Idiot v. Motorbikes, Rounds 3, 4, and 5

[melville]

I had a great trip to Montana back in June. Edgar ran like a champ for well over 2000 miles and the oil level only dropped 1/4 qt over that distance. There was epic geology:





Rural decay:



And hot springs. This one was neck deep if you were kneeling or there were rocks to sit on. A perfect 99 deg F:



Back home and on my second local big day ride I found an oil leak. Annoyed. It lost as much oil in about 200 miles as it had in the previous 2000.

Now I did have one instance of a slipping clutch on the trip and one more on the day ride, where the motor suddenly spun up from 5K to 6500 rpm while doing 5th gear passes into the wind. A wee spot of throttle modulation each time and the pass was completed. No further trouble, but clearly something going on. So it looks like I'll finally see the inside of the clutch on this one. Parts are ordered.

Now I had a look and the leak seemed concentrated on the left side and disassembly seems to confirm that:



Note that it's totally dry and dusty from behind the flywheel, which was an area of concern. I'll probably leave the flywheel in place. I've learned not to disturb seals that are working, but I will have a main seal and oil pump o-ring in stock just in case.

Here's the thing--the leak seems to be coming from the galley plug, where the oil has cleared the dust off. Is that a threaded plug? Is it a case of remove, clean, and reseal? How M-F tight should it go back in?

[gspd]

Start it with the trans out. You'll be able to clearly see if that is indeed your major (and only) leak.

[melville]

Start it with the trans out. You'll be able to clearly see if that is indeed your major (and only) leak.

Not the main seal or oil pump. Everything dry but dusty back there. I'll be cleaning stuff up, replacing the clutch disc and spring, and resealing the galley plug.

I got the clutch bits off today. Disc about 1/2 worn, spring either in spec or a little sacked out. No oil on the parts and no apparent heat damage to the slippy/grippy bits.

[Rob Frankham]

Here's the thing--the leak seems to be coming from the galley plug, where the oil has cleared the dust off. Is that a threaded plug? Is it a case of remove, clean, and reseal? How M-F tight should it go back in?

Yes, the signs suggest a leak from the gallery plug and it is threaded. I would suggest removing it and refitting with thread seal. I might also be inclined to check oil pressures in case the pressure limiting valve is sticking as there is a possibility that excessove oil pressure may call this (and/or other) problems. Should be possible to monitor it when it is all assembled to make sure you've fixed it.

Rob

[melville]

The last critical parts arrived yesterday. The galley plug cleaned up just fine and was reinstalled with sealant.

Clutch disc and spring replaced. The pressure plate and pressure ring cleaned up just fine.

New seal on the shifter and a new air filter element while things were apart.

Once reassembled, I fired it up on the centerstand and watched for any bad behavior. Nope!

I got into my gear and created an errand in the next town. No leaks, and Edgar is running oh so well. The old spring had definitely weakened. The clutch lever is noticeably heavier in use now.

When I got home, I changed the oil as it had in fact been 3000+ miles since the last change. Should be all set for a while, to possibly include traveling for more pillion auditions.

[melville]

I've been having too much fun riding this summer and have only been picking at the Elsa project for an hour or so every couple days. What I've been doing is de-burring the snowflakes. BMW left a lot of casting marks in the wheels and I've been smoothing them out. Things like this:



Become this with a bit of sanding:



And then there's the parting line on every spoke. I found it was easier to make tools than to use anything else I had on hand:



I have a few different shapes like that. A wooden paint stirrer is also great for getting into the acute corners. This is where it's going:



Just knocked down enough that there won't be a 'fin' poking out of the powdercoat. These should make it to the powdercoaters in the next couple weeks. Then to repack the hubs and get the slightly used tires mounted.

[Kurt in S.A.]

Hopefully you're not putting any small cracks into the spokes. The direction you're smoothing things lines up with the stresses that the rim will see in use and the direction that cracks will want to grow.

Kurt

[melville]

Part of what I'm doing here is finding new vendors here in New melvilleville. Back in Old melvilleville there was just the one powdercoater. They did great work and even though I was in there once a year at most I was always greeted by name by the lovely gal who took in the work.

So here I tried the shop that was furthest away, 20ish miles, and it's just the one guy running the shop. He looked at the front wheel as I brought it in and said, "I've got powder to match that finish!" He took me back into the shop and showed me the Rally wheels on his AMX (!!!!) and said "Just like that!" So it's a slightly pebbly finish and I'm very happy with the results. Here's what came out of it:





For comparison, here's what I got done in Old melvilleville on Edgar, sadly after a bird strike yesterday:



So please look past the feathers of the poor departed birb and compare for the results of the deburring I've done on this set.

Next steps are rebuilding the hubs and getting the bearing preload right. This will free up the spoked wheels to be returned to Ernst, my naked R75/6.

[jackonz]

I had a great trip to Montana back in June. Edgar ran like a champ for well over 2000 miles and the oil level only dropped 1/4 qt over that distance. There was epic geology:





Rural decay:



And hot springs. This one was neck deep if you were kneeling or there were rocks to sit on. A perfect 99 deg F:



Back home and on my second local big day ride I found an oil leak. Annoyed. It lost as much oil in about 200 miles as it had in the previous 2000.

Now I did have one instance of a slipping clutch on the trip and one more on the day ride, where the motor suddenly spun up from 5K to 6500 rpm while doing 5th gear passes into the wind. A wee spot of throttle modulation each time and the pass was completed. No further trouble, but clearly something going on. So it looks like I'll finally see the inside of the clutch on this one. Parts are ordered.

Now I had a look and the leak seemed concentrated on the left side and disassembly seems to confirm that:



Note that it's totally dry and dusty from behind the flywheel, which was an area of concern. I'll probably leave the flywheel in place. I've learned not to disturb seals that are working, but I will have a main seal and oil pump o-ring in stock just in case.

Here's the thing--the leak seems to be coming from the galley plug, where the oil has cleared the dust off. Is that a threaded plug? Is it a case of remove, clean, and reseal? How M-F tight should it go back in?

Re the oil leak following a rebuild on my R80/7 my clutch looked much the same, replace the main seal and pump O ring but leaking again, now wondering if my bike has the same issue, had to replace the friction plate as well as it was badly oil contaminated.

[melville]

I had a great trip to Montana back in June. Edgar ran like a champ for well over 2000 miles and the oil level only dropped 1/4 qt over that distance. There was epic geology:





Rural decay:



And hot springs. This one was neck deep if you were kneeling or there were rocks to sit on. A perfect 99 deg F:



Back home and on my second local big day ride I found an oil leak. Annoyed. It lost as much oil in about 200 miles as it had in the previous 2000.

Now I did have one instance of a slipping clutch on the trip and one more on the day ride, where the motor suddenly spun up from 5K to 6500 rpm while doing 5th gear passes into the wind. A wee spot of throttle modulation each time and the pass was completed. No further trouble, but clearly something going on. So it looks like I'll finally see the inside of the clutch on this one. Parts are ordered.

Now I had a look and the leak seemed concentrated on the left side and disassembly seems to confirm that:



Note that it's totally dry and dusty from behind the flywheel, which was an area of concern. I'll probably leave the flywheel in place. I've learned not to disturb seals that are working, but I will have a main seal and oil pump o-ring in stock just in case.

Here's the thing--the leak seems to be coming from the galley plug, where the oil has cleared the dust off. Is that a threaded plug? Is it a case of remove, clean, and reseal? How M-F tight should it go back in?

Re the oil leak following a rebuild on my R80/7 my clutch looked much the same, replace the main seal and pump O ring but leaking again, now wondering if my bike has the same issue, had to replace the friction plate as well as it was badly oil contaminated.

No oil on the clutch so I left the main seal and oil pump o-ring alone. The clutch spring had sacked out a bit after 45 years. With the new spring, effort at the lever is a bit higher and I've done some 5th gear full throttle passes with no slippage whatsoever.