TOPIC:

Time to get the crank case split. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. There are 23 bolts holding it together yet.



23 bolts later, I was able to crack it open at a pry point. I was worried that this would be hard to split, but these two pieces used a liquid gasket so it was pretty easy.



I'm not in the clear yet. That damn stuck piston is a thorn in my side. The upper case was blocked because the pin was sticking out. So on goes the DIY pin puller, but now I'm packing some heat this time around.



It worked. I got the pin out just enough to remove the piston. Here's a picture of the piston with the pin still partially in it. What's the brown scarring?



Gears!



After everything else is removed, the engine looks small and "simple". Just a crankshaft and some gears- that's all that's left now.

I think that its great that your doing this yourself. So many of us (me) turn to others for the work. I have a 79 KZ750 that had 13000 miles on it and I had my buddy (local mech.) that has been working on bikes since the 70's do the freshing up on it. We have a working relationship, I bring him cool old bikes and he fixes them and we keep or sell them. Works for me at this point.
My next project is a 1973 Moto Guzzi V7 sport... not to many of them around and so I will use someone with experience to help me in my garage on it...It is old italian technology but..it still has its mysteries and I don't want to experience any breaking if I can help it. Heres a pic of what I would like it to look like...
Its nice to see that your addatude is good about learning from all that you do...

That Guzzi is beautiful!

Mine is the same only needs to be gone thru. These bikes were hand built in the racing shop at motoguzzi... they are sort of rare... I cant wait.

They had a Guzzi rally in Frankfort KY 2 weekends ago got a buddy that lives breathes old Guzzis has a warehouse full of NOS and used parts (owned a norton Moto-Guzzi dealership from 60's through the 80's currently trying to talk him out of one of his 73 eldorado builders.

Jim will be doing my Motor I'm just not confident enough to dive in. great pic's by the way

I would love to have some contact with your friend that has guzzi's... I would be in your debt.

Dragonknee wrote: I think that its great that your doing this yourself. So many of us (me) turn to others for the work...

...Its nice to see that your addatude is good about learning from all that you do...

Thanks! I hope to save money this way. I can't afford to pay someone else to do all this work. Then again, if I mess up bad, that will cost a lot too.

I tried my 4lb dead hammer to knock the valve keepers lose. Didn't work at all. Is it just me or are these kz750 valve springs really really strong? I'd whack it with the dead hammer and the spring wouldn't compress at all.

So I followed what many do to make a valve spring compressor- cut a notch in a socket and use a c-clamp.



In use. At the center, you can see one valve keeper in place. The other fell off and is sitting behind the valve stem.



I knew it would be a tight squeeze. This was the longest socket I had to spare so the notch isn't very big. Just like playing the game "Operation" as a kid. "It takes a steady hand!"



But I got them all out, and everything looks okay to me. I know later on the valves will need special attention.

Now that the engine is completely apart, I started thinking about how to clean it. At first I though that I would have to scrub and scrub with a solvent until she shined up. In the mean time, I also was learning about soda blasting. Soda blasting is probably the safest way to blast because its almost completely harmless to the engine. It doesn't remove metal and it dissolves in water so clean up is a breeze. Not only that, you can Do It Yourself.

Sounds like a plan!

The two large holes will be where my arms go. The smaller one on the side will be where my shop vac hose goes. It will simply suck out all the left over soda, dirt and dust. The plastic bin maybe a little smaller then the ideal, but I should be able to fit all the engine parts in there.



Now I'm making holes for the air hose and the media blasting hose.



I love grommets. These two fittings are snug as can be in there. The barbed fitting is for the blast media and the larger fitting is a quick connect fitting for the air hose. Doing it this way with the "pass thru" fittings will make this really portable and convenient to use. "Plug and play", if you will.



Air hose inside the blast "cabinet".



Blast media hose in side the blast cabinet.



Hole cut on top for the window. I need to get some nice rubber edging for these larger openings. This is gonna look really nice when its done!

I ordered some rubber trim and special "glass locking" trim from McMaster Carr for the blast cabinet. If you've never ordered from McMaster Carr, you should check out their website. The best industrial supply website hands down.

While waiting for the trim, I took a closer look at a cheap blast gun I bought. Its kind of clunky.



My blast cabinet is a little small so maybe I can make something better with this little blow gun.



Below is a 1/8" pipe tee fitting, a 1/8" pipe/tube adapter and the tip from the small blow gun.



Fit them all together and we've got a nice little blasting gun.

Wow. Where does the time go?

I have not given up, but I also don't have much progress to report either. VooDoo Vintage in Austin TX is hardtailing the frame for me right now. That will save me time plus get my ass motivated to finish the rebuild. Dave at VooDoo is a great guy and a great craftsman.  He wants to sell kz750 hardtail kits and he's using my frame for the prototype.

I'm just starting to put the motor back together.  I'm really over my head and the shop manual isn't detailed enough for me. But onward we must go!

I'll post updates soon!