Mr.H's new engine

[Sidecar Bob]

This is Mr.H. It is an '83 with a '79 engine and a Dnepr sidecar. I put the bike together in '97, added the sidecar in '09, re-painted it in '11 and changed the forks and instrument panel in 2013, just before this pic was taken. I replaced the crappy eBay instrument panel with aDanmoto 180 and replaced the original coils with ones from a GL1500 last year.


The combination of 1000 engine & transmission and 1100 final drive resulted in overall gearing more than a gear higher than stock, which was wonderful on 2 wheels - lower RPM the highway and great mileage. Having driven it like that for 12 years before I decided to add a sidecar, I had the mindset that that was just what it was but it has been struggling, especially when pulling away uphill with a passenger, ever since.

Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake but last year I figured out that the solution to most of its problems would be to replace the GL1000 engine with a GL1100 engine. A little research on the forum and I started shopping.

Edit: Pic hosted on Potobucket replaced
Added link to 1500 coils

[Sidecar Bob]

Thanks to Flyin900 I was able to purchase a GL1100 parts bike only an hour from home. The seller & I disassembled it and it came home in my wife's CR-V


Yes, there is an engine in there

[Sidecar Bob]

I finally started working on the engine a couple of weeks ago.


Can I use a GL1000 rear engine cover on an 1100 engine? (I decided to plate over the hole anyway)
Does the end of 1100 crank need to be plugged when removing pulser shaft? (I don't think it does)

[CYBORG]

Looks REALLY good!

[Sidecar Bob]

Piston in honing - advice before I start?
My buddy that grew up in the shop of his father's VW dealership (= he has had a lot more engines apart than I have) was here yesterday so I got him to have a look at it. He said if it was his engine he wouldn't hone so I'm going to leave it alone.

Cylinders #3 & #1. (the lines you can see in #1 are not very deep. Cleaning the cylinder out with Scotchbrite removed most of it.


Cylinders #2 & #4


While we were turning the engine we noticed that #1,2&3 pistons are all flush with the mating surface at TDC but #4 is about 3mm below. This split screen pic shows the difference. Is this common or do I have a problem?

[sunnbobb]

Hmm, I don't remember my pistons doing that on my 81...

[CYBORG]

Ya, almost sounds like a bent rod

[salukispeed]

That would be the symptom of a hydraulic-ed issue some time in its past and a bent rod seems possible.

[JBz]

that's quite a bit 3mm. #3 cylinder doesn't look good to me............jb

[Whiskerfish]

That would be a cause for significant concern for me.

[ericheath]

That's what happened to my 85 engine when it hydrolocked. I did not even notice it happened except for a little more vibration and a slight loss of power. I only found it because it blew a head gasket. From the way mine rode, I'll bet there a few others rolling around and don't even know they're bent.

[robin1731]

That is a bent rod. I had one here about 2 years ago like that. Ran, but as the guy rode it the engine started to make noise. It will just keep getting worse if you run it.

.

[Easter]

Oh boy, bad news!! And after all that cleaning and painting.

[jdvorchak]

+1 with Robin on the bent rod. Not even sure if you can buy rods and bearings any more. Maybe look for a different engine.

[jdvorchak]

Oh boy, bad news!! And after all that cleaning and painting.

Look at the bright side.... Now you know how to clean and paint one. I'm wondering if that much of a bend in the rod would have shown up with a compression test.