Triumph...building and screwing up

Last night I put the engine into my chopper. I probably should have waited until I had a set of helping hands to assist me, but I wanted to move forward. The engine weighs a hair over 125 pounds. I managed to lighten it a little by not installing the outer transmission case and the primary drive.

There she is. LaCucaracha has her engine.

Oil tank installed, gas tank is on, but needs another mount sorted out. Red sparkles pretty much rule.

The rocker boxes had to come off to fit the motor. Which led to some drama (we'll get to that in a minute).

I like 'em skinny. That tire is only a 130.

On the lower left is the Organ Donor. The irony of giving that bike that name will stick with me for a long time. Once LaCucaracha is off the table, I will begin tearing it down.

Every now and then, you just plain mess up. This is no minor screw up by any stretch. When putting the rocker boxes back on the engine, one of the bolts was going in a little tight. Since they had already been in and the threads chased with a tap, I thought nothing of it. I should have stopped. Now I need to get that broken screw out. We'll work on that later today.