Guess who has had a busy month!? The KLR project was put on hold for the past month due to spring time trips and other projects. But now we are moving forward!
I received the last order of engine parts about two weeks ago and they have been sitting in my garage since….just begging to be installed. Instead of having the stripped out drain plug hole welded I was lucky enough to find a used case online for $40! That’s cheaper than paying someone to weld my old one! I got back to it yesterday.
I wanted to paint the engine black to go with the rest of the bike so I assembled the engine cases with nothing inside so I could scrub the years of dirt and oil. Let me just say this…….paint prep is NO FUN! I cleaned for at least two hours and did my best to make sure that everything is spotless. Any oil or grease left behind will ruin the paint job so it has to be perfectly clean……much too stressful.
Now that its as clean as can be while still maintaining my sanity I’m going to pull it all apart and replace a few bearings and completely build the engine….then a quick bath with isopropyl alcohol and on to paint…..hopefully.
——A few moments later—–
I dont think this thing is ever going to get finished! I got about 15 minutes into the rebuild and realized I was missing 3 bearings and 2 seals that I wanted to replace so now I’m waiting for parts…..again. This is driving me crazy…..I’m so close to being done with the bike and it seems like every time I make a step forward something comes up that sets me back again.
——–Literally one thousand years later——-
I got parts! Reassembly will resume on Monday.