Shovelhead - Evolution Cam Seal Puller/Installer - Cam Cover Puller Tool Drawing

I had  a request to do a drawing for this tool. I'm not a great draftsman and kind of a questionable engineer. I actually drew this in PowerPoint believe it or not. You can enter the feature sizes, but dimensioning is very manual. If you have a lathe and time, knock yourself out. Click through and print and it should be close to 1:1 scale.

The real oil leak problem - The stroker shovelhead drains.

Well I have been fighting weird oil leaks since I built it into a stroker, then melted the heads, and put the S&S topend on it. Good news is that I think I'm down to the root cause, but the bad news is that it will require a full teardown to include splitting cases.

With the S&S second top end, I forgot to transfer drill the lower cylinder spigots for the now lower drain holes. I even double checked the base gasket holes lined up with the holes in the cases. But I somehow managed to miss these instructions from the S&S big bore cylinder instructions. I knew the cases were fine, but I just didn't look at the cylinders.



Here's what the cross section should look like.



This is what I actually built. It's pretty amazing that the valve seals held back that much oil in the head and the only leaks were the engine crank and pushrod tubes.


I will be working with Daniel at Longbow Custom in Bartlesville, OK to rebuild this motor once again this winter. His strategy is to go ahead and drill the cases straight through like an Evo as shown below. The piston skirt should still get plenty of oil from the flywheels and crankcase.

Cenote bladder compared to Camelbak bladder

If you don't use a hydration bladder system don't bother reading this one. I use my Camelbak a lot riding on long days, teaching motorcycle classes on long days, running 5K's, and doing stuff in the woods.

I have been running the same Camelbak since 2003. That was about the only thing on the market at the time. Now there are a lot of choices for similar products and even backpacks made ready for a bladder of your choice.

Anyway, my Camelbak bladder finally got a pinhole in it after 13 years of good use. I have had my eye on the Cenote bladders for a bit. They are made by the same folks that make Polar Bottles which are great and I use anytime a back pack bladder isn't a feasible option. The big selling point for the Cenote is the price point makes it a disposable/recyclable instead of cleaning at some point. The first thing of note is the Cenote has the filler and straw on the same fitting. That makes sense to save material and cost. It also makes burping the air out a lot easier. Getting the air out is important if you don't want to listen to it slosh around and around if you're running. The downside to this is that with my little back set up, I have to completely remove the Cenote from my pack to fill it. (Bigger backpacks require this anyway.) That's not a huge deal for exercising and just using one fill up. Pulling everything apart to fill it at a gas stop on the road is a pain.


The bite valves are very different, too. For most things, the Cenote is actually better(shown in closed position), but not if you trying to shove the huge thing into a full face helmet running down the road on a motorcycle. It's doable, but not as easy as the Camelbak. The smaller Camelbak valve could be switched over to the Cenote bladder.


Okay here's the real deal breaker for me and how I use my hydration bladder. The filler hole on the Cenote is much smaller and has no handle. I am sure both of those feature mean less material and cost and the larger hole is not as needed for cleaning the bladder. The larger hole and handle make the Camelbak much more convenient for using on motorcycle trips. It is very challenging to use the ice and water from the gas station soda machine to fill the Cenote. And while I know it's a total cheap ass move to fill my water for free at the travel stop c-store most places don't notice or don't mind.(I usually by a V-8, too.) But leaving a big mess of water and ice everywhere is just bad form for everyone involved.


I really wanted to write an excellent opinion of the Cenote bladder, but the design compromises to save material and cost were a deal breaker for how I use a bladder. I bought another Camelbak bladder and still have three Cenote bladders with one cap and valve that I might use later for something other than motorcycling.

Mid-West Mini-Fest Monday Part 3

That thunderhead is still sitting directly in my path.




So here's the part of the story I shouldn't tell, but it's funny enough I have to tell it on myself.  I thought I had the gas to get home on. I thought, at least I have my spare can to use if I'm close. Well, as I get to the Northside of OKC I realize I won't make it and if I need my can I will need it right in the middle of town in the middle of a busy interstate. I can also smell the rain already.

So I pull off of the road and somehow find the only exit in Oklahoma City without a gas station in sight.  I then drove like 3 more miles to get back on the interstate.  At this point, I knew I needed to use my spare tank. The thought of a gas station stop had my bladder screaming at me too. (Using a Camelbak will keep you very hydrated.) So I can't find a gas station and I have to use the restroom to the point of pain. I'm looking around and all I see are these older acreage type home sights. I really don't want to get arrested and put on a list for using the restroom outside. Finally I find a wide spot in the road away from houses and stop and get my gas can. At that time I bent over and squatted behind my bike to relieve myself as quickly as possible (hoping to look like I was working on my bike). And Kawasaki's are watercooled after all. I got done and put back together right before two cars and a motorcycle drove by. I filled the tank and got back on the road.

I thought I was home free now. Well I hit the gully washer rain at I-35 and I-240. My tires slipped as I rounded the ramp to I-240.  I decided to get off the road.  I managed to hit a floorboard deep puddle before I got to the gas station awning.


I probably should have gotten gas at that station, but I thought I could make it home. I left out and less than a mile down the road I sputtered and when to another gas station. 4.312 gallons in a 4.2 gallon tank.


Home finally and wishing I could hit the road again the next day.

Mid-West Mini-Fest Monday Part 2

Almost to Oklahoma, that thunderhead is about at Guthrie.


Next time I pass this way, I will wait until the Oklahoma side to stop for gas/restroom breaks. I would think selling high point beer to Okies is the only thing keeping this POS store in business. They don't seem to be investing in restroom repairs.


What a rig.

Mid-West Mini-Fest Monday Part 1

Normally the story would be over by the ride home, but not on this trip. Radar shows more rain. I actually put my rain gear on to stay warm. I generally don't try to explain to anyone wearing a tank-top for riding gear, but wearing a BJJ rashguard under a fully vented motorcycle jacket is kind of cold under 80 degrees with no windshield at highway speeds.


The weather is breaking up.


There was no sun, but luckily no rain either.


The flint hills of Kansas again.


I was really hoping this fire was related to all the wind-farms.


But it wasn't really.

Mid-West Mini-Fest Sunday

♫ ♪ There ain't nothin' short of dyin' ♫ ♪
♫ ♪ Half as lonesome as the sound ♫ ♪
♫ ♪ As the sleeping motorsickles and Sunday Mornin' comin' down♫ ♪


Huck picked a four-leaf clover for luck.


A couple more creative shots.








Back to the RV and trailer and back to Des Moines. It's kind of weird to look back and see a mirror looking out the front.


The mantel at Di and Terry's house kept staring at me.


I had to spread all my camping gear in the front yard to try and dry it out. Evidently, you should Scotch Guard your tent every once in awhile. Di washed and dried all my clothes, too. It was so nice to sleep in a dry bed. I had hoped to make it all the way home in one shot Sunday, but after sleeping in a wet bed that many nights, I was not up to the full 850 miles in one day. I did a similar run after Shovelfest Tennesee, but I felt a lot more fresh that day.

Mid-West Mini-Fest Saturday Part 11

Kevin started yawning.


Len started resting his eyes.


I figured I would get a decent picture with Columbus. I think all the years that we have known each other and we didn't have one picture together.


The crowd had thinned out enough to get a good shot of Mark and his Dad's bikes.


This is the speedo plate that I got put together for Mark several years ago.


Only the hardy souls are still up now.


And then even they called it a night in the early morning hours.

Mid-West Mini-Fest Saturday Part 10

Jeff decided to help with the overflowing beer can can.


HULK SMASH!!


Hold my beer, watch this.


"Here's to you, brother!"




"Cheers!"


"Oh hey, that's a real spiffy koozie."


"Man, I got to get me one of them koozies."

Mid-West Mini-Fest Saturday Part 9

I think these are creative shot filters that made Beth's bike pop just a bit more.








And then it was night time.