Soliciting Honda 100/125 engine removal help

[iatethepeach]

I'm having trouble getting the motor out of the XL100. I can wiggle it a bit at each mount point, but it feels like something's catching on the rear, or the lower-rear mount points are pinching the case, preventing it from sliding forward. The movement at the other points feels unrestricted. Does the step bar have to come off? It doesn't appear to interfere, and I think I have everything else disconnected, but probably I'm being an idiot. Any tips?

 

[SONICJK]

It's probably just squeezed in there,
Id take the head and push it back toward the seat area to free the backside of the engine and go from there.

You can lay it over on it's side on a blanket and it may be easier to deal with, but the engine only weight about 75 lbs lol

 

[iatethepeach]

The head swings up freely until the top back of the case contacts the frame, the motor rotating around that lower rear mount point.

I also tried giving the case a few gentle taps on the back with a mallet. It doesn't seem to budge in the forward direction.

Thanks for the laying-it-over tip, too. I though about that, but it feels like I'll have no trouble lifting the motor out once it's free of whatever it's snagged on.

 

[iatethepeach]

Got it!

The problem turned out to be the thick layer of structural sludge that had formed under the rear mount point. After I scraped that off, the motor slid out like a little baby. Taking a break and having a bite to eat, FTW.

 

[iatethepeach]

You can lay it over on it's side on a blanket and it may be easier to deal with, but the engine only weight about 75 lbs lol

It's amazing how little it weighs- 55 lbs according to my gf's bathroom scale, and that includes a quart of oil.