Triumphrat

hackx · 08-23-2007, 04:28 PM

I am new to Motorcycles and have never pulled the engine out of one. In your opinion is pulling the motor out of my 1978 Bonneville an easy task or one that would require special tools and lots of time. I plan on rebuilding it one day, but I want to pull the motor out and clean everything up and paint the frame and all.

GrandPaulZ · 08-23-2007, 07:37 PM

No special tools required, but two people makes it easier by far.

Drain all the fluids, remove tank & seat, totally diconnect engine, (mark which oil line goes where on the two main line under the engine).

Lay the bike over on a stack of old blankets or an old matress, then wiggle the engine free; lift the frame back upright and the engine stays on the matress or pad.

Putting it back in is a bit harder!

hackx · 08-23-2007, 08:49 PM

Thanks alot I think that is my project for this weekend. As long as I can find a friend to give me a hand I should have it out Saturday and then the cleaning begins.

daveforty · 08-24-2007, 07:29 AM

If you intend to do any work on the engine while you have it out of the frame, then I would suggest stripping down the primary drive before disconnecting the drive chain. There are some large, and well tight, nuts on the end of the crankshaft, the end of the gearbox mainshaft (holding the clutch hub) and the mainshaft sleeve gear (holding the gearbox sprocket in place) that are easily undone while the engine is in the frame but would be a pita to undo with the engine on the bench.

htown16 · 08-24-2007, 10:25 AM

I painted my frame last year without removing anything. Just sanded it down, carefully masked off and shot it with rustoleum primer and gloss black from rattle cans. It came out looking really good. Its not concours but neither is the rest of the bike so it looks as good or better than all the other parts. Just a thought.

theelderrocker · 08-24-2007, 12:59 PM

Hey Hack-
Not casting doubt on your abilities or intentions............but......... There's a lot of basket cases out there that started as "Just going to pull the engine to paint the frame and clean it up." Think through what you want to accomplish. Might be good to ride and enjoy the bike for a while, do the normal maintainence and fix up stuff then pull it apart after you're more familiar with it. I'd hate to see a new fellow get turned off Brit iron over something that's avoidable. You can get a really good job touching your frame up with a good brush and some enamel paint--clean is the mantra, and take your time. Engine removal optional.
Just my .02.

Enjoy your first bike!

Mike
Kansas, America

The Euro · 08-24-2007, 02:21 PM

I agree with the "be careful comment." When I was growing up my neighbor had an old Tiger fully dismantled in a crate. He started to "restore" it, but instead he just "destroyed" it, hated motorcycles, and lost a lot of space in his garage to this huge crate. It was fully dismantled. No bolt was left in it's place.

htown16 · 08-24-2007, 10:24 PM

Forgot to mention first thing to do is get a can of Gunk and spray all the greasy parts down, hit'em with some brushes and hose it off. Make sure your rubber boot where the clutch cable goes into the gear case is good or you will get water into the gear box. I like to seal all the cable entry points into carbs and tach drive with some tape. Try to keep water as much as possible off electic parts and carbs. I'm with the other guys, I think I would try to get it running well and sort out any other problems. I don't think I would pull the engine until it needed rebuilt, but thats just me. My motto is if it ain't broke don't fix it.

649cc · 08-25-2007, 08:56 AM

ditto...dont do it...get it running , ride it and sort it bit by bit...I got mine running and rode it for a year before bothering to go an further...initial enthusiasm is best tempered a bit

Mecchanica · 08-25-2007, 05:17 PM

Yep, cool your jets. Ride it and find out what you like and what you don't....change what you don't and then, when you are happy with the mechanics of the thing, do the cosmetics.
When I build a custom.....and since I can't seem to leave anything alone, they ALL end up customs in some way...I assemble and ride before I do any serious finishing. When I am happy, I pull it down, chrome or nickel, paint, polish and then reassemble. Sounds like more work, but it really isn't. You don't end up putting a nice finish on parts you choose not to use.