Hi all,
First time owner of a '75 550 engine sitting in a '73 500 body. I got the bike last spring and noticed small amount of oil leaking from the left side, towards the top. Totally ridable, not even enough to need oil top off. On longer rides, would eventually drip/burn off and smoke a bit, but nothing too major.
Now that it is winter I am prepping to do a top-end gasket change, and looking for some advice. Unfortunately, I live in a highrise and don't have access to a garage where I can dismantle slowly and just figure out as I go. Rather I am considering a DIY garage and so will have to pay a day or week rate. So I need to be calculated and exact - and get it right so I can successfully ride home. As such, I've been reading all the manuals, posts, and watching videos that I can find. But I do have a few questions and unfortunately found some issues already that has me concerned.
Here are my questions:
1 - Recommended kits for sale here in US? I have found ones at Common Motor Collective, but it is a full engine vs just top-end. There is also 4into1 which sells just what I need, but unsure on quality.
2 - Major mistakes newbies make, so I can be extra cautious about them? I've already ready about bending the value arms when removing the cover (as I will be doing in the frame) as well as missing the hole where the cam-chain tensioner goes into...anything else?
3 - Any other tips or tricks to help go smoothly / successfully? I've read about using 'hondabond' on the outside edge of the cover gasket. loosing the values and fixing up w/ rubber bands. using wire hook to stop cam-chain from falling into bottom end.
4 - Anything you would recommend to have purchased ahead of time just in case? I am already gong to purchase new allen-head bolts as I can see some are close to being stripped. Would you recommend having a set of piston rings just in case? Anything I should just replace while I am in there?
Lastly, when poking around I found some issues I did not see when purchasing the bike. First, it seems that one of the breather cover fastenings has chipped away on the head cover. It is super hard to see until I got my face right into it (pictured). I cannot tell if the bolt threads are still w/in the breather cover, so I may have to drill out to remove. Also I noticed some liquid gasket on the left side head cover seam and followed it to under the side cover. There I found more and also it seems a small chip at the seam (about the side of a flat head screw driver), but I can actually see the gasket. So, any thoughts on repair or is my head cover toast? Would prefer to keep it as the PO has it chromed and frankly I like the look. But, if it is pointless to try and patch/repair, then I may try to source a replacement.