CBR parts bikes seem to pop up weekly where I live :P
I almost bought a third one.....

 

I bet every other country than Sweden would be better to live in for the motorcycle enthusiast.

 

Aren't the penalties for speeding also ridiculous?

 

Nah, that's Finland. Ask Mattson... .

 

Yep. 70 eur for a drive-in passport pic if the speed is less than 10 over, after that it depends on your last year's tax report. Get sacked from a well paid job then accidentally drive 85+ (25+ over) into a speed trap in a 60 area the next year and get slapped with a 2k ticket with 1k monthly income. Stings. Not to mention your license takes a cooler too.

 

This is going to be a quick pictorial update. I've removed the pistons one by one, cleaned them, and reinstalled them which was hard work for the first one and gradually got easier (although not on my shoulder, trying to tighten the piston ring compressor). I've took some measurements (not all, since I didn't fully disassemble the pistons) and they were within spec.

The tool used:


The results of my cleaning:

 

A few hours with the bike, and things are starting to feel pretty good. I am finally going to reassemble the bike. First I tightened the piston rods to the correct torque value, which was a leap forward since I usually just go by feel. But as per recommendation here I used my new torque wrench to at least do the engine right. I had a bit of scare when I played with rotating the shaft to see how the pistons moved (if they move freely and so on) and did not notice that it had left its place in the crankcase and was going away which meant that I was this close to having two of the pistons jamming by going out the wrong way. Thankfully, I noticed this just before they got stuck for good and could avoid potential disaster (I hope).

I also got to play with the gears and shift forks a bit. Being a bit careless when I lifted the entire gearshaft up, which I earlier had been so careful when removed, the gears decided to fall out. This made an excellent exercise not only in assembly but also in how they really work as I played around with them a bit. Great learning experience.

After that I stripped the frame from all the plastic wire harness holders, bolts and nuts that I had kept in their respective places to know where they were. I am going to get the frame powder coated in satin blick, I think. I was thinking of having the swing powder coated as well, but I'll think I see how it feels with a metal look this season. If I'm not satisfied, I'll have it done next winter.

 

More wrenching. I was going to reassemble the engine and began the process but before I got to the sealing part of the blocks, I decided to verify the function of the gear shift. Let me tell you, you are apparently way stronger when shifting with your foot than with your hand... While moving through the gears, the gear stopper sometimes got stuck on top of the cams of the shift drum center. Granted, I did not manage to keep the countershaft spinning all the time which might have affected because it did release after a while when spinning it. Anyways, I'm glad that I sometimes don't get things right the first time, because that forces me to think and really understand what's happening and how everything is supposed to be. That being said, I am so f*****g tired of scraping gaskets right now. I've decided to scrape both the oil pan and both sides of the lower block before I put them together, to avoid having old gasket material in the engine.

Oh, a question too. I noticed that the ten bolts securing the lower engine block to the upper (six of them hidden by the oil pan) are of different length. I understand that four of them are on the outside of the block and way longer but why one of the six within the block is longer I cannot fathom. Any ideas?

 

Today I finally did it: I put the engine halves back together with a sealant and torqued every bolt to spec. Felt like a pro doing it, if a pro is really scared when doing this type of work (sealing, that is). I really hope it will be sealed enough but I followed instructions and only put sealant where it is supposed to be according to the Haynes manual.


I now feel that things should be a little bit easier, getting stuff back together. Of course I have both cylinder head inspection/service and some really fun carb cleaning and synchronization to do, but still. The compression tester tool came today too so soon I should be able to do a compression test. And I have some Foliatec brake caliper paint (2k) on its way too, and if there is spray paint left after having done the calipers, I'll do the clutch cover and alternator cover too. With a bit of luck, my powder coated frame is ready by Friday too.

If this baby runs smoothly after this, I will never ever sell her but keep her and roam the streets of Stockholm forever.

 

Looks nice!
Wish I didn't chicken out of doing mine
What color is your frame going to be?