I am considerring shipping my ds650 engine out to get a Team-Pami 703 kit in it. Im worried about the cost of shipping. Do any of you know the weight of the engine. Any tips on packing it, and is it very difficult to take out/put back in. I have aquantences that are knoledgeable about small engines. (motorcycles) and would rather try to do it on my own as apposed to paying $80 an hour for a shop to do it.

 

Since I have a lot of carpentry tools, I used a piece of 3/4" plywood as a bottom and made a crate out of 1/4" underlayment [plywood] scraps. I put some heavy styrofoam [the 3/4" stuff that is used around foundations not the white stuff that breaks into a million little *****] under the engine and then used pipe strap [used by plumber to attach pipes to walls and floors. it is a metal strip that comes in a roll. the rolled up metal strip is about 1" wide and has holes punched in it for fasteners. a roll of about 15 feet may be a couple bucks at any hardware store] and drywall screws to screw the engine down to the plywood. an atc 200 engine with the crate weighs about 85 lbs. You will have to check on the weight restrictions by your shipper. I think UPS has a limit of 120lbs. I would think your engine is close to that.

 

I don't believe the 703cc kit requires boring the case like the 760cc kit. you might even be able to install the kit without removing the engine, just removing some engine mounts and countershaft sprocket to drop/tilt the motor down a bit.

 

Cost for shipping the DS engine will run about $40 to $70 for UPS ground. Engine weight on those is in the 90lb range. Haven't weighed one separately, but the Raptor is about 85lb, so i'm guessing!

The wooden box is a good idea, just make sure to mount the engine so it doesn't sit direcly on any surface. Give it at least 2" of padding all the way around. This way a drop or hit doesn't transfer directly into the engine.

Basically, shipping companies tell you to pack things to withstand a 3' fall. Imagine pushing it off your kitchen counter. It has to be able to take that.

If you'd like more suggestions, check out this site:

http://www.powroll.com/shipping_instructions.htm

This is general information about packaging parts to ship.

Hope it helps you out.

 

thanks a lot for the info guys