TOPIC:

With past engine rebuilds I have carried out on 1300/6 models, I have always fitted the pistons with rings into the barrels first, then lowered the barrels over the studs & offered 2 con-rods upto 2 pistons at a time & put gudgeon pin through & fitted new cir-clip....then onto another 2 & so on until all 6 are connected. Its a 2 man job as its impossible to hold the barrels in place & connect everything up yourself, but if done carefully & patiently does not take long.

Having looked at other owners sites recently for XS1100 & CB750's etc, it appears the more favored way to do this is to fit the pistons & rings onto the con-rods first, then lower the barrels over them 2 at a time.

I am very interested to know how other 1300 owners have done this themselves in the past & any experience or tips.

Pete

Pete

I've not done it on a 1300. On both an XS1100 and a Z1000 I fitted the pistons to the con rods first of all then lowered the barrels over the studs. You definitely need an extra pair of hands though.

I did mine while the motor was apart, had all the pistons out of the bike, haven't done the lowering the barrels over the piston bit "yet", as a bit of a bush mechanic I did use a egg ring ( the aluminium ring used to fry eggs) and hose clamp as a ring compressor to slide the pistons in, just trimmed the egg ring to suit and put a clamp around it, worked well and cheap , funny what works when you need something and have a bit of imagination

Hi Pete, I did it the way you describe, lowering the block with the pistons fitted, I wasn't aware of the other way to be honest
It does take two pairs of hands, we lowered the block with the two outer pistons at TDC & the other four at, or near BDC & fed a piston in each. It gets a bit more difficult with the inner four pistons as you have to feed in two pistons each at the same time, but if you're patient & careful it is possible. The only thing is in the manual it states to position the rings at even intervals for optimum compression, which isn't possible with this method, but they rotate in service anyway

Thanks to all for info............especially to Phil for photo. The OIL sticker on the front headlamps made me chuckle.....thats the kind of system I use myself !!!!

I can see this being a stressful job as its been a long time since I last did it & my fingers are not as flexible as they used to be !!

Phil........did you use any ring compression devices or just squeeze them together with your fingers ?

Pete

Glad that gave you a chuckle Pete lol
Yes, we squeezed the rings by hand, it is quite fiddly & there were a couple of stressful moments where pistons went in a bit cock-eyed & we thought we'd snagged rings but all was well in the end. Another tip is to run some emery cloth around the apex of the chamfer at the bottom of the liner to give the rings an easier time on the way in.