Rock Flute: The engine work continues.

I've had to clean up a few fins after dropping the head on the ground. Flap disc; 100 grit and a 220 spit shine on the ends took care of the damage. The more fin you sand off the thicker they get. Theres a lot of meat in there so if you want to shine the ends of the fins, take the edge off with a flap disc and then smooth them out. Don't go nuts though. Afterall they're there to keep youre engine cool. 

I helicoiled the cam tower threads, checked all the guides, and added some rc aluminum retainers.  Unfortunately one helicoil bound for a split second and snapped the super cheap insert tool off in the hole. Ill be working on that later.

After the metal work was done the head got a bit of a chemical clean and coat of paint. It sat for about an hour and then I sanded the edges of the fins with 220 grit to remove the paint. Classy.

The cyls got scuffed, honed, cleaned, and repainted as well.  The old gaskets were of course a pain to remove.

F-model Rod Bolts

Tore into an old bottom end laying around the shop to start building an 836 for this spring (yeah I know it's already spring, that's why I gotta hurry).  Found something that'll save me 50 bucks and some time.  At one point in this engine's life someone who knew what they were doing was inside this engine.  I found that the crank has been cleaned before and allen screws installed to cap the oil passages.  I also found it was already running F-model rod bolts on K rods.  The original K bolts (seen on the left) were "torque to yield" and have to be thrown out when you remove the rods.  F bolts are reusable and also cheap insurance against the weak K bolts in the budget 836 I'm building.

Stronger cargo box for Rock Flute

I found some stainless tube I had left over from making oil lines and decided to use it to reinforce my chianti cargo box. My intention was to releave the force on the wood panels from any junk I put in the box while also providing a place to tie straps to.

I didn't spend much time doing this and formed the ends of the tube with a hammer and vice. Smoothed the metal and then heated the stainless to change the color to a bronze. Heat slowly and evenly to change stainless to the color you want. Then let it cool for a second to see what color will remain.

Next ill add an aluminum plate to the base so I can load this thing with weeks worth of crap like a minivan.

Rock flute has lost compression

Primarily number 4. Time to rip it apart, make some repairs and maybe some upgrades!

This engine was transplanted from Bat Vagina, my old long bike. Its all hopped up and ported... and stuff.

I tore it down and found two stripped cam tower bolts and some bad build up on the no. four piston. Thank the Lord almighty for the modified valve cover or the Yosh Daytona cam and its aggresive profile would have ripped this head apart.