and the like, are all labeled and in baggies stored in the drawers :DD



from the top of the stairs where you go into the house



the bench on the left is what I had until I got this remodel job, the cabinets were a 'side benefit' of the job 



On the old bench you can see the old stock heads (not cleaned up yet) and the CLEANED and SHINNY rocker boxes, ready to go back on. The new heads are on the back of the bench still wrapped up and ready to go on !! ..... GIDDY UP

[ClassicRider2002]

Mikey~~

Great photos of your FANTASTIC SHOP AREA.....VERY NICE!!!!!!

Hey Blaine......HOWDY!!!!

Regards,

"Classic"

[elvislee]

Mikey~~

Great photos of your FANTASTIC SHOP AREA.....VERY NICE!!!!!!

Hey Blaine......HOWDY!!!!

Regards,

"Classic"

  Tim

[ceduby]

I see a couple of problems in the shop    1. Not a single half naked girl poster or calendar
                                                       2. Where's the fridge??

[elvislee]

I see a couple of problems in the shop    1. Not a single half naked girl poster or calendar
                                                       2. Where's the fridge??

Bet the BOSS LADY knows the answer to that 

[tinkerman]

No I hear ya on the razor blade Mikey. Very careful with that and have a lot of gasket residue left on there yet...hence the need for the gasket goo to get it down to the metal.

I'm about 10 days away from getting home and a couple days after that I should be in the shop.....gotta go though the due deligence with the better half and the kids, etc.... but looking forward to it.

Tink

[dave_9113]

What's up with the chicken?   

[elvislee]

What's up with the chicken?   

Ya gonna tell him mikey? 

[fxr4mikey]

I see a couple of problems in the shop    1. Not a single half naked girl poster or calendar
                                                       2. Where's the fridge??

the fridge is in the basement ... but when the build is complete my next job is to clean out the other corner of the garage and bring the fridge up there  !  Should have it there now !  It would save travel time   

I do need some girly pics posted around and about, Thanks for reminding me !!!!!!!

[fxr4mikey]

No I hear ya on the razor blade Mikey. Very careful with that and have a lot of gasket residue left on there yet...hence the need for the gasket goo to get it down to the metal.

I'm about 10 days away from getting home and a couple days after that I should be in the shop.....gotta go though the due deligence with the better half and the kids, etc.... but looking forward to it.

Tink

Yep, first things first !!!

We'll be here, waiting for you and your stories and pics !!

[fxr4mikey]

What's up with the chicken?   

I didn't see no chicken   

[dave_9113]

Either I'm going blind or there's a chicken sitting on the ladder.   

[fxr4mikey]

 

I was jus messin about .....

There's stories about rubber chickens ... everyone loves a rubber chicken, don't they ??

I have several of them, I take them with me all the time ....

Here's some pics of them on some of my travels last summer

here I am over night-ing at a buddies place up in Ohio - by the way, you can see his rubber chicken hanging on the rack over on the right


here she is, getting gas, on my way to rider all the way around Lake Michigan, Circle Lake Michigan Tour .... across the U.P. and back to SC again 



here she is last Aug. getting ready to leave my Mom's house in Britton Mi.


here's my Good Friend Clint, he lives in Gaylord Mi. (WAY NORTH) and he likes rubber chickens too ... He's a GREAT GUY, and FUNNY AS HELL !!
Also in this pic you can see my other Good Friend's bike, Heritage ST, and his chicken too ..... Our chickens Love To Ride !!!



Three Chickens Will Ride !!



My Good Friends from Northern Mi., Chip, his wife K-Ren, and Clint.  My chicken and the Mackinac bridge in the background ... just before we crossed over



here we are on the north side of the bridge, it's hard to get Clint away from his rubber chicken ...... Just Sayin'



Clint had to go home at the end of that day, Chip and I continued for the next week.  Here we are at Silver Lake Mi. 


here we are at the end of route 43 in Mi.


here we are in Chicago



Here's my GREAT FRIEND Mark, fondling my Chicken !!!!  Mark lives in Chicago


Here she is at the HD Factory in Milwaukee !!!



here she is in Muskegon Il at the Route 43 HD Dealer


I like the red heads



even the lil guys have an appreciation for the rubber chicken       They LOVED IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!


We rode those chickens all the way to Paradise !!!


Then I went to







SO, you ASK .... What's with the chicken  ??

She is up there, watching me do this build ... She is squawking and squawking and squawking and  ... wanting to know when the build is gonna be done so she can RIDE AGAIN !!!!



Some day I'll post up the pictures of when I took her to ND last year, and to Eureka Springs AR, and several other places ... She LOVES TO RIDE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Black Diamond]

Hey Mike

They got pills to get you over that chicken thing. What do I know, I ride with a Taz on back!

JW

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[fxr4mikey]

JW ... now that's KEWL ...... If I didn't have the chicken, or was ever to change .... my first choice would be to adopt a Buffalo, 2nd choice, TAZ !!!!!!!!



WHOA .... JW, That paint job on your bike is AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Black Diamond]

JW ... now that's KEWL ...... If I didn't have the chicken, or was ever to change .... my first choice would be to adopt a Buffalo, 2nd choice, TAZ !!!!!!!!



WHOA .... JW, That paint job on your bike is AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's what grabbed me. Made me trade a 110 Street Glide cough up some more molla to get her. Haven't regretted it for a minute. Now I just need to get the FXR back together!

I came over here to keep up with you and the guys on the FXR stuff. Good information over here too. May post a thread on my FXR here also.

JW

[elvislee]

Hey Mikey...Your presentation of "Easy Chicken Riders" was very impressive. I was laughing so hard I said to myself, "Damn man, tell Mikey to tell Mark don't choke that chicken".    

Tim...Where ya at man? Your messing a great show