It's been a while I hear you say.... Yes, yes it has. But not a quiet while, a "very busy haven't got time to post" while. As you can see, my last progress with the Fazer was snapping the stud. No problem I think my last post also said, I'll get that stud out without a fight. I was wrong. I put some bolts on, tightened them up against each other and went about getting this stud out. The stud had the last laugh, before it hopelessly passed in to the afterlife - that's right, it snapped flush with the head this time. If I was a swearing man, I probably could have been heard saying something that sounds like puck. Who am I kidding, I did say something that sounds like puck.
So, the weekend was spent up in Glasgow meaning I didn't do anything to the bike, except think (a lot) about how I was going to handle it. And when I got back, I knew exactly how I was going to handle it. Like a spoilt little boy who had just been refused sweets. That's right.... "off with her head". The cylinder head that was. The new plan: get her drilled, helicoil, good as new. Yes, I can hear you - I'm not deaf. I know you can drill #3 cylinder with the head insitu. Wrong! A professional can drill #3 with the head insitu, I'm not taking any chances.
So I set about releasing the head from it's 14 year old prison. And what fun it was! No, seriously. Great fun. Getting the carbs out was a bit of a chew on (and will be interesting putting back in). Overall I would probably guess at about 6 hours of chilled out working to get it out.
And here are some pictures for those of you with a short attention span:
So I set about releasing the head from it's 14 year old prison. And what fun it was! No, seriously. Great fun. Getting the carbs out was a bit of a chew on (and will be interesting putting back in). Overall I would probably guess at about 6 hours of chilled out working to get it out.
And here are some pictures for those of you with a short attention span:
"So tell me HT, I'm pulling my head - do I need to look out for anything?"
Hmmmm, not really. Just take your time and enjoy the experience. Make sure you document which bolt goes where, and take plenty of pictures and mental notes of pipes etc. Also, it's a good idea to mark the sprocket/cam chain to make sure you get the right timing on reinstall. I just used a permanent marker. The only really scary moment I had was cracking the head bolts - I did 10, 2 left. #11 just spun as soon as I put any weight to turn it. Sugar, it's rounded. What now?! Try #12 - it's spinning, arrrgggghhhhhh. The old saying of step back, chill the puck out, and think truly does work. I gave myself a kick after realising the reason they felt like they were spinning was because I simply hadn't inserted the hex key deep enough. I could have cried when they cracked and the head came off.
So, what's the plan now? Helicoil is on order, as are gaskets. I plan to drill the snapped stud and refit the new stud while it's still out. Then the valves are coming out for a wee bit cleaning and lapping, and then finally before it all goes back in it's getting sprayed as it looks fugly as is. To be honest, I've wanted it sprayed for the best part of a year so at least this has given me the drive to do it.
If things keep going as well as this, I may have her back on the road come the weekend. Happy days.
Hmmmm, not really. Just take your time and enjoy the experience. Make sure you document which bolt goes where, and take plenty of pictures and mental notes of pipes etc. Also, it's a good idea to mark the sprocket/cam chain to make sure you get the right timing on reinstall. I just used a permanent marker. The only really scary moment I had was cracking the head bolts - I did 10, 2 left. #11 just spun as soon as I put any weight to turn it. Sugar, it's rounded. What now?! Try #12 - it's spinning, arrrgggghhhhhh. The old saying of step back, chill the puck out, and think truly does work. I gave myself a kick after realising the reason they felt like they were spinning was because I simply hadn't inserted the hex key deep enough. I could have cried when they cracked and the head came off.
So, what's the plan now? Helicoil is on order, as are gaskets. I plan to drill the snapped stud and refit the new stud while it's still out. Then the valves are coming out for a wee bit cleaning and lapping, and then finally before it all goes back in it's getting sprayed as it looks fugly as is. To be honest, I've wanted it sprayed for the best part of a year so at least this has given me the drive to do it.
If things keep going as well as this, I may have her back on the road come the weekend. Happy days.