This article is one of a series which describes how to disassemble, work on, and reassemble the Road Star engine. This particular article covers preparation of your workspace, parts storage, parts labeling, bolt organization, and instructions for disassembling basic items prior to beginning the detailed engine tear down. See the Complete Engine Tear Down, Orientation article in this series for details of other aspects of engine details.

Be sure you refer to the service manual through all phases of this project.

Clean, convenient storage is a must, to keep organized. If you plan to completely disassemble the engine, you'll need at least 30 to 35 feet of shelving--or the equivalent in boxes.

If you're like me, once you begin tearing things apart, you won't want to stop, mid-stream, to get organized. So get everything ready beforehand.

Of course, you'll also need a garage of some sort. I just can't imagine doing this project outside, or without electrical power. This is quite a few hours of work, so make sure you can be reasonably comfortable--not too hot, not too cold, not dark, not dank.

Unless you’re only doing part of the complete engine tear down, your work area should be at least 200 sq-ft of floor space. This is roughly the area of a parking space in a generous parking lot.

Be sure your work area can be well ventilated. Oil, gasoline, and solvent gases are not good for you or the bike.

Keep your work area clean and well ordered. Also, keep parts covered and protected from dust and excess humidity.

Orderliness is important. Don't count on memory or photos, alone, to remember what goes where. Store parts in a way that you can relate to:

• In a long row, like a LIFO system--last in - first out... Or in this case, a LOFO system--last off - first on.
• By subassembly, with each shelf area labeled for each subassembly. This is the method I used. I labeled my shelf areas as follows:
  
  
  • Cylinders including valve train and heads
  • Intake
  • Exhaust
  • Clutch, Generator, Cams, Transfer case including oil tank and final drive parts
  • Misc including starter, floorboard, linkage, and cables

Be sure to mark one 4-foot storage shelf for the "Front" cylinder and another shelf for the "Rear" cylinder. Gaskets, rocker-bases and covers, heads, cylinders, and all other parts for each of the two cylinders go there.

As you remove them from the engine, mark the front and rear cylinders: "F" (or "2") and "R" (or "1"). The heads do not need marking, as they can only be assembled one way.

Many other parts will need marking and organizing, as well. See Complete Engine Tear Down, Orientation article in this series for links to the other disassembling articles. Instructions for which parts to mark are given in the document sections for each part’s disassembly.

Bolts can be organized any way you like, as long as you can easily put each bolt back in the same hole it was removed from. Here are two of the more popular ways:

• By inserting them into a cardboard image of their cover, case, or part. To do this method, make a rough outline drawing of each cover and case on cardboard. Mark the location of bolt-holes by puncturing slits in the cardboard with a knife. Then, as you remove bolts from the engine, press them into the corresponding cardboard slit.
• By charting bolt sizes, and then referencing where each size goes. To do this method, make a rough outline drawing of each cover and case on paper or cardboard. Then, as you remove bolts from the bike, mark your drawing with a number at the corresponding, drawn, bolt hole. The number you write should correspond to a size chart (a legend) you create as you go. Add to the legend as new bolt sizes are removed. See photo below. Then place each bolt removed in an appropriate sandwich bag--numbered to match the size legend.

I used the organization by bolt size method. Since I was replacing most of the bolts with polished stainless steel, and some of my stock bolts had some shank corrosion, this method allowed me to reassemble the bike with only the best bolts of each size. See photo below.

Cover holes in cases where smaller parts might fall in, which could require additional work to retrieve. Blue, painter's masking tape is great for this. It won't leave glue residue, and it comes off fairly easily even if left on for extended times. See photo above.

Before you begin unscrewing bolts, be sure your workspace is prepared, you have the proper tools at hand, and you're confident in your skills. Refer to the Parts and Tools article in this series for details.

Wrenches will slip, parts will drop, and fingers will fumble. Protect your bike by covering the fenders with large, soft rags to protect them from scratching. Do the same for surrounding chrome parts. This applies to both tear-down and build-up.

I highly recommend you take pictures or notes as you go so you remember where everything goes, and where you stored it.

Unless you'll be starting up your bike again within a couple of weeks (or you've added a gasoline stabilizer), drain out any gas left in the fuel tank. Pour it in to your car, lawnmower, or whatever. Note: If you're adding high compression pistons, you'll want to replace it with high octane gasoline anyway.

Remove the seat.

Take off the fuel tank and side covers. Store them.

Tip: Be sure you store the fuel tank in a dry (non-humid) place, to minimize the potential for rust build-up inside.

Disconnect or remove the battery, but keep a maintainer-charger on it if you can.

Remove and store the intake system, including the intake manifold, carb and fuel pump assemblies. Refer to the service manual. However, be sure to drain (or spill or shake) gasoline from all parts, and let them sit out for several days before storing indoors.

Drain the oil from the crankcase, oil tank, and transfer case. Tip: Put a strip of blue masking tape over the ignition switch area and/or the key. Write the word "oil" on it to remind yourself not to start the bike before putting oil back in.

Remove and discard the oil filter.

Remove, bag, label, and store the oil filter bracket and its four bolts.

Unplug the rear brake light wire, and pull it free. This will help you avoid accidentally breaking the light switch plunger, and allow you to move the floorboard assembly further out of the way. To do this, trace the wire from the rear master cylinder--located near the right floorboard--up the frame, to a connector on the left side of the frame near the left coil. (See photo below). Now, disconnect the connector, pop open the several wire-retainers that route this wire, and pull the wire free of the bike--but still connected to the right-side floorboard assembly.

Cut any wire-ties from the rear brake hydraulic hose--along the right-side frame. Then open the hydraulic hose’s two, hose clamps. Remove the right-side floorboard assembly by removing the two button-head bolts under the floorboard that attach the assembly to the frame. As you unscrew the last bolt, hold the floorboard assembly. Then pull it out from the bike a ways, and set it on a shop cloth on the floor.

Remove and store the exhaust system.

Disconnect the wire-connector from the front horn, located on the left floorboard assembly.

Tip: To make reassembly easier, mark the following using a permanent marker or metal punch:

• On the left-side of the engine, mark the clutch shaft for clutch-arm position.
• On the left-side of the engine, mark the shift shaft for shift-arm position. See photo below.

After padding the area beneath the shift linkage with rags, remove the shift-arm from the shift shaft, at the top of the clutch case. Do this by removing the single pinch bolt, then wiggling and pulling the shift arm off its shaft.

Remove and store the left-side floorboard assembly (with shift linkage attached) by removing the two button-head mounting bolts under the assembly.

Loosen the clutch cable as much as possible, at the handlebar lever. Then remove the clutch arm from the clutch shaft, near the top of the clutch case. To do this, you first remove the single pinch-bolt, then wiggle and pull the clutch-arm up off its shaft.

If you have aftermarket coils and plug wires, remove and store them--marking or photographing which coils and which wires go where. Stock coils can be left on, but unplug the wires from the sparkplugs at this time.

Remove and store any crash bar, or other such accessories. Be careful of the front fender, as some crash bars are both heavy and awkward to maneuver.

To access related articles, refer back to the Complete Engine Tear Down, Orientation article in this series to see which additional articles best address your situation.

Questions should be asked in our forum (Use discuss link below). The forum is very active and you stand a good chance of getting your questions answered there. If you would like to leave feedback for the author, or have additional information you think will benefit others, please use the comment section at the bottom of this page.

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DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only.  Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure.  You assume all risks associated with the use of this information.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION.  Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

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