Removing the engine made easy (er)

[mike the bike]

After finding the swarf that scored my cam journals, I decided to whip the engine out, split the crankcases and make sure all is well.  While I'm at it I may as well have some bits, like engine mountings, powder coated.
I noticed some people struggle with removing engines, tipping the bike over, scratching the paint etc, doing their back in, chipping their nails,  so I'm sharing my knowledge and experience.

Before you remove the brake pedal,  mark it to make alignment easier.

Firstly,  make a table the same height as the frame tubes,  287mm if I remember correctly,  but yours might be different because of the suspension so measure it.  I used some offcuts of worktop.

Put the table alongside the frame on the starboard side.

Jack up the engine and put some sticks under it,  this will allow the engine to slide over to the table and clear the mounting lugs.

Sit astride the bike and slide the engine over to the table.

As Mr Haynes often says, refitting is the reverse of stripping.

[Laverda Dave]

You make it look so easy Mike, I could have done with this tip last August when I struggled on my own to fit the engine 
If Magpie was still on TV you could have sent this in to be read out by the lovely Jenny Hanley  and you would have got a 6 for gold badge 

[mike the bike]

Not so, once the breather cover is removed there's enough room.  If the head had got to removed anyway then doing it while it's still in the frame does make the lump a bit more manageable

[mike the bike]

You're joking.  Sump and strainer removed, also the oil filter.

[mike the bike]

I used a short piece of wood between the jack and the front end of the sump mating surface. 
I think the dot is missing from the brake pedal shaft - or it's too indistinct to see.  A felt pen mark removes the guesswork.