S90: Major Milestone

Hit a major milestone today by dropping the engine out of the S90 for the first time.  Everything went pretty much "by the book" according to Clymer's, with no real surprises.  The only hiccup came when I couldn't get the engine lined up to the mounting holes for the re-install.  Then I realized everything would be a lot easier with the bike lying on the ground instead of standing up.  Once I laid her down, I got the engine installed in about 30 seconds.

The whole exercise took about 2 hours, so now that I know what I'm doing I'm sure I can do it much faster next time. 



First the drive sprocket had to come off.  Had to re-slot these screws and then hit them with the Lisle.  I don't really understand why you have to remove it just to drop the engine, though.

Detach neutral switch.

 

With all 3 engine mount bolts removed (plus the clutch, alternator, air box, muffler, carb, and gearshift) - everything drops right out.

 

Doing research after the fact, I learned that the ignition coil is supposed to be mounted to the top of the engine.  Clearly it's not.  I think the PO mounted it to the top of the frame where the winker relay is actually supposed to be.  Not sure why, but assuming it's another of his trail mods.

Engine mount bolts.

 Years of accumulated crap.

 First ever look at the rectifier.

 Getting the engine back in the easy way.

S90: Nooks and Crannies

Tried to see how much I could clean the cylinder head using only Dremel brushes (as opposed to trying media blasting).  As expected, the Dremel could reach 90% of the surfaces, but some were just too deep or at odd angles to be reached.

May need to come up with other creative solutions to get to the hard-to-reach spots (like between the cooling fins).

This is prep for painting...


Some before pics...

And after...

S90: Odd Jobs Continued

Another day of just messing around with whatever stuck my fancy.

Set the points gap just for fun.

Removed one valve just to test out the new (replacement) valve compressor.

 

Painted the intake.  Broke in the new Dremel 3000 to prep the surface.

  

Why are these different lengths?

Garage: Photo Reference

Took a couple shots for photo reference.


The current rattle can menu.

And the contents of the Polishing & Cleaning basket.

S90: Odd Jobs

Another session doing odd jobs and generally getting my head back into the bike.  Eventually ended up painting the battery cover, opening the oil pump for the first time, doing a compression test, and removing the clutch for fun (will actually disassemble the clutch next time).


Didn't do as much sanding prep on the battery cover as I should have.  The result came out a bit rough, but the main goal was just to get a coat of rust preventative on it.

Compression test came out to a whopping 35, but again, the only point of this academic exercise was to open the compression gauge which was still in its plastic box after all this time.

Popping off the oil pump cover.  Luckily the Lisle impact driver got all the screws out.  I'd have been out of luck if any of them stripped because I still haven't bought a new Dremel since the old one got stolen.

S90: Getting Back in the Groove

Took a five-month break while life's other priorities ate up time and money.  To cap it off, the garage storage closet got broken into a couple weeks ago. 

The thief made off with my Dremel, the Makita drill, the Unibit step bit, my valve compressor tool, and the white canvas tool bag.  Bastard!

Today I was basically just trying to get my head back into the bike.  I pulled out all my tools and boxes and sorted through everything.

I wiped down the S90 with WD40 and disassembled the top end.  The only new thing was that I removed the fork bolts for the first time, and was greeted with bright orange rust powder.  Didn't have any replacement bolts that fit (8x32) so I just oiled up the old ones and put them back in for now.

CM91: Alternator

Wanted to compare the alternator in the S90 with the one in the CM91, and realized that I'd never actually opened up the CM91's alternator cover.  There were 2 frozen screws, but they got re-slotted and one whack with the Lisle did the trick.

Stopped short of actually removing the alternator since I have to use the clutch tool to hold it in place so I can turn the bolt.

Worth noting, the CM91's alternator is stamped "CS90".  The S90's is stamped "CT90".