Geez, with a bike in that kinda shape, and low miles I'd get it all pretty again!!!! I had refinished a couple of engines before, and was really satisfied with the results. Nothing looks better than a nice clean engine. There's several methods to preparing the cases for paint, but the worst part is the removal of the engine. Yes, I'd say you should remove the engine before attempting this. You just can't do it right with the engine in the frame. Be careful to protect the frame with padding prior to removal to avoid gouging the frame paint. You gotta remove the oil filter housing and the exhaust studs (be prepared for a slight battle there, and replacing them). You would probably need a partner to assist with the lifting to a suitable work surface. Preparing the engine for paint was simple for me, as I had it MEDIA blasted. It's a
PLASTIC MATERIAL that's like sand blasting, but is NON abrasive, and completely safe for aluminum and any chromed parts. Just LOTS of degreasing and using heavy or multiple layers of duct tape, masking off the little openings where the media can get into the engine, like the intake / exhaust ports, tach cable hole, breather openings on the valve cover and trans, around where the electrical connector goes into the side by the shift lever and any other little hole that might be a problem. You should also remove the levers from the shifter and kick starter, and put heavy duct tape over the seals, and protect the seal by the output shaft. I used rubber "corks" from the local hardware store to plug up the exhaust ports, just jammed them in. I used engine paint from the local autoparts store, or you can get engine paint from the Honda dealer. The shiney aluminum parts should be clear coated, I used polyurethane clear paint for aluminum wheels, which worked well. That stuff is really thin, and gets runs easily so be careful there. Mask off all the clear-coat areas, spray the aluminum colored paint first, and then the clearcoat on the bare "polished" parts.
