Gift horse - part 6

Alright, it's time to get in there, off with their heads!

First things first, as the valve cover is removed, the center nut comes out taking the stud and a chewed up thread with it; we're gonna need a helicoil:

Once under the cover though it looks ok:

And when you flip it over, it's really not that bad:

The cylinder bores look ok on both sides, while the piston tops understandably show considerable carbon deposits:

The left-hand head is in better shape:

And here's the right-hand one back from a good scrub. Good to go for now, at least to see if and how this engine will run:

The exhaust lockrings came off without having to resort to a cutting disc, which surprised me as I thought for sure these would have been seized solid. They'll go back on with some copper grease as a precaution.

The balance pipe and retaining clips are corroded, luckily we have some second-hand parts from an R100RS we can reuse:

This other balance pipe is looking good:

And the replacement pipe polished up really well.