Relieving Valve Pressure

Remove at least one sparkplug from each cylinder. Put painter’s tape over the holes, to prevent dirt infiltration.

Remove and store the timing cover from the engine’s left-side. Tip: The troublesome lower bolt, hidden behind the kickstand switch, can be removed with a long, ball-end, hex wrench. I use a pair of pliers on the hex wrench to break the bolt loose; then I switch to a smaller size hex wrench to more easily unscrew the bolt. See photo below.

Now, remove the timing mark access screw and the crankshaft end-cover screw (and rubber bumper). Then use a socket wrench to rotate the engine (counterclockwise) so that the timing marks for TDC can be viewed in the access hole. See the service manual for details.

Tip: I put a long, plastic drinking straw into a sparkplug hole for each cylinder so I could watch the straws rise and fall with the pistons. Then, I just watched the rockers move in concert with the straws. If the straws were high, and the valves were closed when the TDC marks aligned, I knew I had the right spot. If not, I just rotated the shaft 360* (per the manual), and checked again.

This will relieve valve train tension, and allow you to remove rockers and rocker-bases without potential damage to bolt-hole threads. Be sure you replace the timing mark access screw and the crankshaft end-cover screw when finished.

Remove the rocker covers. Be careful not to distort or damage the thin, black, metal gasket.

Tip: I mostly used a 5mm, long-reach, ball end, hex wrench for this, as space is very tight. Mr. Tidy has some good advice on this in his article, Valve Adjustment in this website.

Carefully remove the gasket and alignment dowels. Store all parts.

Gasket Care Tip 1: Be careful with the rocker cover and rocker base gaskets. They are very thin metal with a black coating. They can be re-used unless bent, distorted, or the coating is coming off.

Gasket Care Tip 2: Other gaskets won't generally come out without tearing or distorting. Do not count on reusing them. Play it safe and replace them. I tried to save a few dollars and reused one paper type gasket, and several copper type washer-gaskets. They nearly all leaked.

Dowel Organization Tip: I put all alignment dowels in one zip-lock sandwich bag. There are only about four general sizes, and they are easily distinguished.

Dowel Care Tip 1: Normally, caution is advised, to ensure alignment dowels do not fall inside the engine as you remove engine cases and covers. However, if the entire engine is being disassembled, it doesn't matter much.

Dowel Care Tip 2: In his article, Dowel Pin Etiquette, Keeping Track of Them (in this website) Mr. Tidy recommends ‘gluing’ the dowels in with two drops of thread-lock. I disagree with this practice unless you plan to disassemble your engine often. Amazingly, dowels can rust, making it more difficult to separate cases and covers. Although I don't ride in the rain, and garage my bike, a few of my dowels had become so rusted, they had to be destroyed to remove them. Several others were beginning to get stuck as well. I replaced all such dowels.

Upon reassembly, I put a sticky film of assembly lube on each dowel to keep it in place, as well as lubricated. Personally, I would prefer to be cautious of dowels when removing engine cases and covers, knowing that in the meantime, they are staying in excellent condition inside my engine.

Case Removal Tip: Covers, cases, and heads can be stubborn in getting them off. Take your time. Use the 'pull-tabs' located on each cover. These are small outcroppings made for grabbing. Try to wiggle the cover--left-side, right-side, top, and bottom--a little at a time. Do not pry against the gasket surfaces, except carefully with a soft, plastic or wood tool--and only when necessary. Try tapping against the pull-tabs with a dead-blow hammer or rubber mallet. Just be careful of damage to the engine's paint, unless you plan to re-paint or powdercoat. No matter what: Do not force; do not damage gasket surfaces; do not break anything.

If your engine is a 2003 or earlier, remove the chrome valve cover spacer. Again, be careful not to distort or damage the thin metal gasket. Remove the gasket and alignment dowels. Store all parts. Note: Newer engines do not have this piece.

If you will be installing new pushrods, don't worry about keeping track of the old ones. Go ahead and remove the rocker bases and the pushrods.

If you will be reusing your pushrods, stuff a small rag or rubber glove down the tube, between the pushrods. This way, you can keep them from getting mixed up before you can remove and label each one. Loosen the bolts holding the rocker bases to the heads.

Tip: Do not loosen the rocker shaft retainer bolts (see photo above).

Then, loosen the rocker bases enough that the pushrods can be removed, one at a time. As you remove each pushrod, wrap a piece of blue masking tape around it, and mark the tape pieces (Intake/Exhaust, and Front/Rear, as each one corresponds). Also indicate which end goes up.

Now, remove the bolts that secure the rocker bases. As you next remove the rocker bases, hold down the pushrod tubes from coming out. They are only held in by rubber oil seals--top and bottom, but the seal can be tight. By keeping them in place, you can keep them from falling out and damaging chrome.

Carefully remove the rocker bases' gaskets and alignment dowels. Store all parts.

Once the rocker bases are off, pull up, rock, and work out the chrome pushrod tubes. The rubber oil-seals can create a suction-like feeling, so work carefully, and be prepared for the rubber to suddenly 'let go'.

Store these parts.