Back on the Bench

Engine back on the bench until I figure out what is going on with the gearbox, after cleaning up the messy bench.

Pistons

I managed to source 2 identical branded pistons
as a kit, with rings, Clips and Gudgeon Pins.

I couldnt find any info regarding the "Made in Taiwan"
Speed brand.

The tolerances work out pretty good and are as follows:
Cylinder oversize measurement: 0.035 - 0.040 = 0.035
Piston Ring end gap: 0.25 - 0.40 = 0.30
These are approximate measurements with feeler gauges.

Shafted

Another engine component rebuild, the crank was in a terrible
state as can be seen from the pics. I managed to get this shipped
to the U.K rebuilt and sent back to me cheaper than I could buy
the parts and have it done here in Ireland.

So the crank was cleaned and fitted with new main bearings x 4,
Labyrinth Seal, big and small end bearings and new con rods
and then balanced.

Bling

So its been a while and the project has been limping along.
I have been concentrating on 2 big spends: Crank re-build
and sorting out the engine casings, heads and barrels.
The images below show the parts Vapour Blasted by
http://www.vapourblast.ie/. All parts were stripped to the
original metal finish.

Exhaust Run

temporarily fitted the pipes to check clearances
here is how it should look . . .

because the exhaust ports are angled inwwards
it looks like the cans  will clear the swingarm.

Split Cases

I have had this engine for about 4 years
and its finally stripped. I think the crank
needs re-building ! . . . and the cases really
need to be cleaned.

Clutching

I attacked the brake light problem and got it resolved without any major problems. The brake light switch on the front lever was faulty, it looked like it had corroded internally, i swapped it out with another used one I had which workes! The rear brake light switch is activated by the fluid so when I bled the rear brake line and caliper the switch is now working.

Regarding the Clutch problem, I can only recon the issue lies with either the spring plate which houses the ball bearing that the pushrod connects onto or that the plates were stuck together from their 6 year mating?
I drained the gearbox oil and removed the basket to take a look at the plates and they definitely need to be changed . . . the springs are well within the service limit. [should have done this at the rebuild stage]

Spaghetti

Still working on the electrics and the various bolt on bits and pieces that accompany the task.

From the ground up

Spent a while this evening cleaning and tidying the working space to start the bike rebuild. I got the engine mounted into the frame, swingarm and rear suspension - all the mounting bolts have yet to be tightened and the originals have been replaced with stainless steel where possible.

Head and Shoulders

The hardest part of the engine build is behind me with the crank and crankcase assembly complete. I put in about 4 house in the garage today to get as much done on the engine as possible before it goes back into the frame. The exhaust manifold is soaking in a diesel bath to aid the de-coking, I want to put on the engine before it goes into the frame. I'm going to have to spend a few hours organising the space to make the bike rebuild easier.

Red Engine

Well its official, the engine rebuild can start. I have the cases, Barrel and head painted a lovely Red with heat resistant spray paint.

Into the Oven

Finally got the crank cases, barrel, head and water jacket cleaned up and ready for spraying. I used a dremel with a stainless steel wire brush. I managed to source high temperature spray paint in Red. I assembled the parts and sealed off the bearing holes etc with masking tape to prevent paint from entering inside. The oven was heated to 75 degrees, could have gone higher but didnt have any oven gloves!

Prepping the crank cases

Following on from the last post on cleaning up the top end and removing the corrosion I am starting the crankcases this week. All the bearings have been removed and the joining surfaces are masked off for protection against accidental scratching with the dremil and wire brush.

Bags

The engine is now fully stripped with all the internal components bagged ready for reassembly.

After an initial cleaning of the 2 crank casings I have run into a decision as to whether to proceed further to remove the corrosion on the exterior. This will mean masking off and sealing the insides to protect the bearings, but the engine will not be seen . . . decisions decisions.

Flywheel

Came across my first real hurdle today -  the flywheel and how to remove. There is an aprilia tool for holding the wheel stationary to remove the nut but I made my own from some wood cutoff. The next task is to make a puller, again there is a dedicated aprilia tool for this but im going to make my own . . . which should be easy enough.

Engine Breaking

This weekend I attacked the engine. It is getting a total stripdown, I need to clean all the casings to remove oil and corrosion. It seems the head gasket/seal was shot so there was oil and coolant mixing away.

Engine out

Finally got the engine out and this obviously made it easier to inspect the damage and general state of things.
Again as mentioned there is heavy corrosion on the alloy and 1 problem which is a bit serious looking, there seems to have been oil/water leakage somewhere in the engine. What looks like emulsification can be seen at the cylinder head on the pic below.

The engine type is the Rotax 122 model.

There also seems to have been a leak at the powervalve area highlighted in red. I'm wondering is this the source of all the goo ?

Nude

Well I got the Fairings off to reveal a lot more corrosion, erosion and rust.
All the engine mounting frames are well rusted, there is a serious leak from the powervalve/oil pump area, All the engine casings are well corroded and the exhaust needs some TLC.
The intake manifold rubber is well perished so that needs to be replaced.
Next step is to get the engine out to check if it needs a rebuild and also un hindered access to the frame and swingarm for cleaning and polishing.