On a snap ring, the sharp edge always goes on the side opposite the force... so on this ring the sharp edge would face out... away from the inner race you are trying to keep from walking out.

On the bearing bevel, sometimes there is a reason like a radius the race needs to clear. I don't think it matters at all on this bearing... it might be there to identify which way it was inserted. On a used bearing, best practice would be not to flip the race around the other way if the bearing was going to be reused.

Cold and rain has limited my shop time the past couple days so I've been going through my parts here in the house, comparing part numbers with parts diagrams and comparing new parts with my old ones. Found I was missing a couple of screws that hold bearing retainers on case bearings so ordered them. I think I have everything else I need for the engine but going to mock up complete reassembly (sans top end and Yamabond) sometime in the next few days just to make sure I have everything. Brought my tach and speedometer over to the house to see what kind of damage I could do to them. I spent an hour prying the crimp loose on the tach last night and cleaned everything up. It cleaned up better than I'd expected so probably not going to get replacement dial face for it. Trying to keep expenses down where I can. I didn't spare any expense on the engine and bought all new bearings and seals and anything else that looked questionable. But doing so has me close to reaching what I had thought the entire rebuild would cost. So going to be a little less particular on cosmetics and things that don't effect the actual operation of the bike from here on out and as nice as pristine gauge faces would be I don't think using the old ones will have any effect on how big my smile is as I'm riding my favorite bike again..

If you haven't already, check with DEET on face decals if you decide to go ahead.... the ones for sale elsewhere are often not correct and often overpriced.

Took the top off the speedometer today and cleaned it up but it didn't turn out nearly as well as the tach did. Odd that there's that much difference in the two gauges. Maybe one had been replaced sometime in the past, dunno. I put them back together but haven't crimped the edges back down yet since I may yet decide to get new faces for them. Plenty of time to figure that out though.
Just dawned on me today that I don't have a single cylinder washer, not a one. I looked for them online and finally found them but the supplier only had two which wouldn't be of much help at all, plus not to crazy about the price. Began to wonder what was so special about them and whether or not I could substitute simple flat and or lock washers. After racking my brain trying to figure out how I could have lost all six of them I found a pic of what one actually looks like. Very strange looking washer and I'm not sure of the purpose of the knurled/ridged outside edge and the beveled top side. Anyone know why they're like that? Anyway. after seeing that knurled edge I'm thinking that possibly they are stuck at bottom of the holes in the cylinder. It hasn't come back from machining yet so I can't look to see if they're in there but I'm crossing my fingers that they are. Maybe I'll get lucky. If they aren't there , is there any reason I can't substitute normal washers for them?

They usually are stuck in the cylinder. If you are missing any, I'd use original.

Good to know that it's normal for them to stick in the cylinder. Hopefully that's where mine have been hiding all this time and that they survived the trip to Minnesota and back. If not I'll replace them with original if I can find them for a reasonable price. Otherwise I may have no choice but to substitute standard washers and see what happens. Can't really see any reason why that wouldn't work but who knows? I'm very curious as to the reasoning behind their odd shape.

Mark is right, the hard steel washers stuck in the soft Aluminum Zylinder head. I was searching mine the same as you do some month ago. Nice thread, i like the way you let us watch your progress. Maybe one comment on your rear shock rebuild: i would go to a chrome shop to as for rechroming the springs. Even the look better now, the OEM chrome is poor.Mine were about 30 USD rechromed and with a little attention, the will never rust again.

Air filter;
I know that some folks recommend the UNI and some recommend the K&N but I haven't seen any posts that mention the OEM filter. Partzilla shows them in stock and they are similar in price to the UNIs. I'm getting ready to order a filter and thinking I'd go with the OEM since apparently it's available but wanted to see what others here thought first. The K&N is considerably more expensive and haven't read anything that would warrant the extra $. Thanks

I highly recommend the OEM when available. That's what I use.

I'm also opposed to modern sticky "filter oils" with the exception of the Twin Air oil which works great at trapping dirt and doesn't restrict flow... lots of running issues are caused by aftermarket filters and oils.

Thanks Mark, gonna order one right now.