pre 89 motor

[BluebyNight]

Is it worth doing an AF build with a pre 89 motor? Ive been wanting to get moving on this project for a while and it looks like I have a line on an 87 or 88 500 engine ( the seller doesn't know what year the bike was). I don't have an AF frame yet. My plan was to get the motor 1st.

[Kuma]

Should be fine, just plan to get a new clutch side case housing the water pump, they can still be had for around $200

[BluebyNight]

Ok. The guy is asking 350.00 for it and it supposedly has the pipe and carb. Don't know yet what else there is. Ive been having trouble meeting up with him on my weird schedule and he is a bit of a flake. I'll assume the whole thing needs rebuilt but with a new clutch case that will def add a bunch. Ive talked to another guy that has a 95' motor but both cases are cracked

[Roostius_Maximus]

fitting the 1989+ pipe on 1985-88 cylinders gets very tight by the reed. The carb boot can also be an issue.

[BluebyNight]

Yeah that was one of my concerns from reading some of the older posts. Allthough it seems like guys have had success with it . Roostus> from a performance standpoint what do you think of the 87-88s compared to the later engines?

[Roostius_Maximus]

87 is wide trans, same porting, same ignition, same head. They have more compression and less crankcase compression than the newer engines and breathe the boost port a little better.
1988 has the same sprocket splines as a '14

It really depends on what you want to do with the bike.
Having said that, the 1989-01 is a better platform cost and fitment wise. I forgot to mention it earlier but the rear bushings are smaller in 1985-88 models too.