PART THE LAST
Roddy, a fellow Métisse Interceptor owner, offered me the use of his very neat engine-lifting apparatus. Beautifully sculptured from aluminium alloy, his lifting bars bolt to the front and rear of the enormous motor, allowing a person on each side of the bike to raise and manoeuvre the lump out of the frame rather like a sedan chair. The usual recommendation from the owners’ forum is to lift the laid-down motorcycle from the engine, which sounded like a lot more effort.
Having wrapped the frame tubes with webbing tape for protection, there was no need to worry about bashing the expensive and vulnerable nickel plating during the fiddly manoeuvre of turning and raising the engine. Care is needed to ensure that the deep wet sump clears the bottom frame tubes. All went well – I'd already removed the gearbox and its four long mounting studs from the rear of the engine, the same studs which provide the fixing for the rear lifting handle.
The black and gummy right hand exhaust port was first to be investigated. The rocker cover was removed – more black goo and then the whole cylinder head (left and right cylinders and heads are separate on RE twins). Unsurprisingly a thick crust of carbon on the piston and in the combustion chamber indicated lots of oil burning. The black buildup on the inside face of the exhaust valve and
