Knock Knock...A Good Time to Upgrade a Cyclone

Cyclone ready for in-frame upgrades

OK, I'm not a certified mechanic but I know my way around a toolbox and have been wrenching on my own since the early 70's.
Mark told me that one of our Cyclones developed a low RPM knock. Mark told me to check for a bent pushrod or collapsed lifter, knowing the way we push these Buells that made sense. He has developed a pretty acute sense about what's wrong with these engines and is usually spot on. He has already turned one Cyclone into an excellent drag/street bike and has on the bench a tweaked out engine to go into another M2. Mark tells me that this Cyclone with the knock is next bike I should work on. So on the rack she goes out comes the box for the parts and can for the bolts. He thought that as long as we were going through the Cyclone that we should do the standard upgrades; Hydro Solid lifters by JIMS, Taper-Lite adjustable push-rods by Riverawith Colony collapsible tubes, JIMS roller rockers, and a Crane Hi-4 ignition module.
*NOTE; There is a change at the 99 sportster (and later models) in Lifter diameter (thickness) and length of dowel pin retainers.
Now comes my first mistake, I should have turned the engine over and tried to get an idea where or what was causing the knock but oh-no I was wrench happy and wanted to get this done and over with as my do list was getting pretty long; a Thunderbolt to do an EFI to Carburetor Transplant, An M2 (our main race bike) to assemble, a Harley-Davidson Cafe` Racer to rebuild (this one is a massive project), an this website to finish revamping (writing, and editing articles, etc.). I felt we were doing the upgrades that would probably fix the problem anyway. The gremlin laughed his butt off at me. First we did a compression check (routine) got some blow-by into the case but none through either the intake or exhaust. The M2 hasn't been run in awhile so I squirt some oil into the jugs and turn it over a few times the rechecked the pressure both jugs were almost identical. I then prepped the bike for the in-frame engine work: pulled off the Battery, fuel tank, air cleaner, and seat. When installing Hrdrosoild lifters, adjustable pushrods are also installed, which reguires the heads to be removed so the old push rod tubes can be replaced with collapsible tubes for push rod adjustment. Now the Curberator, intake manifold, exhaust, and upper (two sections) rocker covers were removed. I rotated the engine (rear end jacked off stand and bike in 5th) till the all valves were closed; this meant the least possible stress on rods and lifters since the lifters were resting on the lowest part of the cam lobe. Then I pulled the lower rocker cover off and pulled out the push rods. Next I removed the upper support bracket and intake manifold. The rear head was now free to remove. NOTE: Follow this head removal/installation in the service manual as aluminium heads warp easy. I slowly loosened (1/8 turns at a time on each) the head bolts on the rear starting with the outside head bolts (rear first) then inside (rear first). These are a little tough as there is usually corrosion on the sides of the bolts. Then I carefully wiggled the head from the frame. I then removed the old push rod tubes, lifter blocks and lifter retainer dowel pins then using a telescoping magnet fished out the lifters. The front head is a little more complicated as I take off the head with the front mount attached. This keeps the stress lower on the bolts that are on the head. Castings usually aren't as ductile as rolled metal and can crack easier. Also the manual makes a special note on how this pair is a "integral unit" and the bracket should not be repeatedly removed from the head as this weakens the fit (FYI). I carefully wriggled the assembly through the top of the frame. The rest is the same as the rear. The old push rods and lifters check out good.
I checked the cam clearance (might as well check the whole train). *Note; if you haven't pulled a cam cover off before save yourself some grief and mark the location of the timing advance in case before pulling it out. The cams and bearings check out within tolerance with no visible signs of hard wear, flat spots etc.


High Tech Cam Tool	Scoot over cams	Snug but slips in	Alignment Marks

After the cams were checked as best as our mechanical means and calibrated eyeballs would allow I snapped the cover back on.
*NOTE; Harley's change in the cam cover layout in 99 and later sportsters makes it crucial that you DO NOT use a gasket from the 99 or earlier models if your machine is a later model. If you switch them you will block oil gullies and cause engine damage. Actually this isn't exactly true and here is the problem; the motorcycle you see me working on The right one

is a 2000 Buell M2 Cyclone (which uses Sportster engine parts). For this bike, model, year, etc the cam cover gasket should look like the picture to the left. This is listed as a pre99 XL (Sportster) cam cover gasket. The OEM is 25263-90B, Cometic's part number is C9313F5, and if you want James its JGI-25263-00-X. If you pull your cam cover off and your old one looks like this or if you get a basket case and the old gasket is missing and you notice the oil wrong gasket

gullies to the lifters split down the middle between the case and cover this is the one you want. Remember we are talking about the Buell/Sportster model 99 model year transition. Now if you were to order this online or over the phone to you local parts store and use only the make/model/year (as would be normal) there is a high likelihood that you would get the gasket to the right. If you install the gasket to the right (trusting in your parts supplier) what would happen is that the lifters on the intake on the front cylinder and both on the rear cylinder would starve of oil as their precious fluid would shower the cams below because the gully is not sealed. This of course would mean that none will flow up the pushrods and into the very expensive heads. The end result would be a noisy valve train and under prolonged use a toasted top end.So if you need <------ and use -----> =TOAST and if you need ----> and use <---- = TOAST, both are listed as pre99 in alot of catalogs. So Check, re-check and in doubt check again. I made sure the advance aligns with marks etched before it was pulled out. Pop rivets come on give me a break, *Note style change; cover should have Buell pony on it and some stainless studs, pitch the cheesy rivets.
Since the heads are off I checked the Valve springs, valves, and gave the valves a lap job. The pistons were clean except for the usual carbon but no scarring or marring. The valves were straight as an arrow with no signs of chatter, and slipped through the guides nicely with


Popping the springs<	Lapping goo	Starting a campfire

no slop, for some reason my honeymoon comes to mind. The seats didn't look bad but what the hell it only takes a few strokes. I have got to stop with the double entendre. The springs were strong and length checked out, so that rules& out the valves, two suspects down.
In the process of pulling off the heads the old pushrods and lifters were pulled and inspected all passed with a clean bill of health. Three and four down. With the valve train practically ruled out that left three suspects; ignition timing, bad V.O.E.S. (Vacuum Operated Electrical Switch), or tranny chatter.
I stoned the gasket surface and reinstalled the heads and then installed the JIMS Hydro-Solids (got a sweet deal from Dennis Kirk for $50 each (close out) with shipping but they only had three so I bought the fourth through J&P Cycles). Next went in the Colony Collapsible pushrod tubes (we have in stock). We modified the installation of these pushrod tubes and made the installation easier. We ditched the OEM lifter blocks and installed ones we designed specifically for the collapsible push rod tubes.The lifter blocks we designed are cut from aluminum as a single block per jug with a counter bore for the block screws, no big news there as thereare several aftermarket blocks that are similar in that way. We had the bottom grooved to accept a standard thin rubber O-ring as an oil seal and the upper side has a concave recess. This allows us to pitch the faucet washer and lower beveled piece from the Colony kit and use a standard rubber O-ring on the lower tube as a oil seal. The geometry of the cut in the upper part of the custom lifter block allows for the angular fit of the tube into the perpendicular block and maintains seal integrity. This set up saves time and effort getting the angles of the lower tubes just right for a fit. I slightly shortened the Rivera Taper-Lites we got from Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse and drop them in place through the collapsible tubes. Now for the lower rocker cover and the TP roller rockers. After knocking the pins out and oiling up the new rockers the pins are slipped back in place. We got the TP roller rockers from Phat Performance, comming from the west coast they took awhile to get here, I think they came in via pony express. A thing about roller rockers; if you don't have the bucks don't worry about getting a set. There is no tremendous gain in horses from using them. we use them primarily to reduce the side loading on the valves. We do run machines specifically put together for the strip but we also enter our street machines as well. We also try to get the engines to handle 7000 RPM regularly (actually we shoot for 7500), at that RPM anything we can do to beef up the valve train helps. So the pros for us is less wear on the valve guides the cons are they have moving parts and increasing the number of moving parts increases the odds of failure and there is a noise issue with some roller rockers. It seems that around 2500 miles some makes start getting a little noisy. There are a multitude of motorcycle forum threads that beat this issue to death. Why did we go with TP this time instead of the usual tried and true JIMS? This was an economic choice, JIMS are high quality works of art (if your a machinist) and with a price tag to match. On the visual inspection TP's with the OEM like cast marks on their surface, aren't as pretty to look at (but unless you run with transparent rocker covers only you will know) but they are quality on the mating surfaces (the important part). TP's are uglier and slightly heavier (closer to the weight of the OEM) than JIMS but about $100 (or more) cheaper. I'll update the trial around the 2500mi mark.
We now rejoin our regularly scheduled program; after the new rockers were installed the lower covers were re-installed and we proceeded on to the push-rod


< The Lifter Blocks designed by MCMOD	adjusting the taper-lites

adjustment.

IQ notice; these next two paragraphs are going to make you feel real smart. Ok so I rotate the engine (using the rear tire and in 5th gear) until I see the first intake open and close then I turn my attention to the timing mark up she pops so I adjust the front push rods just right and then following the RIVERA instructions; set to "zero lash" (free rotation but NO up or down movement) then turned in the pre-load adjustment of 4 additional turns resulting in an additional 0.1 (0.025 per turn in Taper Lites) of extension and wait 15 min for bleed down. I then repeated the steps for the rear jug push-rods. *Notice this was the first time I installed adjustable push-rods solo, and thank the Good Lord it wasn't on the race engines with the over-sized valves and high domed piston. With the idea that I had done what I needed to do I finished snapping the engine back together and hit the key.
Much to my suprise but not to Mark, the engine turned over real easy it had the occasional weak back fire, but did not start. Mark was listening on a cell phone that his wife, Terry had thoughtfully brought to the bike. I explained what I had done and how I did it, he just simply said that the I didn't do it right and the valves weren't closing. I confidently got out the instruction sheet and read it verbatim until I got to the part where I stopped following the instructions. The part were it read "to wait 15 minutes for the lifters to bleed off" all of a sudden I felt real stupid. I realized that lifters weren't loaded when I adjusted the pushrods and that JIMS Hydrosolids only get 1/2 the pre-load adjustment of hydrolic lifters. I sheepishly re-stated what the issue was to Mark and he had the typical "told you so" comment. I then took out the 0.05" of extra turns tapped the starter, and lo-and -behold she fired right up. I let it run till it got up to operating temperature, but the lifters did not load right away.

When I turned off the tank I noticed a steady drip of gas started from the petcock. Time to upgrade to a Pingel petcock. The first thing we had to contend with is the Stock valve

plastic Buell gas tank. This is not a simple screw off the bad and screw on the better we have to prepare the surface of the tank and use an adapter plate also by Pingle. This is done with the gas tank drained don't try this with fuel in the tank.The first thing I did was bolt on adapter plate with gasket (dry and finger tight) then using a scratch awl etched the plastic on the inside of the threaded hole. Then unbolted and removed the adapter and proceeded to carve away plastic up to the etch mark being careful not to get trash into tank. I then repeatedly checked the hole size by slipping the fuel screen into the hole and slipping the gasket on to make sure I was maintaining center. After the new hole was satisfactory I removed some protective tape from the area, scuffed the surface with some rough sandpaper (again being careful to keep the crap out of the tank), then cleaned the area with solvent. The next step was to mix some epoxy filler (I used JB weld) and apply to the tank surface. This part takes a little attention; you don't want so much that when you set on the gasket and apply a little down pressure on it the goop will flow into either the threads or fuel hole. If you get any goop into the threads clean them out immediately and watch for the flow into the tank. Once things are settled in and excess (if any) is cleaned up

The Gasket glued into place

from threads and a lamp is put close to the goop to cure it quicker. For a 60-75 watt light bulb place the light about 10-12" away. Check surface occasionally to make sure you are not baking things to much. After the goop is cured the rest is a simple straightforward process. Apply a light coat of the blue goo (gasket sealer) that comes with the adapter on the gasket and back side of adapter plate and let the surfaces get some air so the thinning agent to evaporate then screw down the plate onto the tank with the screws provided. If some sealant has squeezed into the hole, clean it out or it will gum up the fuel screen when you screw in the new petcock. Put a couple winds of Teflon tape on the petcock threads and screw in valve tell things get snug then torque to position.
After the mods were complete, and oil was squirted down the lifter blocks, and we snapped it all back together we fired up the engine once more. The persistant tapping was still there so back to the drawing board. Well we pulled the engine down to the case and after pulling the jugs and inspecting the wrist pins, pistons, and cylinders (all are in good shape except for minimal

Dinged dentent plate and clutch hub

normal wear) we refocused our attention on the primary.

I pulled the primary cover off and noticed the first sign of real trouble; metal grit on the magnetic plug and a tiny metal chunk on the lower part of the case.We looked at the case and noticed where the primary chain had slapped the upper side (chain out of adjustment) but, the cover is non-furious so it's shavings would not have stuck to the magnetic plug. This indicated the problem was somewhere else. The engine got fired up and a loud knock came from the clutch area. I pulled off the primary chain and disassembled the clutch. Mark was flasing a light in the area when I noticed the wear on the detent plate at the end of the shifting drum. We flipped over the clutch hub and could see where the detent plate was smaking the studs on the backside. I was scratching my head tring to figure how in the hell the two came into contact. Mark said that the knocking started soon after he was slaming gears in powershift mode. I set the detent plate back and checked the fitment of the plate it would not set flat and kept rocking. Normally the plate can be rocked slightly as the pins only support the

Shifter drum pins

underside of only half the plate but this would not set on all four pins. We concentrated the light on the pins and noticed one had walked out about 1/8". The culprit was found. I took a brass drift and a small hammer and tapped the pin back into place.I then ground the detent plate and reassembled the whole works. We have a different style of drum and detent plate that we use and I will pull this apart later and rework the drum. What we do is remove the center pin and keeper that holds the detent plate and center drill then tap the drum. The detent plate is then held in place with a allen head button screw. The detent plate itself is modified by using aluminum with shallower shifting indents. The fabrication shop is currently closed for reconstruction so the modifications on this bike are currently on hold. The Cyclone was snapped back together (again) and ran (alot quieter) then parked to await the shifter drum mods and top end job.
P.S. This M2 ran so good and being an M2L was more suited for my shortness I bought it.