Good News - sort of...

After inspecting the cylinder, getting some feedback from others and contacting a local engine repair shop, there is some good news... The cylinders and heads are likely repairable! The cylinders will need to be bored out. Pistons will need to be replaced with new ones to fit the cylinders. Valves need to be replaced. Valve seats cleaned and honed.

Good news for someone wanting to rebuild her. Alas... I think the conclusion that she may be too much for me is settling in. She could be a great bike, but alas my time is limited. Maybe it is time for Vixen and I to part company.

Wrenching the Heads and Cylinders

You want to see something more gruesome than the river sludge picture? OK... Here it is...

After a particularly trying day that is far beyond the scope of this blog, I drove the cage to the local AutoZone. In exchange for two liters of old used oil and about $30 I picked up a new pair of vice grips and two pairs of snap-ring pliers. The successful removal of the heads from cylinders required the extraction of the cam chain tensioner spring. Each one has a strong spring on a shaft mounted in a sort-of ratchet mount. The spring is held on the shaft by a little snap-ring.

So, I get the pliers put together and guess what... too big. They wouldn't fit into the rather confined space where the cam chain tensioner is. So... A large blade screwdriver snapped the rings right off. Not that they are usable again, but by removing the springs, the head and cylinder could be separated.

OK, more bad pictures...

The front head may be recoverable but forget those valves.

A little scrubbing with parts cleaner and brass cleaning brush yielded marginal results, so the front cylinder goes in a bucket of parts cleaner for the night. Hopefully that hard crusty grime is not rust. If it is, I don't think that cylinder is recoverable.

Stay!

And the other cylinder and head you may ask? In pretty good condition I think, given the circumstances...