88 CI to 98 CI UPGRADE

As I have said, I took my tike to look at things and then analyse what it is that I am seeing. When I removed the exhaust, I wasn't overly impressed with that I saw from the front cylinder. In my opinion, I thought that the front exhaust port had WAY TOO MUCH carbon build up. Of course this bike does have 60k and I doe expect to see some, but I thought this was too much, especially after looking at the plugs which indicated to me that the bike was running right where it was supposed to for its AFR (Air Fuel Ratio). Remember, plug reading is subjective at best and should be considered only as method for a close guess.

The Front cylinder....



After looking at this and seeing that much carbon build up, I was expecting to see the same on the actual exhaust valve once I had the head off. that was not the case however.

The Rear cylinder...



As you can see, the two different cylinders tell two different stories. I would prefer that both cylinders look like this rear one, but that just isn't the case. I am convinced that most of that build up was created before I purchased the bike and re jetted it. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.

Pictures in new thread titled 88 CI to 98 CI Upgrade

From this point I moved on to removing the Intake manifold. This was made pretty easy I thought by removing the motor mount and also the engine alignment link. ( Creates more room to get your tools and hands and also create more space so you can actually turn the intake bolts more than an 1/8 turn at a time. The tool that I was one that I purchase through Harley. The tool is called the SE Intake Manifold Wrench. I really liked this wrench and how it performed because it was long which gave the ability to get outside of the cylinders for comfort and provide enough leverage to break the intake bolts loose.

Intake Manifold Removed.......



One thing that you will notice if your bike is equipped with a Carb is that there will be something that is in the intake manifold on the topside. This happens to be the Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor (MAP). I asked here on Bike Talk if that should be replaced and the answer that I got and trust very much is that NO, if it is working, leave it. So I did.

Count on it taking at least 3 times as long putting it all back together! :roflmao:

I have found that taking the rocker covers off was so painless that I am going to barley mention it other than to say that it will be a miracle to get those torqued considering the placement of the fasteners on the left side. Or so I thought. Use a 7/16" box end on the left side, trust me, it will fit without any issue!! Once I had the rocker box covers off, I put the bike up on the jack so I could begin to find Top Dead Center (TDC) This is IMPERATIVE as this will take pressure off of your valves when you go to break the support plates loose. I have gear drives so I was able to cheat and jsut line up the timing dots on the gear set. That put my rear cylinder at TDC so that is where I began. To find TDC of the front, I spun my rear wheel while it was in 5th gear until I felt air coming out of the spark plug hole and until it stopped.

NOTE!! TIP!! If you are not sure if yo are there, take a bright flashlight and shine it down the spark plug hole. When you are at TDC, you should be able to see the top of the piston.

After the boxes came off. I moved on to the Rocker arm Support Plates. Now this was a little bit of a PITA (Pain In The Ass), especially on the rear cylinder because of the angle of the head puts it close to the frame. this caused me not to be able to get a socket on there. To get the support plates unbolted, I had to make a trip to the local Craftsmans store and get a 1/2" ratcheting box end wrench. This tool made it so easy to get in there and actually be able to turn the bolts loose. Again, there is limited room so being able to go fast with an ordinary wrench is next to impossible. To remove the support plates, I found it easier to remove the 2 bolts that hold down the breather assembly first, then move onto the outer four bolts that hold the support plates down. On the rear cylinder, you WILL have to remove the everything as an assembly. There will be no room to remove the bolts as they are long! Once the bolts are removed the support plate assembly comes out, and to my astonishment, really easy!!! For the front, the only thing that I did different was I removed the coil so I had better access.

Here are some pictures of the Support Plates before removal, then after removal.....

This is the rear Support Plate Assembly still installed



This is the front Support Plate Assembly still installed



Now what it is that I am talking about to loosen first are the two bolts that are in the center and are located on the piece that looks like a heart. (Breather Assembly)

Support Plate Removed...Rear...



The next part was really easy which was to remove the the lower box. The only issue that I had was getting at the bolt that is located on the rear cylinder, left side, and the very rear bolt. Again, it was just not having the right tool for the job.:rant: Or did I? I had borrowed a friends little micro ratchet set which comes with assorted allan sockets. It had the right one and it is what I used to get at that one bolt!!

Good stuff JB...labeled zip lock bags for fasteners is a good idea...

Now that the lower rocker box has been removed, I moved on to remove the push rod tubes. There was no special tool needed for this, only a flat head screwdriver.

To remove the push rod tubes was simple. I found the appropriate size screwdriver and I removed the top of the push rod tube off which is located at the top of the outside of the tube and is recognizable with a tab on it. Place the driver in that tab and twist slightly and push down slightly at the same time. Repeat for remaining three tubes. The tubes are located on the left hand side of the head.

From there I moved on to get the tubes out from the head. This also required a flat head screwdriver.

NOTE CAUTION!!! Please use an appropriate sized screwdriver for this task. Failure to do so could cause your screwdriver to slip and cause damage to yourself or your motorcycle!!!

Using caution, place the head of the driver on the top edge of the tube and push downward carefully! For me this took some effort but not a lot. I continued until the push rod fully cleared the bottom of the head. Repeat on remaining three tubes.

Once this was complete, I was able to remove the push rods. To my surprise I discovered that I DID NOT HAVE Adjustable push rods. I just simply thought that since a previous owner went through the trouble to put the Andrews 37g cams and S&S gear set in that they would put the Adjustable Push Rods in. This just wasn't the case!:gah:

Thanks. I agree. Especially since it will be a little while before it goes back together.

From this point, I went on to remove the cam cover. This was straight forward, just a matter of 10 bolts. Once I got the cover off I had access to the gear set. I payed a lot of attention to this. I was looking very closely for signs of wear. the things that I was looking for was cracked teeth, any noticeable cracks along the side of the teeth and warpage. I have to tell you that I was impressed with the condition of the gear set.

Here are multiple pictures of the gear set.....





Once I had the cam cover off and inspected the gear set for awhile, I moved on to removing the heads. To do this I went to the left side of the bike and I removed the head bolt covers and the stand offs that are fitted over the head bolts. Once that was done, I used my 1/2" drive 1/2" 12 point socket and proceeded to remove the head bolts. The head bolts were easy to break loose of the right side of the bike but I needed a 1/2" drive breaker bar ro break the head bolts loose of the other side. I had to make a quick run to the Craftsman store and I picked up an 18" 1/2" drive Breaker Bar. It worked instantly!!! Heads were removed.

These are pictures of the head removed. You can tell in the first two that there is noticeable carbon build up on the piston tops. I do expect to see some, especially at 60k but I thought it was kind of thick.





Earlier I had mentioned that I thought that the front exhaust port had excessive carbon build up and I thought that the exhaust valve would show that as well. Well, this is what I found... Notice how white that valve is????

This is a picture of the rear head but the front head was almost identical. That valve is really white!!

I can't wait for chapter 2. You should start Whiplash up and use the exhaust as a leaf blower.:roflmao:

I am nearing the end of the Second Stage of the project now. After I remove the heads, I decided that it was time that I take a look at the lifters and inspect them closely for unusual wear. This was simple to do, once the push rods and tubes have been removed, the lifters are easily accessible and you can just pull them out of their bores by hand. Once I had all the oil cleaned up, I started to look at the rollers to see if there was any kind of frosting on them. None of that condition was present so I started to feel pretty good about the overall condition of the valve train from that point on. I did happen to notice this weird line going down the center of one roller though. I couldn't feel any depth to it but it did put me on alert!

Here are a couple of pictures of the lifters... Not sure if you will be able to see what it is that that I am talking about or not.





Once I removed the lifters and inspected them and determined if I am going to be upset or not when I went further, I decide that I was going to remove the tappet blocks. This was straight forward process just removed 4 allan bolts for each cylinder and off they came. There was some locktite that was binding a couple of the screws up so I spayed some WD40 and let it soak for a little bit. Once that soaked in, removal was no issue.

LMFAO!!!!:roflmao::roflmao: I know, but I guess that isn't on my mind. LOL. Soon.

Removing the fasteners on the gear set was a two person job because these are tied into the cams and the oil pump so I asked the wife to come outside and pull the front brake in while I pop those loose.Once those came off I was ready to take the gears off of the cams. Now I haven't been running the heater at all because the temp outside was warm enough for me to where I was comfortable, however, this made the removal of the gear drives difficult because they were cold. I had to heat them up with a hand held butane torch and heat the gears up so I could pry them off. THANKS FOR THAT TIP BAGGERPAUL!! Finally I was able to get the gears off. I had to pry carefully up against the cam plate. When I did that I put a rag around the blade of the screwdrivers to help minimize marring or galling. It cam to a point to where the screwdrivers weren't effective anymore so the I used the handle of a 3/8" breaker bar. Worked like a Charm!!

With these pictures I am attempting to show that all the teeth are there and no more.



Here is a picture of the top gear. As you can see there is a slot for the +4 keyway that I was using from TMan.



Gear is placed on the crank shaft.

Good pics...Informative...

Good job .johnny you poped your cherry no your screwd you'll be hooked! Lmfao

This stuff isn't hard at all. More of the "Mind over Matter" thing. I just needed to get over the fear of really screwing something up before I could tackle it. I knew I can do it. Again, the patience thing can be an issue for me at times, that is why I waited till the weather was nearly un-ridable , then I can take my sweet ol' time.

You have a long way to go grasshopper....



:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

Oh, and the exhaust valves on most the heads that I have taken off looked just like yours. I thought the same thing the first time I took the heads off my bike. Ya got to remember when the spark, air and gas all go BOOM, it's like a mini atomic bomb going off. **** gets hot quick.

Who you having do your heads? Just wondering is all.

Ya doing good man.

So far, so good. Your bike is not that old, so one could expect it to look pretty good on the inside.

Remember, it will take much longer re-assembling everything. You will run into problems you never dreamed of - at least, I did! You have this thread to help you re-assemble everything, that's good.

Yeah, and sweep your floor! LOL

I never sweep the floor once motivational destruction begins, whether a lawn mower or CAT, course I will pile big debris out of the way, It's saved my arse a couple times.

After inspecting the gear set, I removed the the cam plate bolts and the proceeded to pull the cam plate off. Everything there came off real easy. I proceeded to look at the inner cam gears (the ones that sit inside the plate) for any serious signs of wear. All looked very good. I took a look at the cams and there were no visible signs of wear either as well as no frosting so I think that the oil that I was using was doing its job.

Here is a picture identifying the cam that is in place.



More pictures showing the cams and the inner gear set.





The next thing that I turned my attention to was the crank shaft itself. I am not real surprised to what I found there, which was nothing. All Pretty. I am going to check it for run out anyways just for my piece of mind but I am 99% positive that I am not going to have an issue. When looking at this crank, you will notice the absence of bluing on the nose of the crank. This crank here shows how a good running crank should look.