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VN1500A/B/C/L: Top
End Job
This is ALSO in the VROC Technical Archives (www.vroc.org)
I’ve been meaning to put this post together for a
coupla years now, but for one reason or another kept putting it off.
So, without further delay (and before WiredGeorge shames me any more)
and before I forget any more here goes.
As some of you may already know, or have experienced, the older
VN1500A/B/C/L (BUBF’s) were susceptible to developing an appetite for oil.
The pistons have been known to rock, letting oil blow-by.
The pistons were redesigned in an attempt to solve this
problem. I had done some
research as to the various piston/ring part numbers a while ago, which I
archived at:
http://www.vroc.org/archive/2002/msg168502.html
I ended up having some oil coming out of my
front-cylinder exhaust pipe, and decided that a top end overhaul was needed.
I had the original pistons swapped out under warranty at about 16k mi with
the newly redesigned ones. MamaK
told me at the time that 1qt/1k mi was acceptable, to them.
This latest problem happened at about 50k mi, but my extended
warranty was long gone so I decided to tackle the job myself. A compression and/or leak-down test may help narrow down the
cause of the oil loss, whether it be piston/ring or valve related.
I have a Kawa service manual which was very helpful, as was the
help and insight from fellow VROCers. I
had also bought a digital camera to be able to upload any pictures to the
group in the event I had any questions or needed any help.
I had also decided to replace the clutch spring while I was in there,
just for good measure. I think
it is now recommended to use the Mean Streak clutch spring (92145-1449). The
following will be a parts list as well as any notes that I think need
mentioning. I use www.ronayers.com
for all of my Kawa OEM parts as they are the cheapest I have found and their
service is excellent and prompt. I
decided against getting the gasket kit for the Classics, as I think there
were enough differences that it wouldn’t have been worth it.
Instead, I just ordered the gaskets I needed.
I’m working off of a shipping list that’s over 2 years old, so
bear with me here. Here’s the parts list for my ’95 VN1500-A9:
Qty.
Part Number
Description
Price
Ext
8
92049-016
Oil Seal
$9.44
$75.52
4
92033-1226
Snap-Ring
$2.19 $8.76
8
49002-1088
Valve Guide
$14.49
$115.92
2
13029-1173
Pistons (050)
$98.27
$196.54
2
13025-1081
Ring Set
$52.27
$104.54
2
13002-1070
Pin-Piston
$19.36
$38.72
4
12005-1268
Exhaust Valve
$40.46
$161.84
4
12004-1072
Intake Valve
$31.55
$126.20
2
11060-1116
Rocker Gasket
$7.19
$14.38
2
11004-1334 Head
Gasket
$23.95 $47.90
1
11061-1083
Cyl Base Gasket $8.11
$8.11
1
11060-1121*
Clutch Cover Gskt $32.46 $32.46
1
11060-1122
Inner Gen Gasket $12.13
$12.13
1
11060-1123
Outer Gen Gasket $7.99
$7.99
2
92051-005
Oil Seal
$4.55
$9.10
2
92055-049
O-Ring 33mm
$2.45
$4.90
2
92055-1272
O-Ring 27.7mm
$3.14
$6.28
2
92066-1289
Plug (Cam)
$7.43
$14.86
1
11060-1084
Cyl Base Gasket $8.48
$8.48
1
92144-1295
Clutch Spring
$18.19
$18.19
Shipping
(2 orders)
$40.00
Total
$1052.82
Less discounts
$375.09
Net Cost
$677.73
* - They sent me the wrong part (11061-1121), and the
price may not match the part exactly.
---
I had taken the motor out of the bike and had brought
the machinist the heads, pistons, and cylinders for their inspection.
Other than some scuffing on one of the cylinder walls/pistons, the
machinist saw no “smoking gun” as to a culprit to my blow-by.
The valves had some buildup on them, so I decided to replace them for
good measure while I was in there, along with the guides and seals.
The machinist charged me $577 to bore/hone the cylinders and replace
the valves along with any other work that’s involved in doing that (bead-
blasting, cleaning, etc), which brought the total do-it-yourself cost of
this project to about $1255.
Random notes:
- Get your pistons/cylinders measured!!
The stock 050 overbore pistons were different sizes, one being
102.44mm and the other being 102.45mm, and the cylinders had to be bored
accordingly. These
discrepancies may be one of the reasons why some BUBF’s have the oil
problems while others don’t. The
boring increased the displacement from 1470cc to 1485cc.
I have scanned the Bore Job Report at:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cmritz/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos&.dnm=Bore+Job+Report.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cmritz/lst%3f%26.dir=/My%2bPhotos%26.src=ph%26.view=t
-Timing. Make
sure you follow the instructions for setting the cam timing.
Not doing so will require pulling the engine again!
I have a Kawa service bulletin posted at:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cmritz/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos&.dnm=vn15cam3.jpg&.view=t
Shoot me an email if you want me to forward you the
.jpg file(s).
U-Turn ~V~1125 cmritz@yahoo.com
99 VN1500-G1 '96 VN800-B1 (FORMER BUBF Owner 1500A9) Stoughton, MA
-WarStory(s)/general comments. This job was my first time Inside a motor, and I was
understandably a bit nervous about it.
Using the manual was pretty straightforward, and using some kind of
motorcycle lift or jack to get the motor out was essential.
One of the tricky parts was disconnecting the drive shaft, and
reconnecting it. The
biggest screwup/warstory was the setting the cams/timing correctly.
Even though Manjo had a similar problem and forwarded me the tech
bulletin referenced above, I still managed to screw it up and here’s how
*I* did it. After installing
the front camshaft, I was very careful (read:anal) to follow the memo and be
sure I rotated the crank counterclockwise.
My tragic flaw was that I double-checked my work by turning the
engine over one more time to ensure the marks were lined up at TDC, then I
set the rear cam. When I
finally got the motor back together, into the frame, and started, it was
only running on one cylinder. To
top it all off, one of the O-rings in the cooling lines that go into the top
of the head was leaking antifreeze, which at the time appeared to be coming
from the head gasket. I questioned the wisdom of my decision to do it myself at
that point and was pretty distressed. I
then realized that it was just an O-ring, and that I had the timing 180 out.
I had to pull the motor and the head again to reset the cams, but
once it went back together, she ran like a top! U-Turn
~V~1125 cmritz@yahoo.com
99 VN1500-G1 '96 VN800-B1 (FORMER BUBF Owner 1500A9) Stoughton, MA