Nice engine transplant!

You bought a very cheap bike. I think it is the price of the engine around here.

So, when I stick the bike together, which shall I fit?

Exhibit A, weighing in at 459g, or Exhibit B, weighing in at a whopping 7g?

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3...2annotated.jpg

what is it ???

AIS Plumbing

Uber, I have been considering the AIS removal as it's blocked anyway. The only thing stopping me is MOT time, as I am not sure if it is required? Clearly a blocked, but intact AIS, will fly under the radar, but do you know if they will notice if it is missing?

Or rather, do they even look for the AIS when doing the MOT?

Can I just say; WEIGHT WEENIE!!! :D

Removal of the AIS will make ****** all difference at MoT time.

Right, where was I? Oh yeah, thinking I had turned a corner having got the engines out of both the Tenere and the donor MT...

http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Of course the very next thing that happened was that I snapped an exhaust stud off in the head of the MT engine. ******.

As ever in such situations, the first action is to come inside, fire up the laptop, and head straight to a certain well-known internet auction site, which came to the rescue with a virtually unused complete head from a 2010 XT660X.

After a week or so's wait (which I put to good use making a set of pannier racks, of which more later) the head arrived, as did the necessary assortment of gaskets and other parts, and the MT motor was duly beheaded...

http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

...and fitted with the XTX head. All fairly straightforward, apart from discovering that the decompression pin had escaped from the exhaust cam while in transit. Fortunately, it was to be found lurking in the bottom of the bag that the head had been wrapped in, and even more fortunately, I managed to manoeuvre it back into place without having to disassemble anything with some cunning use of a drinking straw.

http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

A few pipes and brackets swapped from the original Tenere motor and it was ready to go back in.

http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Shame about the mismatched colour. One part which will not be going back on is the original crankcase breather. As stock, the engine breathes through an outlet in the cases between the starter motor and the cylinder. This outlet is connected to a plastic baffle-box to try and encourage any oil in the air to condense out and drain back into the motor. This box is then connected to the airbox.

http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

All very well, until you take the bike for a swim and fill the airbox with water, which I've done twice now. A quick thumb to the killswitch as you go in will stop water getting into the cylinder and doing serious damage there (and if it stops with the valves open and water trickles in it's easy enough to pull the spark plug out), but since it's downhill from the airbox to the crankcase, you wind up with the cases full of water and ruined oil. I've been meaning to address this problem for a while, but it's only really practical with the bike stripped down this far.

The length of hose connected to the engine in the photo above is part of the solution. Here is where it's connected (with the old breather held alongside):

http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

I'll write more about that at a later date. First, it was time to wrestle the motor into the frame. Top mounts first:

http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

And then the rest:

http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

The bolt at the base of the cylinder is still loose because it doubles up as a mount for the engine bars, which are away being powdercoated after I finally welded up the mount which has been cracked for most (if not all) of the time I've had the bike (they were so prone to it that Yamaha withdrew them from sale).

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Finally though, it's going in the right direction. More to come.

I met the guy who put that all together at the East Canada H.U meet last year. Took him years to put together. He has a free download on his site. Wish I wrote the address down.

When will you be in the States UberThumper ? I'll be back over there Early May hopefully.

Flying out 21st April, back about 13th July

With the engine and frame back together, it's time to build the rest of the bike around it. Throttle body onto the engine first, then try and remember how the big pile of magic spaghetti was originally wrapped around everything.

http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Something like this. It's a lot easier to make all the connections around the throttle body and the back of the engine without the airbox in the way.

http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Time for the rear suspension. This is what a Tenere swingarm looks like after 37,000 miles of abuse.

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

This is where the centrestand rubs when the rubber stop falls off:

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

This is what happens when your sprocket carrier bearing disintegrates:

http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

And this is a combination of flaky paint, motocross boots, crashing, and bending the centrestand into the swingarm:

http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

New bearings, bushes and seals throughout:

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

On with the Off-the-road.de +35mm dogbones:

http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

New pivot bolt to replace the rusty, sledgehammered one.

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

And back into the frame, along with the Nitron Racing shock:

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Took the airbox apart, washed the inside out, and reassembled with a good splurge of grease on the seals:

http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

Back together, and in with the DNA Stage 2 filter and snorkle eliminator.

http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg

My JMo Racing Dakar 2011 sticker has, sadly, seen better days. Just as well Jenny is going back in 2014.

http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfil...scaled1000.jpg