Little HELP Please. Valves. 4th Gen

Do you have to drop the motor to pull the heads on this bike???

 

No. Do not have to drop motor. It is actully not that hard to pull the head, just time consuming. I am pretty good with a wrench but no mechanic and I can pull the head and put back together in about 5 hours if I was rushed. it is just pulling everything else that takes alot of time. Seat, rear faring, gas tank, air box, side farings, front lower faring, carbs, radiator, exhaust manifolds, cams, cam cover, and a few others that I cant think of. This bike has been sorta of a restore job that prev owner must of had no love. when I got the bike it had a stuck valve that blew the cam upwards into the cover and was a disaster. I bought a used head on e-bay to replace bad one. Bike was free because prev owner thought there was no life left in her. I have never owned a bike before but had faith that she would roar again. Have had a couple set backs but when she is up and running it is all worth it. I take pride that I have revived her and drive by prev owners house with a little message :flip:

Sorry for the book.

 

For free, you should do everything possible to make this one roar once again!!!

Question - Is this the same head that had the "stuck valve" problem that you fixed once with the eBay head? What hardware/parts were reused at that time?

Is it recommended to replace the head studs if the head had been removed more than once (stretch bolts???)?

 

I used nothing from old head. Completely junked it. The head from ebay was complete. I am looking into replacement head bolts, just have not got that far yet. I hope they are not too expensive. Unfortunitly I am a little short on funds so it is taking longer to get the bike roaring again. BUT piece by piece its coming along and I get excited every step I take. To answer question I did not use any of old pieces or parts of old head. New/used complete head, head gasket, cam cover, cam cover gasket, and exhaust manifold gaskets. Was running fine untill this last mishap.

 

Massively good effort of recycling someone else's throwaway. Gotta like that.

 

Thanks Diz,

The bike has turned into my project. Again I love tinkering with things and as much as I read this site I think I have a special bike and I think it is worth it. I dont know what I am doing half the time and it is a fun challenge to get in and learn. I once bought a boat for $300.00 and spent a year rebuilding it on my spare time. Once it was done i used it for 3 years. I did it mostly because someone said it would never float again. This bike will roar again and soon I will post pics of it when it is done.

 

Know what you mean. I enjoy doing similar myself on occasion. I usually look for projects where the labor costs are high (thinkin' I can handle that on my own time) and I'll have something cool when all is done. And patience is definitely a virtue.

 

Sometimes it is frustrating and not having the million dollar tool set makes doing things a bit longer. But what I like also is the fact that doing it yourself saves alot of money. Even if you screw it up several times it still comes out way cheaper then bringing it to a shop. Add that together with the knowledge that you obtain about your bike and the pride you get when she starts and roars after your done with a repair is priceless. arty2:

 

Wow this is a crazy one.I'd be going where's the keeper hate lose ends not being tied down then theres the how lucky can you be that one retainer held things in place. I've worked on a lot of engines can't recall ever seeing a retainer missing once installed ???? definitively a head scratcher. Not sure if this is any help, But I'd be dropping a call to Mike Valsco #1 VFR engine man in the world IMO, ex Honda head team chief mechanic during the RC30-45 craz, now is the head service tech,as well as runs his own performance dyno shop too at Brothers Power sports here in Bremerton Wa. really a cool dude and knows the know 1-877-479-6943 good luck, what a bummer.

 

Thanks for the contact RVFR. Will attempt to call. The keeper is not missing thankfully. One keeper stayed in place and the other popped out and was pushing into the shim. They are bad pics nad blurred a bit. I used my camera phone, sorry. I have attached another pic to try and explain better. Lucky it was not lost or both keepers pop out, would have been bad. Once I herd some ticking I parked the bike. Here is pic.