ya, pulling the engine is the only real way to go. remember, the swing arm connects to the engine right where the case splits.... so there's no real way to keep the other half in the bike....

haha and yes, i was talking about just the engine going upside down, not the entire bike.

i re-used everything except the stretch bolts and stator gasket.... just go to napa and get some indian head engine shilack to put on the case back together. remember to clean all the machine surfaces first (yada yada - if you rebuild car engines, then you know the drill). i think bike engines are easier than car engines, they're just a little different as far as sportbikes go because the engine and tranny are one complete package.


once you split the case, and pull the tranny and what not, you'll see what i'm talking about.

get on ebay, and look for a transmission... like i said, i got mine ,which was almost mint, for $100. i'm sure you can ebay the stretch bolts as well and get them for a lot cheaper than i did. the stator gasket is only $15 (even from the dealer).


but still.... pull the oil pan (that's not splitting the case or anything, its just 10 bolts or so on the bottom of the bike. if your gears are done, there will be evidence in there.... do that first.... if the exhaust is already out of the way, it won't take any time at all.

 

Okay first and most of all THANK YALL for being so much help I hope yall stick with me through this lol cause the more I look at it the more questions I get. So today I had a few minutes to look and remove a few more things so yes more questions too. 1. The swing arm connecting the engine which yes you're right its is almost impossible to split it still in the bike so that's one of my biggest fears is removing the engine from the swing. What is the easiest way to do that, and by doing that will the bike still stand up on it on or....? 2. The rear bolt on the tank what is the easiest way to remove it and all the connections on the tank. 3. All the wires on the harness, are they the type like they'll only plug in one place or should I number tag them? 4. Does the dam/\/ chain have a master link? If not how do ya get it off. And last I removed the pan and never the less its what I think we all expected, ill get some pics up when I get home, on my blackberry right now. And again thank yall so much and Ill sure be back!

 

1). use some rachet straps to hold various parts of the frame and subframe up as you're lowing the engine... just take your time with it, it will all come apart.... i tagged and bagged all the bolts into groups (i.e. fairings, airbox, stator, clutch cover, oil pan, etc.)

2). easiest way to get the tank off <- 4 bolts underneath the seat as opposed to the pivot bolt. and as for the fuel lines <- put some poly urethane tubing over some vice grips to get the off now if you have a lot of fuel in the tank.

3). they're all color-coded and it all goes back together really easy. if you want to label the spark plug wires and fuel injector wires since its your first time taking it apart and you're not familiar with the way the wiring harness physically lays out, that'd be a good idea.

4). do you mean drive chain? if so, then maybe... depends on the chain you have. you'll just have to look for it. you'll see the big U-shape on the outside of the link if you do. if it doesn't have a master link, you have to cut it off and get a new one unless you are comfortable drilling out a rivet and re-riveting the chain...

 

Okay as far as the swing arm, do I just need a big a$$ alan socket or what's the procedure on getting those out. And sorry I should have specified on "drive" chain lol I'm not thinking all together I know it has 30 different chains lol. And again you're a huge help I'm gonna get some pics up to show everyone how my progress is going and hopefully help someone other "rookie" one day lol. Plz stay tuned lol Thanks again!

 

This Is What I Expected To See So Not Too Breath Taking


A Couple Of Pics Of The Gears. What Do You Think?









Just a Few Pics For Ya To See Where I'm at

 

Okay so I've been reading up on the service manual pretty much all day getting myself ready for what I'm getting into, and I have to say I feel a lot better about it now but still have a few more questions that I really couldn't find in the manual. When putting in the new tranny is there a certain way the gears should be arranged for it to be in neutral. 2. When putting the case back together will I have to arrange the shift forks to be where they should? And also on removing the rear swing arm it says you have to have special tool 07930-ka50100 do you HAVE to have this tool? And I don't have a harness or any way to hold the bike up after I take the swing off is there a way around that or a rig someone may have done before? Thanks

 

wow.... that looks almost exactly like mine did. those gears are definitely done.

as far as the swingarm goes... you can go to napa and get a 24mm allen socket. it comes in 3/4 drive so you may need to get a 3/4 to 1/2 drive converter.


so are you going to just do a tranny swap? thats what i intended on doing at first with mine, until i looked at the cylinder walls and saw that they were scarred really bad. then the head went too, the valve retainers were shot (i'm surprised i didn't drop a valve).


take a magnet and try to get all of the shards out of there while gravity is still helping you out and the gears will be at the bottom before pulling the engine and flipping it upside down to get to work. also... add a new oil strainer to the list of stuff to get... its relatively cheap, and i couldn't believe all the bits of gear that were stuck in the screen, i didn't feel like re-using it (when you take a look at it, you'll get where i'm coming from) and taking the chance of missing some debris messing up all the work i just did.

 

Yea I'm definitely just gonna do a complete tranny swap, but do you think the drum and forks will still be okay? Also I've only found like one 954 tranny but a bunch of 929 trannys obviously I would like to stick with the 954 but I did some research and found where some people are saying the 929 trannys also fit and are the same, do you know if there's any truth to this at all? Oh and when I pulled the oil screen and turned it upside down I was VERY happy it had that screen lol and yea I'm gonna check the cylinders out while I have it tore down might as well right? If I have to hone and hatch the cylinders I will but like I said the engine runs like a dream and dident smoke so hopefully its okay. And the stretch bolts is that what their actually called or what should I search for on those and are they the only things I need new hardware wise?

 

1.) the gears need to look like the pic i've attached... then, i just started looking at it and playing with the gears, i got it into neutral.... i don't really know how to explain it more than that. since you've done motors and stuff before, i'm sure that you'll easily be able to figure it out.

2) when you get it into neutral, you'll see where the shift forks go (there's only one way for them to go when its in neutral, you'll see where it goes)... sorry i don't have a pic for that

3) i didn't have any special tools from honda

4). i just used rachet straps hooked up to the trusses in my garage / blocks of wood / at one point i even used a socket to hold up part of the engine. since its your garage instead of a shop, you just have to be creative with it.

 

my drum and forks were okay. i just checked them, and didn't see any significant wear on the sides of them, and they were straight, so i re-used them. i'm sure the 929 tranny does work since the 954 is just a bored out 929, but i don't know that the tranny's swap for sure. stretch bolts is what i call them, and the guy at honda knew what i was talking about, but if you're looking online, you can also search main / crankshaft bolts as well. just get the gasket for the stator, then INDIAN HEAD engine shellack the machined surfaces back together (engine case, oil pan, etc.), and you should be good to go