1993 M900- It begins.....

[Flip]

My '97 900 has the dark grey valve covers too and I remember spraying them a few years ago with a Ford colour rattle can from Halfords- I even think it was called something like Ford Anthracite Grey Metallic(?).

[spacemonkey]

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey

Yeah! Funny how both our bikes are the same and 'keepers', and of course the fact that you were the first UKMOC member I met back in the day. Blimey, that was YEARS ago!!!

I'd forgotten that! Was at Alton wasn't it? About 11 years ago!

Originally Posted by spacemonkey

Question- my valve covers etc are a dark anthracite grey, yet the 'books' say they should be black. Is this a typical researcher's error, or does any other 93 bikes have the dark grey covers? Anyone found a good paint match for them? If not, I'll just do them black.

I'm also going to need new inner rubber and outer plastic belt covers if anyone has any as mine have cracked.

My covers were dark grey but I used a dark grey Smoothrite rather than colour match.

While you've got it in bits, have a look on some of the plastics or footrest hangers for the manufacture date code. Mine is 4/93 in most places so a def early build! Chassis numbers were very random.....

Ped

[spacemonkey]

That's right- Alton it was!

I have a build/inspection ticket that I found in the bike somewhere years back and it is dated 10-03-93 at 14:38 hrs. I'll keep an eye out on bike parts as I strip them. Still suffering 'down below' so nothing happening to the bike yet....

[spacemonkey]

Right, hit a major stumbling block. Everything is ready to drop the engine. I've separated the shock at the bottom and the rose joints so the back end will lift off but keep the shock and hoop on the frame. The swing arm pivot is drifting out nicely so that good. The big snag is the two engine bolts. They won't shift. The front nut came off, but the main bolt won't shift. I've used plus gas soaking most of the day and I've used my cordless and mains impact guns followed by a 2ft breaker but although the allen socket rotates a few mm, the other side of the bolt doesn't so I'm afraid something is going to shear.

Apart from more plusgas over a couple of days, I'm out of ideas. A blowtorch is out of the question as I am not repainting the frame.


Any ideas? Any stories of bolt removal success or failure after the same siezed situation?

[Pedro]

Hi Nick

I had the same issue when I took the front engine bolt out to fit crash bungs, it was just corrosion holding it. Undo the nut a couple of turns then give it a good smack with a drift and two pound tuning fork. Might take a bit of brute force.... Best not to hit the threaded end without the nut still in place to protect the thread

Plenty of plus gas should help.....eventually! Gis a ring if you get stuck, might have something else that will free it

Ped

[spacemonkey]

Don't the bolts screw into threads in the frame though? I know the front has a nut, but the rear doesn't.

I've lumped the allen socket into the bolt in 2lb instalments but that didn't help either.

[Sirc]

^ from memory I don't think the frame is tapped but I could be wrong - i think there is a tapped (loose) collar instead. You will get there in the end with perseverance - it helps to move the bike next to a sturdy wall and then arrange wood etc to brace between the frame at point of impact and the wall. If you feel like waving the white flag on removing bolt conventionally then as a last resort you can carefully spread the frame enough to get a pad saw/junior hacksaw between the crankcase and the frame to cut through the offending bolt.

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey

Don't the bolts screw into threads in the frame though? I know the front has a nut, but the rear doesn't.

I've lumped the allen socket into the bolt in 2lb instalments but that didn't help either.

The front bolt just slides through the cases, not sure about the back bolt, I think it's a slide fit too - I'll go have a look in my duke manual (genuine not Haynes).

Will let you know

[slob]

When you hit the bolt with a drift, the whole bike moves a little.
My top tip is get some scaffolding tube between the bike and a wall, then drift the bolt into the tube, that way (almost) all the force transfers into the bolt you're trying to shift.

[Sirc]

damn, i'm invisible again..

[slob]

Doh! sorry Chris, hard to read the posts properly on my phone (on a moving train)

[spacemonkey]

Cheers guys, I'll report back later as it's Whacking Day again!

[Dirty]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey

Cheers guys, I'll report back later as it's Whacking Day again!

Not working on the bike then?

[spacemonkey]

Hey, man's gotta have a hobby...

Ok, not budging today either despite plenty of PG and brute force. I shall try heating and a 50:50 mix of acetone and ATF as a penetrating fluid- supposedly the best thing this side of my bottles of noxious acids, and far less likely to damage the paintwork or me...

Any more news Pedro? I'm convinced it is the bolt corroding in the engine block which means about 8-10" or so of corrosion. Not likely to be beaten easily.