Topic: am i messing up my tappets......

[dave500]

E36,the cases were bead blasted at a shop,i just steel wooled the clutch cover as a start,its polished now,i used my little sand blaster on all the rest of the top end,,its best to get all the old paint and grime right off for the best effect i think.

this motor is in the bike in the background and ive covered maybe 8000 kays on it and the cheap paint is holding up!ill do the oil filter case black next oil change,they get grimey down there and black wont look as bad,sorry for the hijack xsmooth,,i think in the faq theres info on engine enamels and prep.

[xsmooth69x]

pshh i dont care lol i actually wanted to know this stuff.

because i want to spray my motor too

i was just going to slather a bunch a gell 5 layer deep paint thinner on the whole engine and get everything i can off.

also about this polishing.....

you take steel wool? doesn't that scratch the living F out of everything? ive used some 800 grit wet sand paper of "emery paper" (they are the same right?) and still scratched the living crap out of it

how do you get the shiny mirror finish thing going on?

[WarwickE36]

I polished mine using a 3M lens restorer kit (600 grit then 800 grit) on a drill LOL... then used a dremel with a wire wheel on the hard to reach spots.  followed up with polish... like a mirror now.... they were ultra crappy and corroded before.

[xsmooth69x]

I polished mine using a 3M lens restorer kit (600 grit then 800 grit) on a drill LOL... then used a dremel with a wire wheel on the hard to reach spots.  followed up with polish... like a mirror now.... they were ultra crappy and corroded before.

ow so i must have stopped to soon then

you really have to like sand sand sand with the 800 grit to get it shiny and then you just throw on polish...

ow btw are these pieces chrome or aluminum? there are like 2 different polishes i guess idk the dude at the auto store said i had to know lol

[sick_seven_fifty]

pshh i dont care lol i actually wanted to know this stuff.

because i want to spray my motor too

i was just going to slather a bunch a gell 5 layer deep paint thinner on the whole engine and get everything i can off.

also about this polishing.....

you take steel wool? doesn't that scratch the living F out of everything? ive used some 800 grit wet sand paper of "emery paper" (they are the same right?) and still scratched the living crap out of it

how do you get the shiny mirror finish thing going on?

If you really want to take it down to bare metal (remove grease, dirt, grime, paint, and anything else), spray it with Easy-Off Oven Cleaner and let it sit for 20 minutes or so, then spray it off.  The give it a good polish.  Polishing is something that takes ALOT of patience, but you can do it many different ways.  Dremel, sandpaper, etc.  The main thing is to start with a heavy grit (800 would be a good start) and work your way finer and finer (2000 or so, then start using polishing compounds.)  And always wet sand if you're using sandpaper.

If you do use easy-off or any other cleaner, make sure you use some sort of paint prep or alcohol to remove all traces of the cleaner before painting....I would suggest polishing over painting though...it's more work, and more maintenance but looks awesome.

[WarwickE36]

The primary drive cover on the left is mostly done polishing, and the clutch cover was just cleaned using a polish on a rag to get the major debris off... you can see how much more impressive it is when done right.



you can also see on the very left of the drive chain cover where it had just been sanded and not polished yet.

[xsmooth69x]

The primary drive cover on the left is mostly done polishing, and the clutch cover was just cleaned using a polish on a rag to get the major debris off... you can see how much more impressive it is when done right.



you can also see on the very left of the drive chain cover where it had just been sanded and not polished yet.

ya see all my parts look like the drive cover.... so u just add polish and waaabam it has a mirror finish?

[Cundalini]

ok check it out  ive read the shop manual

it made sense

i rotated the engine till it was T 1.4

felt cylinders 1 tappets and they where loss so that means cylinder 1 is at top dead center tried cylinder 4 and it was tight so thats right i think....

inlet size .05mm
outlet/exhaust size .08mm

so first looking at the inlet tappet on cylinder 1 the lock nut was very high so i thought my PO really muffed things up. after giving it a quick tweak it pretty much looks the same...... is this right?

picture 1 is cylinder 1 inlet (some play)
pic 2 is cylinder 1 side (some play)
pic 3 is top dead center (for cylinder 1) (bad pic but a assure you its at T 1.4 not T 2.3)
pic 4 cylinder 4 (no play)

after doing another full rotation and at top dead center cylinder 1 is tight and cylinder 4 is loose

after another rotation cylinder 1 has play again and cylinder 4 is tight

re did the measurements still the lock bolt on the inlet side of cylinder 1 looks high.... or maybe this is normal?

yes you are if there is NO play ,i.e. no gap! There must be some up /down movement after adjustment!

[Cundalini]

inlet for cylinder #2



inlet cylinder #1



exhaust cylinder #1



cylinder 1 & 2 inlet side



cylinder inlet #1 crashing into head?



tappet covers for inlet and exhaust for cylinder #1







i think the worst one actually came off of the exhaust tappet hole

but either way they couldve been switched around by the PO

also when i did get the bike running it did make some tapping noise from cylinder #1 side. like not regular tapping but ding ding ding kind

What are the damage marks on the inside of the  tappet covers? I had this once on my 400/four! The square end of the top of the tappet adjusting screw left a square dent on the underneath of the tappet cover! I think if i remember correctly , it worked loose, the tappet nut and the screw wound upwards! I remember thinking- why is that so loud? I caught it before any serious damage was done!

[xsmooth69x]

ok check it out  ive read the shop manual

it made sense

i rotated the engine till it was T 1.4

felt cylinders 1 tappets and they where loss so that means cylinder 1 is at top dead center tried cylinder 4 and it was tight so thats right i think....

inlet size .05mm
outlet/exhaust size .08mm

so first looking at the inlet tappet on cylinder 1 the lock nut was very high so i thought my PO really muffed things up. after giving it a quick tweak it pretty much looks the same...... is this right?

picture 1 is cylinder 1 inlet (some play)
pic 2 is cylinder 1 side (some play)
pic 3 is top dead center (for cylinder 1) (bad pic but a assure you its at T 1.4 not T 2.3)
pic 4 cylinder 4 (no play)

after doing another full rotation and at top dead center cylinder 1 is tight and cylinder 4 is loose

after another rotation cylinder 1 has play again and cylinder 4 is tight

re did the measurements still the lock bolt on the inlet side of cylinder 1 looks high.... or maybe this is normal?

yes you are if there is NO play ,i.e. no gap! There must be some up /down movement after adjustment!

when i was talking about the cylinder play for 1 and 4 im just showing that i had either cylinder 1 or 4 at TDC. of course that has to be play after you adjust it lol thats what the feeler gauges are for to leave a gap 

[xsmooth69x]

inlet for cylinder #2



inlet cylinder #1



exhaust cylinder #1



cylinder 1 & 2 inlet side



cylinder inlet #1 crashing into head?



tappet covers for inlet and exhaust for cylinder #1







i think the worst one actually came off of the exhaust tappet hole

but either way they couldve been switched around by the PO

also when i did get the bike running it did make some tapping noise from cylinder #1 side. like not regular tapping but ding ding ding kind

What are the damage marks on the inside of the  tappet covers? I had this once on my 400/four! The square end of the top of the tappet adjusting screw left a square dent on the underneath of the tappet cover! I think if i remember correctly , it worked loose, the tappet nut and the screw wound upwards! I remember thinking- why is that so loud? I caught it before any serious damage was done!

ya thank god my tappes themselves arnt bent or messed up. i just swapped out the top head 

[the technological J]

The primary drive cover on the left is mostly done polishing, and the clutch cover was just cleaned using a polish on a rag to get the major debris off... you can see how much more impressive it is when done right.



you can also see on the very left of the drive chain cover where it had just been sanded and not polished yet.

ya see all my parts look like the drive cover.... so u just add polish and waaabam it has a mirror finish?

I used 300 grit then 800 then 1500 then 2000 then I hit it up with some polishiing rouges.... once u get it good with the 800 the 15 and 2k are nothing... if u spend a little extra time on em they will really shine in the end u won't regret it... run a search on rouges for more info

[xsmooth69x]

can you go 800 to 2000 what is the point of the 1500 step?

[WarwickE36]

The technological J, The one on the right was for comparison, I did polish it afterwards they are both super shiny now

[the technological J]

can you go 800 to 2000 what is the point of the 1500 step?

you can start with 2000 if u want.... its just an intermitant step and smooths the 800 a little better.... it might just mean a little extra sanding..no real biggie you could prob go from 1500 to the rouge I use 2 stages of rouge also..... in the long run I think when u have the finished product u will see less marks and a smoother surface in the long run if u take ur time u can get it to look like chrome

[dave500]

try not to ingest any aluminium dust or wet paste,wash your hands well or wear gloves if wet sanding and a dust mask if wire wheel buffing,dont eat or smoke etc,its been linked to alzimhers(i forgot how to spell it)and brittle bones,even if you wire wheel that white corrosion stuff of keep it on the outside of your body!good work there techj!some folks think the engine has always looked like that.

[xsmooth69x]

try not to ingest any aluminium dust or wet paste,wash your hands well or wear gloves if wet sanding and a dust mask if wire wheel buffing,dont eat or smoke etc,its been linked to alzimhers(i forgot how to spell it)and brittle bones,even if you wire wheel that white corrosion stuff of keep it on the outside of your body!good work there techj!some folks think the engine has always looked like that.

ya after doing the whole sanding thing and blew my nose and it was all black i started using a respirator.....

and i always wear gloves. i have a couple hospital glove boxes

i run a north 7000 with the n75001 filters

[dave500]

shine on you crazy diamond,polished alloy looks better than chrome,so shiny its almost black if that makes sense?once you polish alloy you have to keep at it every month or if the part gets wet,you gotta go at it again to retain that lustre.

see those drops of snot coming out of my nose?thats the type of thing you have to sand out if you want,riding past or when people look at this as i get fuel its not noticed at all,its not concours,this photo makes those divets stand out,,how fussy are you and how much patience you have will determine how far you go with polishing.

[xsmooth69x]

shine on you crazy diamond,polished alloy looks better than chrome,so shiny its almost black if that makes sense?once you polish alloy you have to keep at it every month or if the part gets wet,you gotta go at it again to retain that lustre.

see those drops of snot coming out of my nose?thats the type of thing you have to sand out if you want,riding past or when people look at this as i get fuel its not noticed at all,its not concours,this photo makes those divets stand out,,how fussy are you and how much patience you have will determine how far you go with polishing.

hahahahahahaha you goofy bastard hahaha lol

ya i ordered some 2000 and 3000 grit sandpaper and im about to figure out this polishing stuff.

do you use a bench polishers or do you do it by hand?

also what happens after you polish it you spray some clear coat over it?

[the technological J]

Nothing rinse it and polish it with somme mothers..... if u get it wet or just waqnna clean it up polish it again...... if u stick with it it will stay nice but one of the advatages of chrome is that it doesn't oxidize like aluminum so just. Keep on it

[xsmooth69x]

is there actually any chrome on these bikes? it seems to be all aluminum ............

[the technological J]

The points cover the clutch adjustment cover the kick starter the handlebars the shift lever the guage backs on some of the later bikes are chromed... off the top of my head

Edit: and thestarter cover and the wheels