83 500 Xc Crank Bearings

I'm getting ready to fit the cases back together on my 500XC. I've not done one of these before and when I fit the crank bearings in the hot cases the manual says the flanges should be mounted so the bearings are in the right position.
The right hand flange with the seal has a gasket under it, should this be in place when I drop the bearings in?
Measuring it up I think not, plus the gasket will get cooked. Any advice would be welcome.

I just bolt the seal housing in place. Fit the bearings, then remove the housing to fit the gasket and seal.
Done several crank cases without issue.

Ditto!!

Thanks, that's what I'll do

So I got some time, and started to put the motor together. Nice and easy. Then once it was assembled I checked the transmission, I changed the 4th and 5/6 gears on the clutch shaft. Shifts fine. Then I noticed the crank wont spin! WTF!! So start rooting around and see the crank I touching the inside of the right case. A little further investigation and I see the crank bearings in the left case are not touching the plate by about 2mm. I thought I heard them touch down when I dropped them in!! Apparently not. So apart she comes for a reheat and tap to touch the plate. An inspection of the crank shows a light rub mark, though the tuning is not lost. Just a refresher..... MAKE SURE THE BEARINGS ARE ALL THE WAY HOME BEFORE YOU ASSEMBLE THE MOTOR! Lesson learned.
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engines looking good...those "mangle" type installation tools work really smooth.

If you push both bearings outward to those plate things the bearing will not be tight to the crank somewhere. I never had a manual when I started with these. I put the drive side bearing tight to the plate, the bearings tight to the crank and the ignition bearing where it ends up. Rod sure seems be centered. Apparently not the correct way but if you get the thing together with no side loads on the bearings things spin like one would like.

Pretty sure I did a thread on my technique years back. Last one I filled a used ignition side bearing with epoxy and ground on the outside so it was no longer a press fit. Put the cases together, put shims between that and the plate, then pressed bearing in against the shim stack. Then pull from both sides and crank spun nice. did not rub. Probably oversized shim and plate put tight to that.

One can also put the cases together without the crank to see if you like how the transmission works.

Just another thing to check for free spinning crank after pulling crank to igntion side, just pull crank back again from left side to center. Now I added another step on my builds ! I go ahead and bolt on the engine mounting plates
on the front mounts and torque the bolts to spec. You might be surprised to find even more binding. Add this step for double checking for any bind. I always find my crank centered when pulled back
again to the left side. Your main seal will also like this for its long term health.