Shortly after this pandemic kicked off and rolling shut ins, travel bans, and nightly editorials began saturating our media, I decided to tackle the largest motorcycle project yet. A full motorcycle rebuild. It started with a small, but chronic oil leak and turned into the complete tear down and rebuild of my 1980 GS550.
It started with engine pulling. Alone, an intimidating sounding task for the new mechanic and bored suburbanite.
Not a daunting task alone, but it set a series of events in motion that was not resolved until 5 months later.
With a manual in hand and a few web links handy (Thank you GSRESOURCES and URBON MONK), I began to bag and tag bit by bit. Pulling things apart. First the engine. Then.. EVERYTHING .
Like A Train Off The Tracks
When I popped the top on the old engine, I realized I was up against a a big task. A complete engine rebuild. Carbon and lots of it covered my pistons.
Keeping in mind the primary starting point for this project was a nuisance oil leak that i attributed to an inner oil seal on drive.
I continued, motivated by my ability to tear stuff apart.
I’M THE KING OF THE WORLD! I’m doing a motorcycle rebuild!
I continued , tearing the engine apart including splitting the case.
Opening the case to reveal the gears and seals that I needed to pull. Easy..
At this point, my garage was filled with bins, bags, and boxes. Every bolt, bracket, pin, and value was in a bag. Clearly marked.
Take away tips from this point:
- Be prepared to store things in marked bags. ORGANIZATION 101
- Study first.. Then take things apart.
- DONT MUSCLE IT. If a bolt is tight, take the time to spray it or heat things up to help break it loose.
(During the entire project, only 2 bolts broke)
What followed next, was HOURS and HOURS cleaning pistons, valves, and scrubbing every section of the engine. HOURS of work.
Will move to the next phase on Part 2. See you then.
