feliks

PS. I hate waiting for parts.

Nut went on easy enough....stripped a little of the paint off when I tightened it up.

I put a nut on the stud after I primed it, just to see if there was going to be a problem...didn't strip any of the primer off. I'll let you know about the paint! Do I HAVE to clean the threads? And for what reason? Just wondering....

Is it normal to wear them around the house to break them in? My wife laughs at me.... lol

Haha yeah really, no way I would have tried any of this shit! But now that I've done it and got my hands dirty, it's really not that hard, just really, really time consuming! For a newbie with no tools anyway.... lol I used duplicolor engine enamel. Here's the head, fresh outta the oven! Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr

Yeah all O-rings and gaskets are being replaced - they've discontinued the rear tensioner gasket though so I guess I have to make one...that's bullshit! I fixed the cylinders too, when I took em out of the oven I flipped them over and hear them slide down into place, before I could even press on them they were exactly where they were supposed to be, nice and level. Now I know how to change them in the future! lol Paint turned out wicked on the engine, apparently VHT and Duplicolor are now owned by the same company too...so any debate on their engine paint or which is better, is irrelevant now! I am torn between sanding the sides of the fins or leaving them all black... I think it looks really sharp with the aluminum showing on the end of the fin but then again, with an all black bike...and all black engine is going to look stealthy..... decisions decisions!

Well I put some impact driver sockets underneath them right now in the oven, and the cylinders are sitting on those upside down, which also cross to the head face....so...theoretically they should just slide right back into place.... if not, the block of wood is a good idea! Then I'll be sure to check all measurements again to be certain it's right.

I cleaned em up as much as I could.... they don't stay that pretty once it runs anyway! Valves are a lot cleaner after I cleaned them and lapped them....just didn't post pictures, but got all the crud off them. I just don't want anything that'll cause pre-detonation problems, and I got enough off for that I think. Here's a problem I just found out... since I had the cylinders sitting in the oven ON the cylinders....the heat caused the cylinders to shrink more than the aluminum and the #1 cylinder started to slide up!! Ahhh! So I've got it re-heating now and I've turned it around and put it on some supports to try and slide the cylinder back in..... live and learn!

Well here she is after spending 2 hours in the oven: Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr

Bahahaha! They were super clean first, no trace of oil or anything that would smell up the place too bad. It's not the first time I've baked paint in the oven....the smell clears out eventually. What do you think the inside of the oven is coated with anyway?

The bike is an incredible rush! I'm a newbie too..just got my license last Septemeber - had a few months of riding before the snow got too deep and it got too cold, but they may have been the best two months of my life. I just want to have it in the best condition for my ability and budget before riding season comes this year, then I can enjoy riding the whole time instead of fixing! The wife's gone all day...should have the house aired out when she gets home. hahah

Cylinder housing is done: Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr Has to cure for 2 hours at 300F. Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr

Welcome to the forums!

Welcome to the forums Kim!

Welcome to the club!

Welcome to YOC!

Welcome to the forums! Post up a new thread in the technical section to find out more information about your bike.

Welcome, if you don't have pictures it didn't happen though.

I'd get new pistons if the cylinders needed to be bored, the only reason you'd need new pistons is if you bored out too big for the rings to make good contact, but the rings I have on my cylinders are beautiful...well within spec, and the cylinder walls look good too, so I'm going to use the stuff from my parts engine, just grabbing everything that's good! I may do a hone on these cylinders before I actually put everything back together just to be certain it's nice and fresh, then check ring end gap one more time before I put it all together. Paint today.... wife's gone to school and the oven is pre-heating to 300f. lol

What colour are you going with for the respray?

Thanks man! Hopefully this paint turns out alright...primer is some industrial shit! The warning label on it is a little scary.... lol "Not for use by the general public, for trained professionals only" - I didn't even breath when I used it. Had an N95 mask on (said to use a respirator but I don't have one) so I sprayed it at the end of my garage with the door wide open, held my breath the entire time I sprayed and ran out into the driveway to breath when I was done haha

Head is now primed too...gonna let this cure overnight and start the black tomorrow. Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr

Gotcha - and I'm not getting Viton seals - just getting the regular Yamaha ones.....the dealer never even heard of Viton...but yet they're all over the internet. Perhaps I should have got em, but anyway...it's not hard to pull the valve covers off to replace them if they ever need it again. Gonna have to check the book to see how to remove the seals now, I'm assuming just pull?

Ordered these on Christmas Eve... and they finally arrived today! Some nice quality proper hand protection from Alpinestars. Untitled by feliks.ca, on Flickr