Between January and February I tore apart the engine on my 1979 Honda XL500S to fix some oil leaks in the head. Things would have gone faster but I needed to buy some extra seals that I hadn’t expected on needing and my schedule has been very tight with graduation fast approaching. This is the engine partially torn apart on my workbench in my apartment.
I devised a tool to replace the valve seals.
A bronze bushing cut into pieces and held in place by a big C-clamp worked pretty well. Obviously a $150 tool would have been easier but for $15 this was good enough to do four valves.
After I finished rebuilding the engine, I brought the frame of the motorcycle inside my apartment. The weather has been rotten the last few months and I didn’t want to spend hours out in the rain and cold trying to force the engine back into place.
I got the engine back in with the help of a few of my boys. After re-tightening the spark plug, the bike fired right up and has been running great. In the future I might want to rebuild the carb and replace the choke cable but otherwise this thing is a good strong runner. It is a real hoot to ride, too.
