Motorcycle teardown

[midnightcafe]

Rear end is off the bike, now I need to take the front end, stands, front sprocket/chain and motor out. I made the silly mistake of taking the rear wheel out before removing the front sprocket so I'll just have to be creative.

see that caked dirt and grease near the sprocket?...


this sums up the bike's condition.

[1978gs550E]

Damn that's dirty. At first from your pictures I thought the bike was in decent shape but that is filthy. I've been slacking on getting my engine out

[toolman]

glad to hear you got the darn screw out. i have been there many times and i found that if you get a quarter in drive torques bit set .so when you strip the screw find the bit that fits a touch too big and drive it in tapping with a hammer . the tapping loostens the tight threads and you can use all your quarter in drive stuff to remove it. the best part is that the torques bit wont break off but if it strips use the next size bigger and repeat.......toolman

[midnightcafe]

almost done, I would remove the front end off first so you avoid this mess...

a full week later:

the bike just barely leans forward with the front wheel off, enough to slow down the process and require an extra hand to counterbalance the frame. Anyways I just need to remove the motor from the bike. ANY ADVICE? I'm thinking about laying on the shift lever side-do I remove the motor mounts then?

[TheCafeKid]

On some of the frames, and i dunno about yours, the 750s for sure, but there is a welded frame mount, so the motor can only come out one direction. It has been suggested that you can put an old tire down, lay the frame and motor over, undo the mounts and lift the frame away from the motor. Never tried this method, I simply get some extra hands and get it out upright. I would suggest, that if you try this, you drain the oil completely before hand.

[midnightcafe]

On some of the frames, and i dunno about yours, the 750s for sure, but there is a welded frame mount, so the motor can only come out one direction. It has been suggested that you can put an old tire down, lay the frame and motor over, undo the mounts and lift the frame away from the motor. Never tried this method, I simply get some extra hands and get it out upright. I would suggest, that if you try this, you drain the oil completely before hand.

thanks, I drained the oil against my dad's crazy notions that the pistons would seize over an oilless winter...
How many men would it take to remove the motor upright? I think I should look for a tire and place stacks of cardboard over it.

www.cb750cafe.com
I always check here for inspiration and some tricks but I haven't seen him tip a bike over to remove the motor. I dunno, I think I might keep it as is for when I return from school at thanksgiving seeing that I have to set up rearsets for a school project.

[Geoff4130]

This is a great thread! I kinda want to do the same thing, but I just got mine and it won't be too cold to ride for a month or 2.

[swanrogers]

Thank you!

So, I have to admit, Im a newbie, worked a lot on my car, havent worked on a bike ever, thank you for showing some pictures!!!

Question:

I need to replace my clutch, any way you are near doing that and could snap some pictures...a service manual never does justice!!

Thanks.
Ride Safe.

[psyguy]

even if you lay the bike on the side, you'll still need another pair of (strong) hands
unless you re like extra super strong

[drhach]

I muscled my GS1000 engine in and out of the frame. Or, I guess out and in. I did it myself and it was a bear. That thing is heavy and awkward. My back was very angry with me when it was all said and done. I think you idea of laying the bike on its side is a good one. As Psyguy said, you probably will still need a second set of hands, but it will make getting it out really easy. I actually saw a video of Arlen Ness doing this and he made it look really easy. Just use lots of padding. Maybe even tip it over on to an old mattress just so you don't scratch, dent or bend anything.

As far as your Dad's comment about draining the oil goes, he's kind of right. If you're going to store the engine for a little while, take out the plugs and give the cylinders a shot of WD-40. It's cheap insurance. It's not whether or not there is oil in the crankcase or not as much as it has to do with not starting the engine and thus circulating the oil periodically. WD-40 sticks pretty good and so, it will keep that steel well lubed and it will burn off when you are ready to run the engine again.

Keep the posts coming.

[midnightcafe]

So, I have to admit, Im a newbie, worked a lot on my car, havent worked on a bike ever, thank you for showing some pictures!!!

Question:

I need to replace my clutch, any way you are near doing that and could snap some pictures...a service manual never does justice!!

Thanks.
Ride Safe.

try this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br63PLcq3sU

I won't be going into my clutch anytime soon. Of course I'll be getting help ripping the engine out, I can't really deadlift 230 pounds just yet

[TheRooster]

gs300 to a gs1000

nice build

[drhach]

Since we're handing out tips. Here's a great way to inflate you tires.


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[psyguy]

I muscled my GS1000 engine in and out of the frame. Or, I guess out and in. I did it myself

then you must be one of those guys that i referred to as "super extra strong", cos that thing is over 100kg and in an akward position to get out from!

[lecroy]

Not too bad if you remove the head, cylinder, pistons, starter..... first.

This may sound dumb but I normally put the bike on the motor. Pretty easy this way. I lay down some cardboard and carpet, put the motor on it and tilt it on its side. Then just lower the frame onto it. Frame is pretty light.