TOPIC:

Those swing arm bearings racers are a bitch to remove. They can be stuck! Best investment is a blind hole bearing puller. They sell some adjustable ones but I got a more solid option for specific bearing sizes. The inserts have one slot. You insert a like a minus screwdriver driver in it, they expand a bit, and you punch them out.
That simple like wedge driver was expensive and I bet it can be accomplished with a solid screwdriver that can take a punch (solid core).

Rusting shavings... Hmm... Kind of surprised you didn't anticipate this? Engineering and good mechanics are about eliminating contamination. In a way, you should be cleaner than a medical doctor - flesh wounds can heal and correct themselves, mechanical parts can't. An engine is a mechanical organism, but not as pliable as a living one.

Still kind of confused with your pivot extraction... Hmm.. In the pic is what I did - you could jam a 'fork' or two pieces in there and screw that bolt in pulling the pivot out. Did you work from the inside?

well... I sort-of didn't think about it. I realised they were around and settling on the engine, but what I had not anticipated was that the space was so damp! Anyway, sorted now. I did have the engine sealed, so no particles got it, that I am sure of!

Yes, I had the engine and drive shaft out, so I could work from the inside and push them out using a bolt, a nut and a washer. Bolt head against pivot, washer against the hole that goes into the swing arm. Then screwing the nut out against the washer, the head of the bolt pushes the pivot out in a very controlled manner. The other pivot could be tapped out from inside the frame when the swing arm dropped out after removing the first pivot.

It really did not take me more than 15 minutes for both! I guess I was lucky, but I definitely prefer pushing the item itself than pulling on a thread inside the item.

Paul

That's what I figured out - re: removing the pivots. When the drive shaft and the engine is out, it's a completely different game! The problem is with undong the bolts which connect the drive shaft to the output in the engine. But when all is out of the way, pushing those pins out from the inside is a no brainer.

Speaking of which, that's the next step in my project: get the shaft, swing arm, and the engine out.

Another milestone: frame and ancillaries powder coated... it looks glossy, but actually it is satin black.

I can start rebuilding now!

Looks great !!

BIG STEP!! I'd say that's the top of the hill. It's going to be emotionally easier from now on, as it will be adding on rather then removing.