The Motorcycle Diaries (maintenance and repair)

 So way back on September 17, 2023 I posted about fixing the front base gasket of my 1992 Harley Davidson Fatboy.  

https://heresolong-voices.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-motorcycle-diaries-maintenance-and.html

I had a high dollar oil pump and a new cam cover, I painted the heads and cylinders.  It looked great and ran great.

For forty (40) miles, at which point oil came pouring out from under the front cylinder.  😒

I'm a damn good mechanic, if I do say so myself, so there had to be something going wrong. Maybe the cylinder base was warped.  Well, that got pushed aside for about two years (how does that happen?  Too much else going on).  A couple months ago I decided it was time. Pull the front cylinder back off and send it out for clean up.  Problem is that when I got it apart, it looked perfect.  Which means not the cylinder at all.  Stretched cylinder stud?  Shouldn't be as the studs are relatively new and a top brand.  What could it be? 

Well, here's a hint.

Picked up a used engine, allegedly from a 1991 FXR (easily checkable) and allegedly with 30k miles or so (less easily checked).  But I trust the guy I bought it from as he is the service writer at a nearby shop.  I walked into the shop, in fact, said hi, asked if he knew of anyone who had an Evo engine.  "Why yes, he did".  😁

Anyway, it's not a simple swap because I'm going to transfer over my oil pump, my cam cover, my cam and lifters (depending on visual inspection), my adjustable pushrods, my new pushrod covers, my roller rockers, and my Manley valve springs.  I'm debating on my heads but I think mine are stock, plus they have the same 170,000 miles on them as the engine.  I can't remember whether it was the Road King or the Fatboy heads I sent out, but I think it was the former.  Would be easier than swapping valve springs, though. 

Either way, a fair amount of work but I figure to have all the upgrades in the new engine prior to install.  It's only about an eight to ten hour job (maybe less) so maybe during Spring Break but I tend to get busy fast so we shall see.  Would be nice to have 5/7 bikes running all at once.  Summer plan, get 1989 Honda CBR running, get 1946 Harley WL flathead running, sell 1988 Honda CBR, have 6/6 bikes running.

Hey, a fella can dream, can't he?