The XS Triple Sidecar - engine swaps part 3 or why I always take the oilpan off

The longer you work on bikes and cars the more likely you are to develop some habits, one of mine is to always pull off the oilpan on bikes that have been parked up longer, because at the very least you end up cleaning out lots of old schmoo, which can't be too bad in its own right. Every now and then the very same procedure just proves itself though.

If you can remember every single bolt and where it goes... well, congratulations, I can't and these little pieces of card board really come in handy when literally every single bolt is a different length. 

 Oilpan off and just as I suspected: lots of schmoo and...

... more than just schmoo

Ally debris trapped inside the oilpump mesh. Nothing dramatic, but it shows (without opening the right side engine cover) that I have to plan for a primary chain swap in the not too distant future.

Half-cleaned oilfilter-housing

Spotless oilpan. 

And the whole engine assembled again with Dirko-HT RTV as I seemingly only bought a top-end gasket kit and not a complete one! (It's fine if you use it sparingly.)

I guess you already get bored by this picture, but I promise: This is the last (planned) engine swap in a while on the XS!

My mate Gregory and me are actually getting a bit good at this and have perfected our technique: fifteen minutes for the engine in and out is probably even faster than what Yamaha expects their professionals to get it done in. In other news: three cans of brake cleaner were required to get the internals into their new found state of shinyness!