NGW Project in Maine - 1983 Interstate

[Whiskerfish]

That sucks. 1 and 3 are always the ones that move. Usually I do the hand rotation several times and check then pull the plugs and spin it with the starter. Makes me feel right about double checking the alignment and the tension.

[Track T 2411]

I'm so paranoid (persnickity?) that I back off all the rocker adjusters before removing the old belts. One should check the valve lash after installing new belts anyway, and it makes installing the 1/3 belt easier because it relieves the valve spring tension in the cam. Plugs are usually out as well. Then I roll it over by hand several rotations and recheck belt tension and timing marks. I suppose that's why every job takes me longer and frustrates the heck out of my son... (Aren't you done with that yet?)

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

Check thrice. I'll not make that same mistake again, which opens me to others.

An update: The head swap went fine, and the bike is running. So that's a good thing.

My son snapped off the two right-side mounts for the radiator - the stud at the top and the bolt at the bottom. (I think he was pretty frustrated by that point, it was about 90 degrees that day, and he had a 3-hour ride ahead of him. I've been there more than a few times.) Missing one might be fine. Missing two is a different matter.

I could use some thoughts here.

I had hoped to back out the lower and tap the upper for a bolt. The lower sheared at the frame. To tap the upper, I need to pull the forks to get straight on the bolt. OK. And I'm still drilling into the bolt (tough to do) to almost surely tap for a larger bolt, which may not fit through the radiator mounting hole...

I had a thought: Drill a hole in two hose clamps, grind down the head of a bolt to a thin wafer-ish size, and use the hose clamp to hold the bolt against the frame. I could assemble it all on the radiator, then tighten the hose clamps once I have things positioned. Of course zip ties could also work, and maybe my thought is about as sturdy as those.

[Track T 2411]

What about something like this? It might move the radiator out a bit...

https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... lsrc=aw.ds

[NotSoLilCrippseys]

I've been remiss.

I used a couple hose clamps, drilled a hole in each, slipped ground-head bolts through them, and clamped them to the frame to align with the original mounts. All is well in that department.

While my son's bike was left at the house, I took care of the blown fork seal, both introduced and sorted a couple minor issues.

I finally took the Blue Phoenix for a test ride post-head gaskets. I ran an errand that took me on a 20+ mile loop. All seems well. It needs new valve cover gaskets, as it coated my right boot in oil. (I checked; it's the valve cover.) The left boot now needs an oil bath to match the shine of the right one.

I'll put a couple hundred miles on the bike before I attempt the 2.5 hour highway ride to deliver it to him. Or maybe he'll come down to retrieve it.