What're these plastic bits found in 78 R100S sump?

[Ken in Oklahoma]

Well, I'm going fishing then.

Yes, at long last your work is done. You deserve the relief.

I'm glad I didn't know anything to talk about, if for no other reason than saving money on the fishing gear, the license, and the time wasted. Well, I guess it's not wasted. In fact you might be heading for a lot of fun. There might even be some attractive women there to admire you in your nifty fishing gear.

Damn! Now I wish I'd known something.


Ken, bored at home in Oklahoma

[Garnet]

[Chuey]

Hmmm. Those leaves look like Poison Oak leaves. That could get uncomfortable for Mr. Show Off.

Chuey

[Chuey]

I'm just throwing this out there. I doubt it is what you found but it may spark an idea for you.

The small segments made me think of the cap of an oil bottle. I'm not sure if you guys have the same style over there but I'm thinking the particles could have been accidentally introduced at the time of an oil change.

Chuey

[Deleted User 287]

I'm just throwing this out there. I doubt it is what you found but it may spark an idea for you.

The small segments made me think of the cap of an oil bottle. I'm not sure if you guys have the same style over there but I'm thinking the particles could have been accidentally introduced at the time of an oil change.

Chuey

But there are so many! Someone would have had to be really pissed at someone and do it intentionally.

I recommend a trip to your local police crime lab, and they can run them through their mass spectrometer! Find out just what we are dealing with, here.

[b01234]

Attempting to remove a failed breather valve several pieces of the valve went down into the breather channel. Does anyone have any knowledge as to where the channel would drop anything that was in it? The crank case, the oil pan? I have not started the bike and cannot find any diagrams of the breather channel. Many thanks for any help.

[Brickboy]

I doubt you'll solve that. If it helps to allay your worries my wife once found an intact, fresh hen's egg, illegibly date stamped, in a bag of garden compost we bought from our local garden centre.

I can't tell you how many hours of wondering went into that, and emails convincing the suppliers we hadn't made it up. It was never able to be explained.

[Rob Frankham]

Hello !
Before the reed valve type ventilation system, of what material was the valve made ?
If it was destructed for one reason or another, as it breathe the motor's internal it could be easy for a bit to drop into the sump.
I'm, too, puzzled.

Spring steel for the reed valve... but... the earlier disc valve (which would have been fitted to a '78 I think) is black fibre resinforced plastic. Closer but I think that would have been fairly obvious.

Rob

[Rob Frankham]

The material bits are made of remind me of an electrical 'bush' that was on bevel drive Ducatis. well, I'm not sure if it was called a bush but that's what i'll call it for now). It was an electrical bush that screwed into an outer cover through which the alternator wiring passed. The bush held a rubber sleeve that compressed when it was tightened thereby not allowing any oil to pass. It's just that, from memory, that 'bush' was made of roughly like material.

An old stem seal? hmm... we did find at least one still on a valve. I'm not sure if there was another. I'll have to ask Glyn.

But: the bits are a hard PLASTIC they are definitely NOT RUBBER.

And some have been moulded into certain shapes/forms...

It's got me buggered... At this stage we'll just be reassembling and wondering...

Airhead engines were never fitted with valve stem seals from the factory but some owners saw fit to add them...

Rob