Finally started the repairs & upgrades to the old TS185. It was in dire need of new steering head bearings and brakes. A set of matching dual sport tires wouldn’t hurt either, along with a thousand other little things. So the day before yesterday I pulled it all the way down to a bare frame.
This is not going to be a show quality restoration by any stretch of the imagination. You may have noticed that the title of this post is The 20 Foot Restoration. If you’ve never heard that term before it describes a vehicle that looks really good from a distance of 20 feet or more, but when you get up close you can still see the dings & other imperfections.
If the skid plate had been removable I probably would have left the engine in the frame for all of this as it runs excellent. But the skid plate is an integral part of the frame, and the area between it and the engine was packed with a mixture of red clay mud & two stroke oil. Plus there was some damage to repair.
After getting it cleaned up reasonably well, I took some body hammers to it, straightened it up some, and the welded all of the broken bits back together. Then I hit it with the wire brush & sandblaster before shooting a coat of rattle can primer.
All of the frame bits & pieces are painted with some some cheap spray on truck bed liner, while parts such as the shock bodies etc. are being done in brake caliper paint. I disassembled the shocks & dropped the springs into a bucket of metal rescue to soak overnight. they’re not perfect but they look a lot better.
After 2 days of hard work this was my stopping point last night, this morning I am going out to detail the engine as much as I can without actually taking it apart. and will continue the reassembly of this poor old thing.
D.I.Y. motorcycle head service is possible for the home mechanic at times, under the right circumstances. Of course if you are one of those fortunate individuals who happens to have a fully equipped machine shop and know how to use it you can do anything. But for the ordinary person restoring an older motorcycle or atv that wants to save a buck or two it is still possible to do an acceptable job provided certain conditions are met.
My patient for this job will be the CM400 that I used for the valve adjustment tutorial a couple of weeks ago. After adjusting the valves and putting oil in the cylinders it still had about a 45-50 psi difference in compression from the left to right sides so I pulled it apart for a top end overhaul. It turns out that the right cylinder had oil rings that were stuck from sitting and that the gaps were aligned on the other two rings.
Before disassembling it, I cleaned the head fairly well and removed the carbon from the combustion chambers. This makes handling the parts much nicer and inspection much easier. No matter what method you use to remove the carbon do not allow any type of abrasive or wire brush or scraper to contact the flat sealing surface of the head. Yes I know you may have to use some type of scraper to remove the gasket residue from the head but be very careful not to scratch or gouge it in any way. I actually used soda blasting to clean this head but made sure not to hit the mating surfaces with it.
Now I must make a couple of quick disclaimers here. First there are some defects that if discovered during the inspection process that will mean you need to take your head to a machine shop to be repaired anyway. Second, unless you own a set ball micrometers to check them with, you will basically be guessing that the valve guides are okay based on the condition of the valve stems. Chances are that if like me, you are working on something old but with relatively low mileage they are okay BUT it is not guaranteed and excessively worn valve guides can cause oil consumption & smoking even with new seals. Third, this is not the high performance option, if you are building a hotrod and looking to squeeze every last drop of performance out of it you can then I suggest you contact a reputable high performance machine shop for a good 5 angle valve job and new valve guides. This is to get your old heap running as good as possible for the least amount of dough you can spend. The fourth and last disclaimer is to always put safety first in the shop. You will be dealing with strong springs under compression. There is a chance that a tool could slip releasing a spring to go flying out at high speed and hit you or to pinch your fingers between the spring & the tool. Only use a good quality valve spring compressor
in good condition, make sure you read the instructions that come with it, & wear some eye protection too.
Even so there are some specialty tools you will need to get if you do not have them. In the picture above at the bottom center the thing with the two suction cups on it is a valve lapper with 2 tubes of grinding compound one coarse & one fine. Moving clockwise around the head are the valve spring compressor, a caliper dial or digital whatever you have, a light rubber or plastic hammer just in case something needs a tiny bit of extra persuasion, a micrometer (if you don’t know how to read a micrometer you can either learn how or just buy a digital one.) Next item to the right is a pick up magnet and a flat screwdriver, a few pertinent pages photocopied from the service manual and a new gasket set with valve seals. If you want to learn to use a micrometer watch the 2 videos below.
Set your valve spring compressor into place over the first valve you wish to remove and turn the compression screw inward until the spring is compress enough that the valve keepers either fall out or you can reach in with a magnetized screwdriver and pull them out.
It is very important that you keep your valves, springs, & other parts together so that they can be reinstalled in the same opening from which you removed them. This is especially critical for the valves as they wear into their valve guides and seats as the engine is operating. If any of the valves do not come out, or if removal is difficult you may have a bent or seized valve, put everything back together and find a good machinist. The cure for a damaged valve requires replacing the valve & seat as a unit. The valve guide drivers and reamers required for this job are really a bit much to purchase & learn to use for just one head.
Once you get all the valves out give the head a good visual inspection looking for anything that looks galled, burnt, or cracked
Be sure you check inside the ports to especially around the valve guides. Next check the valve seats which are the hardened steel inserts around the outside of the large holes in the combustion chamber. If any of valve seats 0r guides are burnt, badly scored or pitted , have cracks in them or easily visible excess wear then you need to put it back together & take it to a competent machinist
If all looks good make sure the head is not warped beyond acceptable limits. for this you’ll need a good straight edge and a feeler gauge in whatever size your service manual specifies
Place the straightedge firmly across the head in several locations and try to insert the feeler gauge between it and the heads gasket mating surface. If it goes between the two anywhere then a machinist will need to shave the head to level it back out.
Now it’s time to grab the micrometer and check the diameter of every valve stem in several places up & around each one. If any of them are worn beyond the service limit, chances are the valve guides are shot too and this is no longer a normal do it yourself job. Double check them for straightness at this time also,
After that get a caliper and measure the extended length of all of your valve springs. Replace any that do not fall into the specified range for your motorcycle.
Once the inspection process is complete and you are satisfied that all of your parts are in good condition & can be reused go ahead & clean the valves & guides thoroughly. Most of the time you can just scrub the intake valves clean in the parts washer, but the exhaust valves usually have a hardened scale stuck to them so I use a brass wire brush to clean them with. For the valve guides I use a gun cleaning brush, but any small round brush with plastic or brass bristles that fits through them will do. I try to avoid using brushes with steel or stainless steel bristles on parts like these because I only want to remove the grease, carbon, and scale without affecting the base metal.
Pick out whichever valve you want to start with and put a small amount of valve grinding compound around the head of the valve on the surface that contacts the valve seat in the head, and place that valve back into the hole that it was originally removed from. Grab the valve lapping tool & stick one of the suction cups on it to the valve like this and then rotate it back & forth to clean the mating surface. The most efficient way to do this is to hold the lapping stick between your palms and pretend you are trying to start a fire with it. Stop occasionally to check on your progress and replenish the lapping compound if needed. I use a coarse compound to start with & then switch to fine grit, but it is possible to make do with just the fine grit if that is what you have.
Stop and inspect rather frequently, you are not trying the grind the entire surface of the valve & seat flat. What you want is a uniform,well polished shiny ring all the way around the valve & seat at the point where the two meet. Once you have that, to keep polishing is just putting unnecessary wear on your engine parts. It should only take you a few minutes per valve to accomplish this, so keep going until you have all of the valves done.
With all of the valves lapped you now need to wash them and the head again and completely remove all of the valve grinding compound so that it doesn’t make its way into your freshly overhauled engine and grind up parts that don’t need it. Then open up your gasket set and find the valve seals. I have the seals for this engine laid out above.
The two larger one are for the exhaust valves and the four smaller ones are for the intake valves.
Once you have all of the seals into place it is time to start reinstalling the valves remembering to put each valve back into the hole that you removed it from to start with. First push the valve back into the hole.
It should go in smoothly, make sure that it doesn’t push the new seal off of the valve guide. Put the matching valve spring(s) and retainer back into place over the valve stem.
You will have to carefully hold the retainer while you put the valve spring compressor into place to compress the valve spring(s).
Compress the springs until you can see the grooves for the valve keepers well enough to reinstall the keepers.
Put a thick coat of grease on each retainer to stick it to the valve stem when you put it into place.
If at all possible use a pair of tweezers or needle nose pliers to put the keepers on the valve stem. If you find that you must use your fingers to get them both into place be extremely careful and make sure that the compressor is securely clamped and not going to suddenly pop loose and crush your fingers while you are positioning the keepers. You have been warned.
When you have the keepers in place on the valve stem then slowly unscrew the clamping screw and if necessary keep the springs and retainer straight as you release the pressure. Remember if your compressor has a release handle on it like mine does, do not use it to clamp & release the valve springs. Always use the clamp screw. The release handle is there to allow you to move it from one valve to another without having to fully unscrew the clamp every time. When you have fully released the pressure & moved the clamp your vale should look like the picture below with both keepers trapped securely between the retainer & the valve holding the whole lot securely together.
Repeat these steps until all of your valves are securely reinstalled in the head.
I have tried to be as honest as possible with you about the possible pitfalls and risks of D.I.Y. motorcycle head service, but if you are willing to take your time, check everything carefully, and work in a meticulous fashion there’s no reason that you cannot give it a shot. Just be willing to take the risk of trying on your next restoration or overhaul and you’ll find yourself having that much more satisfaction with your handiwork once the engine is up and running.
Of course since I want this one to look as good as it works I covered up all of the mating surfaces & plugged all the ports before spraying my favorite ceramic filled engine paint on it. If you need tools and supplies just visit my webstore’s tool sections and search for what you need. If you can’t find something there let me know & I will point you in the right direction even if it means sending you to someone else.
This is sort of a combo how to and product review. I will admit that my review is a little biased because I have been using this product for over 20 years and have always been satisfied with the results. I wont repeat the instructions word for word but I will give you a few tips to help you get better results. First empty your tank and remove the petcock and filler cap if it is bolted to the tank.
Remove the Ninja’s locking fuel cap
The next step is critical to getting good results especially if working with the tank from a 2 stroke engine. You must completely degrease the inside of the tank with a good industrial degreaser. Do not use dish liquid because it often contains oils to protect skin. Be prepared to wash it more than twice if needed to get the oil out.
Wash & degrease tank thoroughly
Now open up the kit and get out the bottle labeled “A” wash & cleaner. Use duct tape or a blocking plate to block all of the holes in the bottom of your tank. I like to use a piece of metalized tape first and then cover it with duct tape.
Kreem Kit Part A Use proper precautions for mild acid.
The instructions say to use warm water and I agree it does help the acid work much faster. Please note the standard kit shown here is for smaller tanks. Normally for a 5 gallon tank like this I would buy the larger size, but I had some left over from a previously restored tank, that I added in after using this up according to the instructions. The cleaner part A can be saved and re-used a time or two.
Warm water is recommended to mix with cleaner
After the tank is full seal off the top and let it sit for at least the minimum time given in the instructions. Since this was an old tank with some rust inside I let it sit overnight. At this stage some people will put in rocks or nuts & bolts and shake the tank to help remove thick rust. If you need to do this I recommend that you use steel nuts & bolts so that you can retrieve them easily with a magnet. Some fuel tank designs make it difficult to remove rocks after you are finished cleaning out the rust.
Next remove all tape from the openings rinse the tank well until the water comes out clean. and then thoroughly dry the tank on the inside. Since I had plenty of time I placed the tank in a hot sunny location to air dry. In the winter time or if you are in a hurry use a hair dryer or a hot air gun to speed up the process.
fuel tank drying in the sun
I do need to warn you about one thing if you are trying to fix a tank with a nice paint job or if you are coating a new tank as a preventative measure you want to be very careful with this stuff, especially in the next two steps.
Seal up all the holes again and get out part “B” the conditioner. This bottle contains MEK which can remove paint faster than tequila removes panties. If you have a nice paint job & spill this on it, you wont have a nice paint job anymore, so be careful. I am re-painting this tank so I don’t really care if I spill some. After sealing the tank back up shake all around the inside of the tank & the carefully drain it out protecting your paint as needed.
This is highly flammable & can destroy paint so be careful.
Since the petcock on this one bolts into place before going to the next step I put two screws in the bolt holes to keep the threads clear. To me this is just much easier than cleaning out the holes afterward.
I like to put bolts in these holes to keep them clear
Now you are ready for the bottle of fuel tank liner. All the same warnings about paint damage apply to this bottle as well.
Kreem Part C liner
Here is a shot of how I use the metal tape first & then cover it with duct tape to seal the openings in the tank. It works well for me, but I make no garuntee that it will work this well for everyone.
Red Green is absolutely right about this stuff! (Duct tape that is)
Then pour in the whole bottle of liner, and then seal up the filler hole as I did in the next picture.
pour in Kreem Tank Liner
then seal up the filler hole with duct tape
Then spend the next 30 minutes or so slowly rotating the tank end over end and sideways until you are 100% certain that the entire inside of the tank has been covered with sealant. Next (and this is very important) open the tank back up and drain the excess sealant back into its original bottle. Do not leave it in the tank as it will greatly increase drying time. If too thick it may skin over on the top and take nearly forever to dry all the way through, causing you to have problems later. I usually save the excess to use on the next project. I am usually able to do a lawnmower tank or two with the leftovers.
Like I said if you follow the instructions in the kit and the hints that I gave here you should be able to tackle this job yourself at home. Just give yourself a couple of days if your tank is rusty, and be sure you drain the excess sealant out of the tank and give it time to dry really well. This stuff aint cheap at approximately $50 a pop (November 2012 price) so you want it to work right the first time. I have used other tank sealers with varying degrees of success, but I always come back to the original Kreem brand. Plus it is usually in stock on the shelves in most motorcycle dealerships. Besides have you priced a new gas tank lately? It’ll give you a coronary!
At the end of the last class we ended with the carb sitting on the bench and the intake port in the head plugged to keep out dirt & small critters. Now let’s pull off the vent hoses and turn it upside down on the bench like this.
Take note of the pilot mixture adjustment screw that I have labeled here for you. I will be giving you a tip about it later in the lesson so be ready to refer back to this picture if you need to. Please remember these are not in the same place on all carburetors. I have seen them on the top and on the side depending upon the make and model. Some late model machines have them hidden under aluminum caps to keep you from tampering with them, but if you have a real problem you can remove the caps to repair it. Just be sure to replace them especially if you have to pass emissions inspections in your state. As usual I recommend you consult your handy dandy service manual for your motorcycle just to be on the safe side, because some carbs have more than one aluminum plug and you don’t want to remove the wrong one. Trust me I know….
Of course this bike has none of those annoying issues so let’s go ahead and take the screws out of the float bowl and look inside.
EWWW!
Now I am a fairly environmentally conscious guy, I grow organic veggies, the shop that I work in is powered by solar electricity, drive reasonably efficient vehicles etc. but you will never convince me in a million years that today’s gasoline is good for the environment. Once the lead was removed there really was not that much left to improve. There is no way fuel that will rapidly break down into this toxic and corrosive sludge as fast as the fuel made in this day and time, can possibly be good for the environment. Just think of what it is doing to your vehicles as they sit in the driveway right now.
Let me get out of rant mode and get on with the lesson; here’s a shot of it with the float removed. You should be able to push the pin out to one side with a small punch and lift the float and float needle (float valve) out of the bottom of the carb.
So when someone tells you the float is sticking this is what they are talking about. Sticking floats are usually caused by either a piece of trash getting under the point of the float valve, or if the motor has been sitting by gasoline evaporating, and gluing it into place with a coat of gunk like you see here.
In this next shot I have removed the jets and the mixture adjustment screw. Even if you have a service manual handy, before removing the mixture screw, turn it all the way in slowly and count how many turns it takes to go all the way in. Write the number down somewhere, and then remove the screw along with the spring the washer and the o-ring that are in the hole under it.
You’ll probably have to dig for the o-ring using a piece of wire or a small pick like I did above.
At this point all of the metal parts are ready for a good long soak in the parts washer or carburetor cleaner until tomorrow. In fact the longer the better. Gather up some supplies.
If you have an air compressor and a parts washer you may not need the spray carb cleaner. If you don’t have a compressor it is mandatory even with a parts washer or a dip bucket of carburetor cleaner. For this bike I did pick up a carburetor overhaul kit. If your o-rings are all still in good shape and you can get all of your jets spotless you may not need it, but it is often difficult to clean the idle jet good enough to work again even with all of the right tools. If it’s my own bike, and I am broke that week, I might chance it, cause hey it’s part of the price I pay for this hobby. If it is your bike, you are getting new parts, because if it does not work, then I would be working on it for free and that would just piss me off. You would probably be upset at me too.
Here’s a teaser shot of everything laid out on the bench after cleaning, be sure to come back for the next lesson!
Welcome to the Asylum 