Need experience: Broken valve cover bolt removal/camshaft bearing removal

[macroars]

As I told you a couple of weeks ago, I broke one of the valve cover bolts. Now, my lady is to be found in my garage, and I am up to get her repaired - but:

The bolt snapped about 1/8" into the hole, and the surface is not flat. This makes it hard to use the "pig-dick" to remove the bolt while in the bike. My neighbour suggest that I remove the camshaft bearing (the one with two bolts), and he solves the problem at his machine shop by drilling out the 6mm bolt with a 5mm drill bit. But here comes the problem:

The bearing bolts are stuck far far beyond what could be expected. In fact I turned them about 1 degree each, and they were strange to turn.

I wonder whether this seems like a quite normal Vision thing, or everything down there is a mess that should be left untouched.

Is it a solution to remove the cylinder head?

Should I put the valve cover back on, use three bolts and some kind of workaround?

Thanx in advance - I know help will come - this is a fantastic community!

[Night Vision]

personally, I would try the three bolts and liberal amounts of Yamabond first....

[others can correct if I'm wrong, but...] you only need to prevent the oil slinging around in there from leaking out of the valve cover gasket... there is the vent hose back into the airbox to relieve any pressure under the cover. 

[Rick G]

When you speak of the bolts as strange to turn. This makes me wonder if the bolts were over tightened and are pulling th threads. If so , some sort of thread replacement may be in order , perhaps like a helicoil.

[Coil Coyle]

The bearing bolts are stuck far far beyond what could be expected. In fact I turned them about 1 degree each, and they were strange to turn.

Mac, If there is not an obvious corrosion problem with the cam bolts perhaps the bolts were installed with a resin like "Loctite" The really firm resins can pull threads from aluminum. The only relief for these stiff holding resins is to bake the head to 350F.

The worry with 3 bolts is that the cam bearing oil supply hole is plugged with the rubber caps. These will have hydraulic pressure pushing the cam cover up. Watch for lifting and try the yamabond with 3 bolts first.

$0.02
;)
Coil