The 1166 Knock is Back!!!

[Boozy Creek Beast]

Well I thought I had the problem taken care of but after running it for a little while it came back. I concluded that the timing is correct and the valves are correct. So I sat up half of the night thinking about what could be wrong. I came up with an idea and called J & E to check it out. I got the runaround by J & E (and there tech support guys were D%@Ks) so I called A.P.E and they confirmed my problem.

I PUT MY DAM PISTONS IN BACKWARDS!!!!!

The OEM piston had an arrow on them showing which way the pistons should face. The J & E Pistons do not and I had no idea that the Valve Ports were different sizes. I had a 50/50 chance and because of my luck I had to do it wrong. I will keep you all informed when I finally get it back up and running.

I love working on my Beast but why do I allways have to learn everything the hard way.

The Beast

[wharrah]

I love working on my Beast but why do I allways have to learn everything the hard way.

The Beast

You are not as alone as you think... might be why some of us are timid about jumping in up to our eyeballs on the innards of our bikes, for fear of reliving the same pains....

(I'm repeating this to myself in an attempt to believe it.)

But, like all fears, we (including me) have to learn to:
[a] consider the plan of attack
[b] swallow hard, and then charge
[c] ask for advice when necessary
[d] rejoice when you finish the goal...!

I get my turn in the barrel soon to see if I can do this.

Sorry you have to do it again. A worst-nightmare for a wrencher guy or gal...

[Boozy Creek Beast]

I just checked you web site. I was lucky enough to be stationed at Bitburg. 3 years from 84 to 87. Made a few trips to Hahn as a member of the Bitburg Football team. It was one of the best 3 years of my life.

Thanks for the kind words as I feel very dumb for making such a silly mistake.

The Beast

[Jethro]

Holy waste of time batman. That sucks! I'll remember this when I do mine...

[Boozy Creek Beast]

Dude your killing me with the Batman Referance. I guess the old addage stands "No pain No gain" but just once I would like to get a little more gain and a little less pain.

The Beast

[Hoomgar]

Thanks for sharing Greg. You may help the next guy who would have fallen into the same hole man. Sorry to hear it but at least you know what it is now. That has to feel good if not just a little?

[Boozy Creek Beast]

Thanks!! The best thing about all of this is that I have taken my bike apart so much over the last couple of weeks that I can now do it in my sleep but remember just when you think you have all of the answers someone will go and change all of the questions.

The Beast

[Kaiser Sosei]

Be sure to let us know which way is forward. It might help someone in the future who gets the JE pistons.

[graymulligan]

oh sweet agony. My condolences sir, there's nothing worse than being "done", and then doing the whole thing over. Oh well, one more reason to get dirty and drink beer. :-D

[rosco15]

Learning can be expensive. I did that with an old KZ motor I had. High compression. It came up and dinged the spark plug. Now I always triple check it. Large valve pockets to the intake side.

[Big Jay]

One of the reasons oem pistons have the arrows is because the valve pockets are so small that it is hard to tell which are the the larger ones.

JEs on the other hand are very easy to see which are the larger ( intake).

Glad my guys were able to help you sort out your problem, however you may have tweaked some valves and that is the noise you heard. Examine the edges of the valve pockets clostly for signs of marks. Pour solvent in the ports and see if it leaks past the valves ( when the head is off ).

Jay

[odl777]

Dont worry i know how you feel, Had to take apart my gs motor 3 or 4 times just to get it right. Now i am haveing problems with my dyna s. But at least you learn alot through your mistakes. have a good one mate

[skip]

Greg I thought I would share my engine rebuild nightmare

the first time i put the 1229 kit in the bike i re-assembled it and without and dropped a nut from one of the coils into the engine. I fired it up it idled perfect and away Went. I made it though three gears when it locked up tight. luckily i was in between shifts and had the clutch in when it happened. my 8 of my 16 new many valves were toast and the cases had to be split again so i could find the nut and estimate the damage. I needed a new cam chain, tensioner, and cam chain guide too. Plus I had to take the ribbing from all my Buddy's for about a year . Any time they saw me working on something they would yell "Better check your nuts" Skips at it again"

[Joe Nardy]

Be sure to let us know which way is forward. It might help someone in the future who gets the JE pistons.

Kaiser Sosei? The Devil himself? I thought he would never be heard from again.

Cool screen name and nice reference to a great movie!

Joe

[Kaiser Sosei]

Thanks. I enjoyed the movie and thought that it would make a good internet alter ego. Or, it might be that I just lack imagination, :-D