[rg500g]

The short of it is the head won't come off. I have the factory issue shop manual and it's stupidly simple. However, on my bike, the head boss between the inlet rockers fouls the frame backbone tube before the head can come off the front studs (the long ones). I've got 3 mm clearance on rear studs. What is going on here? Removing the cylinder and head as one is really not an option. The head should come off clean with engine in frame. I'd greatly appreciate advice from those familiar with late model BSA unit twin top ends.

 

[Goldy]

Working on and engine rebuild for one of those right now... If you can't wiggle the head off, there's something else going on...perhaps some PO replaced the front studs with longer ones. You may have to remove some of the engine mounting bolts to tilt the engine in the frame enough to get the head off.
Best of luck!
Goldy

 

[rg500g]

OK, your project is an OIF A65 then, correct? I need to make sure it's the 'oil in frame' version, 1971 or 1972. If so, you could remove the head and not have the boss on the inlet side foul the spinal tube?

I'm getting something on another board that this was all due to idiotic designers who utterly trashed the BSA design with the OIF model and did not have any idea whatsoever regarding what they were doing (being all former aerospace engineers w/o any automotive experience) and the manuals, etc. were written w/o any sense of reality, and I never should have bought an OIF BSA as they're all trash, yadayada. If I translated this guy's post into Albanian or Romany I think the message would have been "cut your throat now - you are a loser cursed by OIF BSA ownership". OY...

 

[need louvers ?]

It may have no bearing here, but I have been told that on '71 Triumphs with the first OIF frames that the engine had to come out for head removal. This was supposedly corrected in '72 or so. I'm just wondering if that carried through to the BSA bikes as well.

 

[will1861]

It's been a while since I removed the motor from my OIF. I didn't like the look of the head steady so I removed mine. Ground the bracket completely off the frame. I think I had to take the rocker cover studs out as well. Its would have been easier to just take the motor out. Any way remember if you take off the head steady you are going to increase the vibration. I moved mine to the empty boss on the front off the head then mounted to the bracket behind the steering neck.

 

[rg500g]

God, my rg500 gamma is looking better all the time. The heads and barrels come off in a blink of the eye, but OTOH they need to due to insanely short ring life in a 4 cyl 2 stroke.