Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Bike #3

I took the engine out of bike #3 and it was MECHANICALLY SIEZED.

If you're wondering what that means, it means that the engine was not frozen up as a consequence of long years languishing in a shed, or worse outside, where things got gummed up and corrosion set in. It means the engine quit running as a result of a catastrophic failure, when the piston and cylinder fuzed while operating at high RPM... probably the result of an air leak or lack of oil.

Despite all my gentle efforts to unstuck it, the results have been futile. I am constrained by the fact that I don't want to destroy the bottom end which seems to be OK. To know for sure I need to unstick the piston without damaging the main case sitting underneath the cylinder.

Since I don't have the tools or the skills to go any further I'm taking it to my friend, Mike, at the engine shop in Wisconsin Rapids. He has done work for me in the past, rebuilding a flathead engine.

There are three tasks I will ask him to do.

Task 1: Torch out the old piston.

Task 2: With the piston freed, remove the cylinder.

Task 3: Finally there is a bolt still frozen up in the side cover that needs to be removed.

So that is where we are at with bike #3.