R80/7 + a newb = a long road to cafe

OK! had some fun today:) I did some thinking and realized that I want to get the bike running again, and that means a gas tank. so i decided to put things back together and do the por15 strip and re-line a little later. On my way home from work, I stopped at ACE and picked up a bigger gas tank, filters, nuts, and some new funnels:)



my filter station! new 5 gallon tank (you can see the little tank that was insufficient to hold all the gas next to it), and a paint filter + a coffee filter in the funnel (the funnel has a built in filter too!)



Some of the liner that came out. looking into the tank there were bigger pieces moving around that didn't fit up my siphon, or later out the petcock hole.



The liner coming out of the petcock hole.



the soon to be rebuilt petcocks!

after I got the gas out and petcocks out, i dumped 24 nuts into the tank (after verifying they would fit out the petcock hole!) and swished them around trying to just knock out the LOOSE liner. well, it didn't work very well and damn was it hard to get all the nuts out! (Thanks Renner for the tip of counting them ), but i put some gas back in and swished again and filtered again, and I guess I have most of the small loose particles out.



this is down through the fill hole, you can kind of see the typical state of the liner. the bottom i could see with a flashlight was much worse.

then I rebuilt the petcocks:)


I found THIS helpful post, and just so happened to have a wrench similar to that that i ground down a bit to fit the cap slots, and after that it was just cleaning parts and replacing the few consumables.

lastly, I put the petcocks back on and put my filtered gas back in the tank



no leaks! boom baby! tomorrow I'm going to put the tank back on and fire the bike back up:) maybe go for a little ride to test all my handiwork so far.

thanks all!
Spencer

Next parts order get a pair of these:

16 12 2 307 112 tank fuel filter socks

Amazing amount of crud rattled loose from the tank, no?

For the recoating, take the tank by ACE and get a pair of stoppers (rubber or cork) to fit the stopcock threaded nipples, and also one to fit the filler opening. Or rather, put them on the list-to-get...

10-4 on the filter socks - those go over the tubes coming out of the petcock, correct? already got rubber stoppers on my first ACE trip:) I've also read that duct tape will work alright.

I had a very pleasant morning putting the tank back on and and adjusting the throttle and choke cables for correct idle:) I then went out to a meeting of the San Diego Cafe Racer Meet-Up group. A fine bunch of gents with some nice bikes:)




but of course, mine was the prettiest bmw (the only bmw)

Then over to Mike's to cook a wheel hub! Tasty! with the hub at 200 degrees and the wheel bearing stack fresh out of the freezer the stack slipped right in. fun lesson:)!

fixed my horn! woo hoo:)

took it off, openned it up


and backed away slowly. damn, the inside looks flawless. So I backed up a step and thoroughly cleaned the control wiring



used that niftly electric component cleaner (much like brake cleaner, thanks Mike!), blew it out with compressed air, and BOOM BABY! horn works. Lesson: start with the easy stuff

'Night all!
spencer

Hi all:)

Well, I had been all ready to wait until after the move to do anything else, but I just couldn't with a little encouragement from my friends I decided the shiny new carb parts needed to get installed! so tonight I took the carbs off and dis-assembled them. had to call Mike twice for pointers on the needle removal and the hinge pin removal, but everything else went pretty smoothly.

I think I found out why I've been having problems with power - I haven't been able to keep up with Mike V., especially on hills. Both my diaphrams were messed up. I'm sure I made them a bit worse taking the carbs apart, but the rubber was adhered pretty solidly to the metal, either from age or contaminants, so the diaphragms weren't moving freely. I found a sizable tear in one diaphragm, and the other diaphragm pulled away from the float - I'm pretty sure I didn't cause these issues but I likely made them worse during the dis-assembly.







I cleaned the major gunk off them and I have a date with Mike to use his and Renner's ultrasonic cleaner:)

I can't wait to get these rebuilt and back on the bike to see what effect they have on the bike:)
Spencer

Hi all:)

well, I got the carbs all back together with fresh parts



I think they look decidedly happier than they did earlier this week

this is what I started with:


A little elbow grease and a little ultrasonic cleaning does wonders!:)

I was actually surprised by how easy the the whole process of dis-assembly and rebuild was. Apart from some questions (easily answered by Mike) about how to get the float hinge pin out, and how the diaphragm was supposed to sit, it went great:)



With the slide in, I was uncertain if the diaphragm was supposed to hover above the lip of the carb body like this, but with gentle installation of the cover it seems fine.

I did have a hell of a time installing the choke cable back on the carb. I only had time to put the left carb back on the bike, so the right one will go on tonight, and I hope to be able to go on a test ride and see how it feels:)

Oh - question for those that might know - the Bing book says stock position of the mix screw is .5 turns - my consultants think that might be to lean... any other opinions out there?

hope everyone is having a good week:)
Spencer

Hey guys!

So I got the carbs all installed and realized why I was having difficulties with installing the choke cable - the PO had not installed them correctly, so I was trying to install them wrong. I figured it out, and install was 100% easier - thanks for letting me talk it out Renner

I started it up! BOOM Baby! It took a little to start up - I assume because there was no gas in the system - but start up it did! but idled like a jack hammer! So i turned the mix screws from .5 to 1.0 and it idled MUCH better around 1100. It didn't seem to need any choke, which is good because there is something wrong with the choke I depress the lever on the clam shell and it starts to idle higher, then takes a dive. kind of hard to describe.
however! the good news is that I took it for a test ride and it was frakking awesome! THERE was the power! I hope it wasn't just my imagination - the ride was pretty short, but it seemed to LEAP forward when I gassed it instead of a slow acceleration:) I can't wait to get it on the freeway and test it up the 163 hill:)

so the ride was great, but I got it home, pulled up the garage, put it in nuetral, and turned it off and I got a "death rattle" - where is shook like hell as it turned off.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Spencer

You're on the way to gettings things in order-- there are likely a bunch of adjustment issues to be tweaked. Good Tech Day Fodder.

That "death rattle" is called running-on or dieseling. Caused by ignition timing or mixture issues, low octane fuel, a hot spot in the combustion chamber or simply a chortle of joy that the carbs are better.

Used to be a very common problem in the early 1970's when (then new) engine emission controls and/or lower quality gas came to pass.

+1

let's check those settings

BTW, when was the last time you adjusted the valves

This gets my vote!! Just loved how you worded that, Bill. Good job Spencer! You are certainly an airhead now if you werent before. Did you do the butterfly screws in your rebuild? Just curious.

Ha! good:) I hope to do some adjustments this weekend to take care of some of the issues i described.

What's a valve?

Yes I did! I dremeled off the exposed threads and the screws came right out:) and I crimped the threads of the new screws rather than peening them.

man, I can't get over the difference the carb rebuild has made - the bike accelerates like a champ!

I had a mini-tech day at Mike's with him and Renner:) We adjusted the valves (.004 and .008), re-routed a bunch of cables, installed a new clutch cable, balanced the carbs, and fixed the choke and cables.

good times! Thanks guys:)
Spencer

Spencer,

It was a good day, wasn't it?! Don't forget the coils rattling around in their brackets that were assembled incorrectly. I want everyone to know what great strides you've made in such a short time with this bike. For never wrenching on these bikes, you've really done your homework and diligent study prior to starting any work. I think what I appreciate most about you is; your passion and love for your bike. Welcome aboard brother. Renner and I both had a feeling this bike had great potential. It's finally found the right home and owner.

Looking forward to our ride tomorrow morning and seeing you in front of me rather than in my mirrors.

Thumbs up Spencer! Ride often, ride safe.

-Mike V.

what. no pics? :ddog

i have only 2 and you're making horrible faces

I have my reasons

tomorrow will be different: I'll have my helmet on and there'll be plenty of fresh air

airheadChuck, Richard, Mike V. & Benthic seen here preparing to ride after breakfast at The Casino Inn aka "Church".

Not in this photo: Shad, inside taking care of the bill.



excellent day of riding thanks to these guys.

Great Morning:)


Mike, Renner, and I were the first to arrive. Probably because my bike hauls serious ass now


Renner's bike behind that beautiful R80/7


Chuck's cool bike:)



The breakfast team:) there's a buell or something behind chuck's that doesn't belong to us.



Shad's bike with Chuck and Mike chatting in the background:)

I didn't go on the post-breakfast ride - unfortunately I had some household commitments - But I did have fun passing a harley convoy of about 20 bikes and trikes on the 8 West going home:) good times:)

Thanks for letting me come along guys:)

Neat.

Now, ain't this group more fun than the groupers you usually hang with???

I don't know if you have access to one via your Mentors, but a Harmonizer vacuum carb balancer is a nice tool. Got one the other day and it makes a serious difference.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701625