Hidalgo's Engine Rebuild

Engine, exhaust & cooling mods or problems. If it has to do with cooling, anything within the crank case, or exhaust, it goes here.
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bikerbill
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:07 pm
I ride: 1997 Vulcan 500LTD named Hidalgo

Hidalgo's Engine Rebuild

Postby bikerbill » Sat Sep 16, 2023 5:02 pm

This is the first post of this thread where I will be chronicling the rebuilding of Hidalgo's original engine.

A quick history:
Starting in late 2008 I began a complete restoration of the motorcycle that would eventually become known as Hidalgo. At that time she had 108,000 miles on her and I had flogged her hard. Her engine was drinking oil at the rate of 1qt per 800 miles. This was due to the damaged pod air filters that were installed at the time. Also the transmission 6th gear was making a bad noise. I had also made a promise to myself that if the bike ever reached 100,000 miles I would give it a complete teardown, cleanup, and reassembly.

During that time I rebuilt the engine, powder coated the frame, and got it ready for the next 100,000 miles. She was back on the road in August 2009.

Fast forward to early 2019. Hidalgo has a stablemate and is jealous that it is getting attention. I had earlier picked up a complete engine for use in either Hidalgo or the stablemate should the need arise. At 204,000 miles I decided that it was time for Hidalgo to get this engine. I did the swap and put her original engine into storage to rebuild for later reinstallation, hopefully around 300,000 miles.

Hidalgo currently has 264,000 miles on her odometer. But due to transmission and valvetrain issues with this 'new' engine I have decided to prep her original engine early should the need to swap it back occur before 300k miles.

Pics of her original engine 'fresh' from storage:
Attachments
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--
'Biker' Bill
'97 EN500LTD 'Hidalgo'
281,000+ miles so far
VROC #3833
IBA #635

SlipStreamer Enterprise II, Vista Cruise,
Cobra Spots, Drifter solo seat,
Pro-Tac backrest, ScottOiler,
F&S luggage rack, LED lights,
4-gal AUX fuel tank

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Triangles
Site Admin
Posts: 820
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:35 pm
I ride: '94 Black Cherry Vulcan 500, '06 Candyfire Red Vulcan 500 LTD
Location: Toledo Ohio
Contact:

Re: Hidalgo's Engine Rebuild

Postby Triangles » Fri Jun 07, 2024 8:54 pm

Made any progress?
ImageImage

User avatar
bikerbill
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:07 pm
I ride: 1997 Vulcan 500LTD named Hidalgo

Re: Hidalgo's Engine Rebuild

Postby bikerbill » Fri Jul 19, 2024 7:05 am

Yep.

Almost Ready 4-small.jpeg
Almost Ready 4-small.jpeg (272.54 KiB) Viewed 632 times


I finished it in late November.
There were no major surprises except for worn intake valves.
Uh-oh intake valve.jpg
Uh-oh intake valve.jpg (51.17 KiB) Viewed 632 times


The current engine has been behaving itself so I'll keep it in there for now.

PS: I hope that I am making the right decision to keep the current motor installed as I have a trip to Washington state planned for next month.
--
'Biker' Bill
'97 EN500LTD 'Hidalgo'
281,000+ miles so far
VROC #3833
IBA #635

SlipStreamer Enterprise II, Vista Cruise,
Cobra Spots, Drifter solo seat,
Pro-Tac backrest, ScottOiler,
F&S luggage rack, LED lights,
4-gal AUX fuel tank

User avatar
bikerbill
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:07 pm
I ride: 1997 Vulcan 500LTD named Hidalgo

Re: Hidalgo's Engine Rebuild

Postby bikerbill » Sun Sep 01, 2024 7:58 am

I'm back from the Washington trip. I DID install this engine just three weeks before heading out due to a misdiagnosed electrical issue. (I didn't have to install the engine but did.) The engine did great except for a coolant leak and a major carburetor issue.
--
'Biker' Bill
'97 EN500LTD 'Hidalgo'
281,000+ miles so far
VROC #3833
IBA #635

SlipStreamer Enterprise II, Vista Cruise,
Cobra Spots, Drifter solo seat,
Pro-Tac backrest, ScottOiler,
F&S luggage rack, LED lights,
4-gal AUX fuel tank


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