Engine part 2

Well, the engine's out. This welded spot is a little side-story:

A few months after I purchased the bike, at about 13,000 miles, I did a bit of maintenance, including adjusting the valves. In my distraction I didn't tighten one of the adjuster jam nuts. About 1/4 mile down the road it came out and got caught in the timing chain. This broke the timing chain and 'spit' it out the front of the motor, of course, stopping the engine.

Pushing the bike back to the shop I didn't realize what had happened. When I did find the gaping hole in the front of the cylinder head I knew just what had happened and I went back to where it happened and picked up most of the pieces of the cylinder head off of the road.

Next I pulled the head off and took it, and the pieces, to a welder and had them welded back in. I also replaced the intake valves as the camshaft stopping allowed the valves to contact the pistons, bending the valves. I was able to find a 'master link' for the timing chain and install it without completely disassembling the motor.

Although the gasket surface isn't perfect it sealed well enough that there wasn't any oil dripping out, just enough to attract dirt that has to be cleaned off periodically.

I changed the timing chain again at 102,000 miles. This time without issue. :-)