You know, when you're lookin at the bike the engine doesnt seem so big. When you lower it down and out of the frame, it's like it doubles in size! The bugger is pretty heavy too! Got it up on the bench without much trouble though.

and so begins the cleaning/teardown!

wish me luck!

 

Good luck! Keep everything clean and organized!
Man, I spent 7 months in the garage, completely tearing down my POS Superhawk, and about two of those months were spent looking for some goddamned little bolt or other!
And don't bring any beer into the garage until you're washing your hands for the final time of the night. (Drinking while wrenching is even more wreckless than drinking while driving.)



You're in for a profound life experience and you'll learn probably as much about yourself as you will about internal combustion engines! Keep us abreast!
-CCinC

 

No beer??

 

I've recently made a commitment to be dry anyways... the problem is it doesn't go in effect until I finish my current supply, lol! I've save the cold brew for after the wrenching... I almost dropped the bike on myself wrenching on it while drunk when I got home from the bar on my birthday. At least there were a few people over that could have helped me out if I had hurt myself. I made a nasty mess of myself and dirtied some clothes and after all that and however long I was in the garage (no concept of time after all that drinking) i still didn't get the front sprocket off!

Helps if you know what's going on with that little retainer clip (and to be sober... )

So,
Anybody got any tips/tricks I should follow here, or just stay sober and keep track of parts?

Thanks!
-Joe

 

I don't know how far you're tearing this down, but I've found that these little plastic drawer/organizers are excellent for saving time and keeping those parts clean and out of the way. You can get them at a hobby or sewing store (and scope out the women while you're there.)

Rags-rags-rags. Get lots of them and see if you can find a laundromat near you that has a gunky industrial machine to wash them in.
It's probably also a good idea to get a box of latex gloves. The skin on your hands is really good at soaking up carcinogens and toxic ****e from gasoline, used motor oil, coolant and the usual things that are healthful to machines but deadly to us ham-fisted primates.

-CCinC

 

I wasn;t planning on doing much... I basically want to clean it all up, throw some new gaskets where I can reach, rebuild the clutch. I'm not going to mess with the pistons/rings. I'll check the cam chain tensioner while I've got it out. Anything else you can think of while I've got 'er on the bench?

Oh, and hit it with some high heat black, give it a fresh look.

 

It might be too late if you've already got the engine out of the frame, but I just remembered another one:
Take pictures of your vacuum- and coolant-hose and wiring assemblies before you start disconnecting and removing everything. The service manual for the 500 is not as good as it is for other Kawasakis I've worked on and you can always just delete the photo from your camera when you're done.
Also, no bike ever got a proper detailing without Q-tips!

 

Awesome Chris. Thanks for all the (Q ) tips. I'll try and take some pics of the progress (if i make any) and keep y'all posted!

-Joe