1986 Aspencade Resurrection

[Fred Camper]

Good news for sure on the stator functionality. You are certainly close to the finish.

[3KidsinAustin]

Good news for sure on the stator functionality. You are certainly close to the finish.

This bike had been modded earlier with an actual PoorBoy conversion - stamped into the pulley mounted to the crank. Cutest little alternator I've ever seen!

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The 84 that is on deck for the next project (and probably stripped down) also has a bad stator. The PO mounted a car battery in one of the saddle bags and routed jumper cables to it. I'll be dropping that engine and doing a stator replacement as I don't want an alternator hanging off a naked bike. That's a project for future-me.

[3KidsinAustin]

I was in the process of typing out a request for help in identifying this strange looking bracket that was floating around in the bike when I disassembled it. Then a flash of inspiration struck and I tested fitting the fuse block onto it, which was just flopping around. Jackpot!

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Mental acuity sometimes seems few and far between, so I am taking this as a sign of a good weekend ahead!

[Fred Camper]

Nice when a puzzle piece fits perfect.

[3KidsinAustin]

Couple of big steps backwards starting yesterday. The day started out well, got the cooling system all bolted back on and fired up the bike to burp the system. It idles SOOOOO nice with the carbs redone, I'm almost ready to break my arm patting myself on the back! Anyway, idling along smoothly, hearing a few misses from the left bank (popping in the exhaust). Some smoke coming off the exhaust as it heats up, nothing major. No smoke blowing out the exhaust, so I'm happy and waiting for it to reach operating temps to add coolant and start syncing the carbs.

While idling, the bike begins to make a distinct clacking sound from the left head. Not every revolution, but enough that I shut it down right away. Decide a leakdown test is in order, so order a tool from Amazon, which arrived early this morning. I tested all the cylinders - 2 & 4 have a 5% and 8% loss, respectively, with air coming through the rings (heard in the oil fill) and out the intake. 1 & 3 are great - 3% and only slightly through the oil. Frankly, given the poor compression reading on 2 (75 PSI cold), I expected worse.

So, took the head off. Hardest part was getting the radiator off after I'd worked so hard to mount it up. Here are some pics.

Comments very welcome!

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Been reading up on the hydraulic adjusters, going to go through those as well as pull the valves. More tools arriving tomorrow.

I have a spare head that came with the bike but it is in pretty rough shape. Hoping to resurrect this one and get some better results on both compression and leakdown.

[Rat]

The fact that the OP had an extra head lying around might be a hint …

Gord

[3KidsinAustin]

The fact that the OP had an extra head lying around might be a hint …

Gord

Agreed. I reached out this morning to the seller asking if the head in the bike is original and anything he might recall about the head that came in the parts stash. No word back yet.

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The condition of the separate head is not as good as what I took off the bike, aside from the fact it is cleaner. I researched this morning and the cams are different between 84/85 and 86/87, plus the hydraulic adjusters have a different part number. Reassembling the head without the cam to test if I have a leak caused by valve seat or camshaft.

[3KidsinAustin]

Played with the left head and cam holder today. Woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it, so didn't get much sleep. My first plan (failed) was to remove the cam from its holder, then bolt the head and the rocker assembly back onto the bike with the thought being that I could remove the valve train from the equation and see if I had good valve seating. Hooked everything back up, even the carb and the valve cover to minimize noise. Still had some noise through the intake, so time to narrow it down again.

(I'm a guy that likes to test lots of theories first before jumping in, like to have my bases covered. This is a great example of when it causes really slow going!)

One thing I did find during the first test is that the #2 exhaust rocker was making contact with the valve stem even before the cam holder was bolted to the head. The other three rockers were loose, as I'd expect, so did some playing around with that. I had to remove assist shaft spring bolt for that rocker to loosen it up. So something is suspect there, so putting the rocker assembly on the to-do list for tomorrow.

After failure of test 1, I figured I would check for the valve sealing by filling each chamber with mineral spirits. Surprisingly, #2 (my cylinder with the lowest compression) held its liquid perfectly, but #4 immediately began draining down the intake runner. It had the greatest leakdown % from yesterday at around 8%.

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As an upside, after a couple hours soak, it was really easy to get the chambers all cleaned up!

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A spring compressor and valve lapping compound arrived today, so my thought is to remove the #4 intake, clean it and lap it onto the seat, then retest and see if any improvement. Will also need to dig into the rocker assembly and clean the adjusters. My current theory for proving/disproving is the #2 intake adjuster is clogged and keeping the valve open a bit even when the rocker is riding on the base circle of the cam. Since the intake valve is sealing 100%, that is the only way I can think air is getting in. Or, I have a bleed between #2 and #4, in which case I have even bigger problems. Although since compression readings are the same between them, I'm hoping that is not the case.

[3KidsinAustin]

Been busy this week working on the head and valve train for the left cylinder and have reached a crossroads. I pulled all the valves, gave each an inspection and cleaning. Then I decided to lap the cylinders into the valve seats, which might have been might first mistake. My second mistake was definitely to swap valves from the second head that were in much better visual condition than the originals. I learned later that this is a no-no. Rats!

After putting the valves back into the head, I was still having minor interference issues with the rocker arms into the cam holder. I learned a lot about the hydraulic adjusters and how the eccentric lobe on the rocker shafts works. Very slick design if all the parts are functioning properly. Completely disassembled the exhaust side of the cam holder, as that was where the interference was happenings (rocker arm would catch on the cast body when trying to rotate fully into position). After cleaning the bleeding the adjusters, everything was rotating smoothly - so clacking issue should be fixed.

My later valve leaking tests were less successful than my first. After screwing around with the valves, I had small leaks in each of the passages when filling with mineral spirits and letting the head sit. So that was a big disappointment. Decided I needed to fish or cut bait, so installed the head and cam holder assembly onto the bike yesterday, bolted everything up and let it run. After a few seconds of running, the sound from the rockers went away - I am attributing that to oil from the defoaming chambers displacing the seafoam I'd used to bleed the hydraulic adjusters. After the initial clicking, no unusual sounds from the top end, so that was good.

Warmed it all the way up to operating temperature and gave it some throttle pulls. Not a huge cloud of white smoke, but definitely a noticeable amount, came out the left exhaust when I twisted the throttle. Also some random popping noises from the exhaust while running. Video below shows the performance.

https://youtube.com/shorts/jjN6YT-a_Cg?feature=share[/youtube]

Measured compression on the left side. #2 went from 75 down to 60 after my head work. #4 fairly steady at 120. When pulling the head and inspecting the oil, it had more of a chocolate milk look indicating some coolant mixing into the oil. That could likely be o-rings failing around the water pump - I have not replaced those yet. However, the really low compression in #2 has me concerned - 60 psi seems lower than mere stuck rings could account for.

So here is my conundrum. This is not a "keeper" bike - I bought it solely to get running and back on the road. The low overall value of these bikes in the market mean there is no sense in stripping the engine for a rebuild and machine work to the heads. I can either source another engine or strip this down for parts to put onto the gray 84 Interstate. Another option would be to put it all back together with the bad cylinder and sell it at a discount with the cylinder issues being clearly communicated to potential buyers. Not really excited about that option as it probably has more value in parts (newer tires, brand new battery, timing belt, brakes, etc) for the Interstate than what I would feel comfortable selling in as-is condition.

Space is always the issue - I was looking forward to getting the 86 up and out the door to make more room for the 84 and clear off the shelves.

If anyone makes it this far through my VERY long post, I'd welcome any thoughts and comments on next steps.

[Fred Camper]

Still quite possible it will regain pressure after 1000 miles. If you sell it before then, you should not have to mention the low cylinder unless you also tell of the valve-train and head work. I would let the customer ask about that before providing details as may sellers do not dig in like you did. Others may come to a different conclusion, which is fine.

[3KidsinAustin]

Still quite possible it will regain pressure after 1000 miles. If you sell it before then, you should not have to mention the low cylinder unless you also tell of the valve-train and head work. I would let the customer ask about that before providing details as may sellers do not dig in like you did. Others may come to a different conclusion, which is fine.

Have the head off to take another crack and lapping the valves. Won't put the head back on until it either can hold water without leaking or I source another one. Most likely will wait until tomorrow as I don't want to have too much fun in one day!

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[3KidsinAustin]

At this point, I'm cautiously optimistic that my cylinder head valve job can be salvaged. I tackled each valve with an extensive, careful hand lapping, thinning the paste a bit and working each one for at least ten minutes. After lapping the four valves, anyone doing more than one a day would either be a prime candidate for carpal tunnel or arthritis! Results appear to be worth it, though. #2 held water better than #4, with only the slightest amount getting past the intake valve. I wadded up some toilet paper into each runner, and the wad after over an hour wasn't even really damp, just a very small section that was damp-ish and colored in pink from the red permanent marker I used to check the seat and valve.

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#4 is doing ok, not as good as #2. This was the cylinder that had the greatest amount of leekage when tested before disassembly a few days ago. The valve seat shows pitting that even lapping cannot clean up. I haven't taken a closeup pic of the seat yet and it is currently under water. It is leaking a bit through that valve, but not nearly as bad as when I first did the test before taking the valves apart. All in all, I'm pleased with the results.

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Going to reassemble the head and cam holder tomorrow and do a compression test. I returned the crappy leak tester this morning so will just have the compression test to go by for now. Regardless, hopefully this head is going to be good enough to get this bike back on the road for lots more miles. More to follow!

[3KidsinAustin]

#4 performed as expected. Very light seepage from intake valve, more than what passed through #2. With the fluid drained from the bowl and the valves cleaned up, here is a closeup of the valve seat. Not great, but I think it will perform good enough for a long while. If everything passes muster on the compression test, I'll give it a trial run while keeping my eyes open for a good cylinder head to bolt on.

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[CYBORG]

Ya, not the best looking I've ever seen

[Rednaxs60]

I have used a battery operated drill to lap valves. Finger pressure on the valve to keep in place, and low RPM with the drill, works not too bad.