New owner

[Jaybird]

I'm the new owner of oyster green 748. I wasn't looking for an EH but I stumbled acrossed it. I bought it from a guy who bought it from the original owner and rode it home and sold it to me with 16k miles on it. It came with a stack of paperwork and the crate end and banner. That's what really drew me to it was the documentation and the owners story. I really want to give a big thanks to Dan H for helping me get registered to this forum. There has been a lot of website maintenance and he followed up with me and got it done. 748 has not had a lot of the post production upgrades done so I'm sure I'll be looking for some guidance. I have been reading a lot around the site and coming up with plan to get it back on the road.

[Donkey Hotey]

Hey! Welcome aboard and congratulations on the new purchase. Was this the bike on Craigslist in Indiana maybe a month ago?
The transmission upgrade is the biggest deal, followed by remapping the computer. Fortunately, the transmission is a cassette design and can be removed in an hour or two. There are detailed instructions in the Tech section.

Atlantic Excelsior-Henderson is our parts go-to. Marty and Jamie can set you up with all the parts you'll need. They also have a machine shop they deal with that does the machining of new bearings for the gears. You remove the cassette, ship it to them, they do the work and ship it back to you all done, with spiral circlips installed.

They also offer the latest fuel mapping for your fuel injection: remove it and ship it to them. The reason behind the fuel mapping is both running quality and engine temperatures. Things tend to run pretty hot with the original tune and if you crack a cylinder head, it's very (VERY) expensive or impossible to fix. This importance here really depends on how you intend to ride the bike.

http://stores.superxparts.com/

[Jaybird]

Thanks for the all the advise. Yes it's the bike from the Bloomington Indiana area. Original owner basically quite riding. The bike sat in the garage for a couple years with only starting every month or so to keep things moving. All the chrome had some pitting and just a lot of road grime. But with some foil,cleaner and some elbow grease the bike really cleaned up very nice. My first order of business is fixing the rocker box and or trim piece oil leak. From what I have read lowering the engine is required?

[Donkey Hotey]

I'm clear out in California and I still entertained driving out for that bike. Glad you rescued it.

Yes, if the cam cases are leaking, lowering the engine makes removal possible. Again: Atlantic has the gaskets and seals for those cam boxes.

While you're already removing the engine mounts and lowering the engine, you may as well plan to replace the front rubber mounts. They're a wear item. If they're not already torn from age, they will. The bike will vibrate badly when the mounts fail. The engine sits down on the mounting screws and steel collar and it hammers on the frame.

If ridden for too long like that, it will pound the cast steel front mounts between the rubber isolators and the frame until they crack. They are no longer available so you don't want that happening.

The rear mounts aren't the same and don't really fail. Do keep an eye on those chrome nuts on all four engine mounts. I'm looking forward to pics of it all cleaned up.

[Jaybird]

Here are a couple pics. The original owner made the rear bag because he said there was a long wait for saddle bags. I have been searching for some procedures or key points on lowering the engine for the rocker box gaskets but came up empty. If anyone has any please pass along. Thanks.

[Donkey Hotey]

That's a beautiful bag. The bike looks great too.
I don't know how you're set for tools like bike lifts or stands. I'd put the bike on a lift in a wheel chock to do the work. Or if it's on the ground and you have a wheel chock to hold the bike upright, that'll make it simpler.

Assuming you have neither, you can remove the front mounts and let the engine pivot down. To protect the frame, I'd cover it with foam water pipe insulation before you start. That'll keep from chipping the frame or the engine cases.

Remove the chrome cap nuts on the front engine mounts. Support the engine from underneath with a floor jack. Remove the remaining center screws going through the right and left front engine mounts (hidden by the chrome caps). At that point the engine should be free to swing down.


I don't think you'd have to remove anything else. The exhaust is mounted to the engine and should pivot with the whole assembly.

[blackheart]

Careful here.....

I about ruined my CPS (crank position sensor) when dropping my engine down and manipulating things when pulling the heads/cylinders during that disastrous attempt to using total seal gapless top rings.

I'd highly suggest pulling the CPS prior to dropping the engine down. It won't hit with just the front removal but when you take the rear off and potentially move the engine around in the chassis you can potentially damage the sensor top

[Donkey Hotey]

A very good point and I should have caught that. I agree that pulling that ahead of time will save the part and the headache of diagnosing the now-dead engine.

[wytfut]

Good point Rich...
And well worth the mention...

Not trying to make this confusing, BUT..
That old bolt is usually in permanent Lok tite...

And the best way I've found to get it out is to remove the front mounts so you can move case just enough to get a better bite.

So.... One more thing to deal with in this procedure.