In like Flynn - the motor is in!

Its been 2 months - almost to the day.  I am well ahead of schedule, which is to see the old girl running by her 40th birthday (April 2014).  She was number 439 imported into the USA.  Now she might be the oldest one out there - or at least one of the oldest...

I have a rolling frame, so now is the time to put the motor back in.  Its frigging heavy!  I can barely lift it, even without the transmission, starter, air cleaners etc attached.  Its a 2 man job, but my vanity just screamed at me - "do it yourself!".  Note to self "do not listen to your vanity".  I did, and it made things somewhat more difficult.

In order to install the motor, this is what you need to do.  With one hand, steady the frame so it does not fall over.  The other hand is used to raise or lower the hoist so that there is enough clearance into, under, and above the engine cradle.  Arm and hands number 3 and 4 are used to lift the 200lb short motor, gently place it into the cradle, and once there, shoot the 2 long engine bolts through the frame and the engine.  There are spacers and other bits that need to go in between the frame and the engine (on both sides) but that's ok, the guy operating the hoist and steadying the frame can hold them in place while you hold onto the engine with one hand and drive the bolts home.

Doing this by yourself is stupid.  I am stupid, but I did it!  To me, this is a major milestone.  I have no idea how to make the motor actually work.  It was not pulled apart and rebuilt.  I just sent it to my "guy" who ran it through the part washer to make sure it was clean inside.  The previous owner told me it ran really well.  He only owned it for a short while, and bought it from a BMW mechanic.  That guy seemed to know what's what.  The after-market parts on this bike all screamed "quality".  She has a machined top brace, re-enforced bottom brace, fortified swing arm and a sump extension with passive oil cooler built in, as well as an improved side-stand.  Most of these parts would have been a real pain to install but would have really fine-tuned performance.  These items would only be added by someone who knew what they were doing - not beauty enhancements but they made the bike run faster, longer and handle way better.

I'm gonna let sleeping dogs lie.  Unless there is something obviously wrong, I'm going to re-assemble the engine and hope for the best.  Only time will tell, but I have my fingers crossed...