Shovel Rebuild

[dablaze]

I hate getting greasy finger prints on my monitor. I try to buy a few manuals a year...up to 3 book shelves full of them.

Craig

[Robertgtti]

got fed up with sanding and polishing today so I took the motor in.

tore down the heads and cylinders myself and had my mechanic check everything.

to do list:

valveguides
valveseats
pistons plus rings
cam
bearings/ bushings
units.  cam roller thingys


complete topend plus units and cam.

[76shuvlinoff]

It'll be worth it.
Not on your list but I assume the tech is gonna bore or at least hone the cyls.

What cam are you going to use? You've already got her apart.....

[Robertgtti]

It'll be worth it.
Not on your list but I assume the tech is gonna bore or at least hone the cyls.

What cam are you going to use? You've already got her apart.....

yes its gonna get honed,
were gonna go thru 50 or so cams that he has lying around.
see if we can find one in good condition.

got canned from work 3 months ago and we have a baby on the way so I cant really
get the nice and shiny new parts.

just gonna do the things necceasry to make it reliable again.
and make it shiny

[76shuvlinoff]

Got an Andrews B for 78 and later shovels sitting on the shelf. It has less than 4000 miles on it and looks new. Yours if you want it.

Talk to your mechanic it may not be what you're looking for but the offer stands.

hmmmm I now see you're in Amsterdam, shipping might get tricky but I'm sure it's do-able.

Mark

[rbonner]

Well GEE, I think we should all head over to his house and supervise for a couple weeks at his place.  Baby on the way is a lot different than three running around the house....  Take the cam and have a hell of a time, get divorced, meet new future ex and really rip up the world...

Sure beats Vegas.

BOB

[Old Crow]

He11 yeah!  I've been to Amsterdam, and I liked it.  Wouldn't mind a trip over to fix a bike.  Heck, might turn into a steady gig, ya just never know.
I've got an S&S 514 cam in good shape on the shelf.  If I remember correctly, you need to do some work on the valve springs if you want to use it, though.

[Robertgtti]

thanks for the offers guys!

youre all welcome here. 

you guys bring parts and I will provide the smokes.




I'll talk to my tech about the andrews b and s&s 514
did save some bucks though,
he let me take apart the topend myself  in his shop and then I blasted the heads too.

still gonna take a "Potty mouth"load of money though.

[Robertgtti]

The rebuild is being postponed until winter,
priorities lie with the baby now.


Went to see my tech today, he estimated 800 to 900 euros for the complete top end
Plus cam and cam followers.

Asked him to have a look at the bottom end as well
Save up some cash and have her done right the first time
Pictures failed:

sad looking motor:


Tossed everything in a crate:


jcc Taiwan piston crap:


Couldn't get it in the picture but the hardened surface is completely gone?



The offered cam is not the right choice for my bike,
needs solids and some valvework, but I really appreciate the offer.

[HotRodShovel]

It will all go back together and run like a dream. Just takes time and $$ as it becomes available. Priorities..babies...congrats and good luck with the motor. I see the cases are polished so its not the first time it has been taken apart.

[Robertgtti]

I I see the cases are polished so its not the first time it has been taken apart.

I did that before taking it in.
motor was black, rocker boxes were black.

[rbonner]

Well, it doesn't look too bad.  They are all a mess when they come apart.

IN MY OPINION, just throw every thing in the garbage after looking it over...  HAHAHAHA

You'll salvage:  Heads, rocker boxes, cases, crank and rods...  Look at the cylinders really good.  get the mic out and see where they are.  They right now look like maybe standard bore or 10 over...  You really don't want to go over 30 over, even though my motor was taken to 40 over on its first top end due to cylinder scoring, the walls were razor thin.  Nice paper weights.

Then get quality replacement parts.  Replace all bearings, seals, pistons, rings, valves, springs, cam, lifters...  My engine only reused the cases and heads, everything else was replaced.  The bill was HUGE though so I don't recommend going that far.

DO not stroke the motor or do huge bore cylinders if you want to do this budget.  Stick with the stock 80", maybe raise the compression a bit and put in a nice cam.  Depends on your gas octane.

BOB

[Robertgtti]

small update,
since the primary lip has been butchered, I was gonna go for a James case saver:




decided to go for welding and machining instead.
got a price from a specialized shop here.  120 bucks for welding and machining.

gonna pick up my left case somewhere this week and have the work done somewere soon.

then its back to saving money for the rebuild.
but I figure i might as well do it properly the first time.

[rbonner]

Yeah Robert, when you are all done doing it right you'll have one of these... Ready to go back in!

BOB

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[dablaze]

Had that done on the lip on my case to, was very happy with the result. Make sure to bring your inner primary with you to the machinist. They may not need it, but mine wanted it.

Craig

[Robertgtti]

well howdy fellas...

a little update from this side of the world.

started working on the shovel again yesterday, decided to sort out the wiring.
yesterday it looked like this:




today it looks like this:




ready for the powder coater.,

I don't plan on pulling the motor again any time soon, so I figured that If I wanted to have the frame coated, now would be the time.

that way I can just rebuild it with the parts i have and replace parts one at a time for nicer looking ones.

with a baby on the way its probably gonna take longer then I want to, but that's allright.

[dablaze]

Thats a pretty green wire hanging from the upper motor mount, but quite the guage! I had my frame powder coated about 5 years ago, had the bike 3/4's of the way together them ended up getting a mint frame without all the bs repairs mine had. Took a weekend to tear everything back out and put it in the new frame. It was very satisfying though knowing that the first step was done right and I would not likely have to go backwards again for any reason. I think your making a great decision.

Craig

[Robertgtti]

I just worry about my battery,
bought a new one last year and its an old style refillable one with a vent.

should have bought a closed maintenance free one but I was in a hurry to get her done.

over the year the fumes have eaten away at the frame quite a bit.

don't want my fresh powdercoat to get "Potty mouth"ked up.

[dablaze]

Well as you may have read in my past posts, I can't say enough about the AGM batteries that HD sells, I absolutley will buy nothing else. My shovel still runs one from Nov. 2000!

Craig

[rbonner]

Yeah the new AGM was a tight fit, but she made it in the FXEF tray.  Lot cleaner looking than the wet cell.  I put a cover on anyway, but I found a different cover for mine than the standard chrome thing.

[dablaze]

Good point Bob, my covers worked flawlessly, so I never considered that there might be an issue. Actually that battery is in the sons ironhead we just put together for now, poor thing gets passed around and abused and keeps on working. I know its a fluke, but I am sold. (its going back in the shovel today)

Craig

[rbonner]

OH the FXE bikes if you go to an AGM, you either can't run the aftermarket HD chrome cover or you have to buy the top cover and cover for an AGM upgrade.  I just happened to find a NOS Wille G "G-Force" cast & polished cover from the 1985 collection that clears the AGM battery.  The stock top cover and stainless strap will go over the AGM and hold it OK, but not the HD battery wrap around chrome covers.  But the HD AGM looks OK just black...

[dablaze]

Well I am perplexed, but maybe I am running an old AM cover. My bikes an FLH but I switched to an FXE battery to make for better exhaust choices. Now, when I went to the dealer they looked up the battery for my bike, so maybe there is one that is made to fit? I know my covers look stock, I think, its the one with the little window in it.



Oh, just so this is not an out and out Highjacking of this thread...I have pulled this motor more than any other, lol.

Craig

[rbonner]

Yeah there's an AGM battery for that FXE  I just found my receipt #65991-82B  You'll need to make sure since you modified the bike; the + terminal is in the front on that battery.  They have some that are 180 swapped.

BOB

[Robertgtti]

well,
I just picked up my frame at the coater.

looks all shiny.









went to my indy to get new bearings, races and oil seals for the swingarm,
so the front and rear can go back on sometime this week.