IT'S ALIVE!
I spent the day with a couple friends (MWeissen and Jeff Allen) in a heated garage putting the YZF back together. It started right up and ran like a top at the end of the day :yeehaw:
Thanks for the help guys!
I received my head back from Eric Gorr last week, along with all the parts I would need to reassemble the top end. I was told that the head was still in good shape and only required some shim changes on a couple valves. Pretty remarkable after three full seasons of trailriding. They cleaned the head up and made it look so nice I almost hated to button it back up. Great job and great service!
The re-assembly job went very smoothly except for the oil rings on the new Wiseco piston. The three of us fiddled with it for quite awhile trying to get the two wiper rings and the expander to fit in the groove. Very frustrating. After that, the rest of the engine went together without a hitch and when it was done it fired right up.
Thanks to everyone for all the advice, and think spring!