Mr.H's new engine

[Sidecar Bob]

Until I retired keeping at least one of the bikes running was real life stuff. I had to do any work that the 'Wing needed as early in the spring as possible so that I could drive it to work every day while I was taking the 650 apart for its annual "guerrilla restoration" (fixing everything necessary to make it safe & reliable for next winter and so that it wouldn't rust out any sooner than necessary) and get it back together before I had to drive the 'Wing in the snow. I would have loved to get the new engine in the 'Wing in time to drive it to the CX rally in Ottawa next weekend but my wife has another commitment so that will wait until next year (hopefully she will be retired by then).

[Sidecar Bob]

Well, as I've mentioned elsewhere Eccles (the 650) needs a new engine. It died just before my wife had surgery that will keep her from driving for at least a month which meant we had 1 dead bike, 1 bike in storage and 1 car that neither of us could drive. And right then we had a mild spell with rain that washed all the snow but didn't thaw the ground so I took the opportunity to get Mr.H out of storage This sets a record for the earliest I've ever put the summer bike on the road I don't want to expose it to very much road salt but I have been taking it out when the roads are dry - 80 Km so far in 1 week.

But of course nothing is ever as easy as you expect. After 15 months connected to the solar panel the AGM battery I bought in 2016 didn't want to charge so I installed the regular one that one that the AGM had replaced (the problem was in the carbs) and that worked OK in the mower last year. When it wouldn't crank fast enough to start I blamed the battery and wasted a bunch of time messing with batteries & chargers (during which I got the AGM to accept charge from a really basic charger so it might come back to life). Eventually I figured out that it turned over easily by hand but the starter was still slow with the plugs out so I swapped in the starter from the new engine and it cranked normally.

It is running a bit rough, probably because its running on the 15 month old (stabilized) gas in the aux. tank. When I drained the 650's tank I ran out of places to store fuel so I dumped the last couple of litres into the aux tank and it ran a bit smoother so we'll see when that runs out and I switch to the nice, fresh stuff in the main tank.

I also noticed that it needs more choke than my Enfield switch cluster's choke lever provides for starting when it is cold out (I've been reaching across and pushing the part the cable pulls that extra little bit). It worked OK in warm weather but it isn't right. I could convert back to the original setup but I think the bicycle gearshift lever I have on Eccles works better so I'll probably do that instead.

When did the instrument panel I used a CT70 or CT90 (can't remember which off hand) keyswitch, which meant I had to carry 2 keys. Just before I put Mr.H into storage I bought a new one with the same keyway as the bike's original locks and re-keyed it to accept the original key and put it in the glove box to install later. Later came last week

And now back to your originally scheduled thread:
I spent a couple of hours tidying the shop yesterday and today I started working on the new engine again. I finished cleaning all the old gasket, sealant &c off of the block and put the "new" rod and the piston together and attached the rod to the crank.

Before I go any farther I need to look at whether I need to replace any oil seals before I put the block back together but that will wait for the next time.

[Sidecar Bob]

Silly question but I've just spent half an hour looking and can't find it myself: Where are the oil pumps covered in the FSM?

[Sidecar Bob]

Thanks to Eric for telling me to look at the end of the Crankshaft & Pistons section of the PDF FSM for info about the oil pumps. Since the gasket kit included the oil pump gaskets I opened the pumps and had a look: So little wear as not to be noticeable.

I got tired of having to lift the choke that last little bit by hand so I did this yesterday:

Bicycle gearshift.JPG

Choke Lever installed.JPG

The new rod installed (compare with the pic in post #23 of this thread)

I spent most of today on details like looking through the parts book to find that there are 3 dowel pins & 1 o-ring between the crankcase halves (not mentioned in the paper FSM) and finding the right o-ring (not in the kit), cleaning crankcase bolts &c. Then I cut a couple of pieces of 1x2 to support the pistons, oiled them & the bores and did this

I'll remove the blocks, add the ThreeBond and bolt it together tomorrow. BTW: I'll install the new crankshaft oil seal (with ThreeBond) after the cases are bolted up. And ignore those rusty belt tensioners; I'm planning to use the ones from my old engine that I rebuilt a few years ago.

[Sidecar Bob]

Not much time in the shop today

And just to confirm: #4 at TDC with the new rod (it was about 3mm below the mating surface with the bent rod)


BTW: In the early part of this thread someone mentioned finding someone with a press to put the piston onto the new rod. I did it by heating up the small end of the rod with a propane torch to expand it so that the wrist pin slid in without force.

[Shadowjack]

Production engine shops have a special little small-end heater for that specific task.

[Sidecar Bob]

I started cleaning up the outside of the block so I can do the places that will be hard to get at when everything is together. Among other things, I have noticed that this engine's castings are a lot rougher than either of the 1000 engines I have so I have been filing & sanding the rough/sharp edges, mould lines and flow marks. I'm not trying to make it perfect (most of the rough bits will be behind or under other parts anyway) but just to make less sharp edges and places for dirt to collect.

And while I was working on that I got thinking about the 36 year old water pump and how much work it is to replace one when it begins to leak. But new ones cost about $150 CAD these days (plus shipping!!), which I find really hard to pay when the seal for the CX costs less than 1/4 of that. So I read a few threads about rebuilding the pump (including one where someone mentioned that the actual mechanical seal is the same one as the CX500 (which is used in all CX/GL500/650 bikes). So I dug out the old leaky ones I had on hand and pulled the one in best condition apart (the shaft popped out with a few taps of the soft faced hammer) and confirmed that its seal exactly matches an old CX seal. Exactly. Then I ordered two 6000-2RS bearings and a mechanical seal for less than $50 total, shipped.

[Sidecar Bob]

AAAaaarrrrrggghhh!!!!!

I just decided to make sure my neutral switch is working (it is now that I've figured out that it is on when the long end of the pin is lined up with the tab) and realized that the gearshift shaft isn't engaged with the mechanism properly. The shaft moves about 45 degrees without moving the mechanism

After studying the FSM I think the dogs on the shift shaft have become disengaged from the shift arm. This should be an easy fix but I think I'll have to split the block again to do it. But I'm about finished working for tonight so that will have to wait until tomorrow...

I'm glad I didn't start bolting the rear cover on before I discovered this

BTW: Note to self: It will be easier to align the neutral switch if the transmission cover is put on with the engine upside down.

[Sidecar Bob]

Today I finished filing & sanding rough edges and then split the block again. I don't know how well you will be able to see in the pics but on the left is what I found and on the right is the way it should be. The forked part is on the end of the shifter shaft and the shaft you see is the one that is attached to the shift arm that actually changes the gears. The part with what looks like a ball on it is supposed to be between the forks so that when the shift shaft is rotated the forks push the "ball" so that the shift arm shaft rotates and the gears change.


The block is back together again with a the gearshift functioning properly and all it cost me was some time and a bit of ThreeBond (I still have only used a small percentage of the new tube I bought for this project).

Since I have to wait for the water pump parts I'll start putting the stuff at the back end of the engine on next. I'm not in a rush to get it finished as long as it's assembled and ready to paint by the time it is warm enough to paint with the overhead door open (probably late April).

BTW: Since I changed the choke lever I barely have to touch the Start button and it roars to life. It's almost a shame to replace that engine but it really needs the lower overall gearing and besides, the old engine has gone well over 150,000 Km (this is the 3rd bike it has been in so far) and the only times it has been apart were to replace the water pump and a couple of head gaskets so it must be getting tired.

[salukispeed]

Will you be putting the block heater on this engine. and if so Where does it go in the cooling system. Beyond the need for some heat when -10 a warm engine really benefits even at 0. I put block heaters in most of my cars even Here in northern Illinois. Makes for a more pleasant morning when temps dip below 0F.

[Sidecar Bob]

The GoldWing rarely goes out when it is below 0c, let alone 0f so it shouldn't need a block heater. The engine it is going to replace was previously in a winter machine a couple of decades ago and it needed to be heated for reliable starting below -10c but they don't make freeze plug heaters small enough for the plugs in a 'Wing engine and back then I didn't know about the relatively small inline heaters for car heater hoses so I couldn't figure out how to install a heater in the lower rad hose (even with a small inline it wouldn't be easy) so I went with an external heater. The one I used was designed to be used in pairs on air cooled VW engines, mounted under the heads next to the crankcase on either side but I mounted mine diagonally below the engine's sump.

Until this hear I had a 1" inline heater in the 650's lower rad hose. I rarely used it at home where it was parked inside the (relatively warm) garage but always plugged it in when it had to sit outside all day at work at -20c. Since I retired I don't really need it; I don't recall using it in the winter of '16/'17 and the first time I used it this winter its thermostat failed, it burned off the ends of the hoses and when the thermostat opened it lost all of the coolant. I didn't know anything was wrong until it overheated on the way home and now I'm looking for a replacement engine. I don't think I'll bother replacing the heater.

[Sidecar Bob]

BTW: I planned to start putting stuff together on the rear of the engine yesterday but I decided to look at the starter clutch first. The caps were rusty (probably from sitting outside the engine for a year), the rollers have seen better days and the springs were compressed to 34mm (new ones are 38mm long). These are the same parts used in CX/GL500/650 bikes and I had a good set of caps & rollers on hand but now I'm waiting for the springs to arrive too so I moved things around so I can work on the heads next.

[Sidecar Bob]

The seal came and the springs are waiting for me to pick up (probably tomorrow).

When I took the sheet metal cap off of the rear end of the left head I realized that the place where the points case bolts onto the 1000 head has a straight sided recess for the shoulder on the case to fit into but the on 1100 head the opening has a shallow bevel so I started a thread to ask about it but with no definitive answer and the guy that did this before no longer on the forum I decided I was on my own.

To make it fit right I would need to change the shape of either the opening or the case. Since the case would be cheaper to replace if I screwed it up I decided that was the best candidate for modification. So I spent a quiet hour in the shop with the case clamped in the vise (with the soft jaws) bevelling it with my aluminum file (if you don't have one you probably need to get one), then going over it with a finer file, smearing marker all over it, rotating it in the hole to reveal the high spots (surprisingly few) and finally sanding it smooth.
BTW: The angle is approx. 45 degrees and I figured out quickly that if I filed into the shoulder and about 0.5mm from the inner edge it would be perfect.

And here it is bolted up.

I made one mistake: I should have left a tiny bit straight next to the shoulder to allow for the gasket.As it is it fits close enough to perfectly without a gasket but there is a lot of play if I put the gasket between the case and the head. I think I'll cut a ring of gasket material, wet it and loosely bolt the parts together so that it will form into the correct taper and pull the case to centred over the opening. Come to think about it that might be better than if I had left room for the gasket anyway.....

[ericheath]

Looks great and well thought out. Looking forward to hearing how it works. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[BikeMaine]

Very interesting thread.

My buddy and I are planning a ride over your way from Maine. We both have our passports, so there isn't any excuse to not explore Canada.