Nice RR Padmei. Re the gearbox breather, I left more of the speedo outer (just gone back & seen some of your photos from the right side), & ran it further up the frame. I also wrapped the end in a piece of oiled foam held on with a cable tie, so that the air could escape, but the oil wouldn't so much. You could probably extend the breather more with a peice of plasic tube over the speedo outer if it caused you grief. I'm surprised it still spits it out though.
It wasn't spitting out of the top of the breather but at the gearbox exit. I think maybe it isn't joined correctly - orrrr the tube is blocked :huh. The foam idea is a good one. I might post over on oldscool & see if anyone else has that happening.
You been selling your old tyres to other BMW owners? <object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kp7vjt7YwuM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kp7vjt7YwuM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
Padders nice little RR - its been said already, your prose / imagination is pretty kool (not to mention the skill with which you're punting that old airhead around) I reckon there's a potential career for you in writing should you tire of being a 'sparky' - onya Craig! Cheers S
Foam ones do block up, and then you can actually suck them off the frame and down the intake until you get a gap for the engine to breath through. In fact the mini filter (literally, from the 65SX) on the e-start 640 chokes up quite readily which is why I run filterskins. To compound the problem, the 640 self-dusts, so avoiding the rider in front makes no difference. Foam ones also may have a much greater filter area (depth) so don't suffer the problem in the same manner a K&N does. Most foam filters these days are dual-stage so you can't see what is being blocked at the outer limit of the finer inner stage.
Pull the speedo outer upwards. Does it come out? If it does, then you didn't have put it in properly. The bolt at the back of the gearbox should positively locate it. When you took the speedo cable out did you also remove the speedo drive? That should have remained in there. I replaced the breather bolt with one that didn't have a hole in it. I also siliconed around inside the the rubber boot over the speedo outer, so that rain didn't use the cable outer as a channel into the gearbox. Finally I also put a cable tie around the boot & speedo outer so that this was positively sealed. Hope that all helps & makes sense.
Yeah it does thanks Nutso. Has yours spit out any oil doing Welly rides? I have been reading the Bing Carb book. What an excellent piece of literature. I have to be honest & say I never really understood how all the jets & circuits worked but this very easily read book puts it there in a clear concise way. ie I knew about the venturi effect however didn't realise it was the pressure in the float bowl that 'forced' (for lack of a better way of putting it) the fuel thru the main jet. I thought it was merely sucked thru. And how the float levels affected lean & rich mixtures. Here's a sentence from it that as soon as I read it I knew it was the kind of techy writing I could follow... By itself the carburettor does nothing- but attach it to a reciprocating engine - it comes to life, providing the very lifeblood that all engines exist on; air & fuel! After reading that I was standing up Goat horning I'll read it a few times back to back so it is all in there then order some more choke gaskets from MBs.
Sounds like a revealing book! Whether it sucks or is pushed is really the same thing, but described from different sides of the fence. The float bowl is always at atmospheric pressure. Open the throttle and the venturi creates lower pressure, so the fuel moves from high pressure to low pressure via the main jet. If you are siphoning the petrol from the family truckster to put fuel in the bike, when you suck on the hose you are merely creating low pressure so the atmospheric pressure in the fuel tank can push (force) the petrol in to your mouth... same thing.
I just have to quote this for awesomeness. Wish I could ride my GS like that. Though itd have to be an HPN before Id be happy to deal out that kind of punishment.
the poor goat you airhead riders have some strange rituals that airhead video Nordie posted was awesome I suspect the airheads would have had a bit less clutch lining by the end of the ride.
Whats Afrikaans for "what's that smell?" Anyway, the way they were abusing the tyres, the clutches should be fine
Just in case you were wondering Schmidt had bit of a snort, rolled over & continued snoring. Best not wake him...
The chills of Autumn are seeping in under the door & the sun is losing it's intensity as the Earths axis angles away from the southern hemisphere Summer & towards the bone numbing temperatures of Winter. With the cooler months approaching rapidly I have been contemplating fitting a screen to Schmidt to combat the icy blasts across my puku & chest. I reserved today for a ride out to Titirangi bay, Kenepuru - a destination I have been trying to get to for a while now. I figured it would be a good trial to ascertain if a screen would make that much difference. Nordie has a screen on his DR that seems a pretty good compromise. Not too obtrusive & good surface area for protection. Nordie graciously agreed for me to tial it so off to the eporium I tootled. A few twists with an allen key & it was fitted to my bike. his has handlebar mounts that are modified to attach to the headlite bracket.
Today was a spectacularly beautiful & warm day. Before I knew it I was at the turn off along the Queen Charlotte Drive heading out towards the Kenepuru Sounds. If you look at the pic below in the Top right hand corner Titirangi bay lies where the road ends. It wasn't long before a nice photo op location was had. The water in the sound was as green as water can get:huh Ok. I'm goping to find it hard to do an exciting ride report this time because nothing of particular interest happened on the ride out. The bike was running sweet, the air was fresh, the scenery was fantastic & the roads were.. well just like below... Windy, empty dry sticky roads. Sometimes plastered with sunlight, more often shaded. They had been freshly sprinkled with small chipseal & as I rode along I was peppered with tar tinged pellets. Cast your imagination out there & you can feel the cool still air under the canopy, hear the cicada chorus & smell as you ride along the hot melting tar, freshly mown grass & that pungent yet enticing aroma of wet rotting pungas. From time to time the road would open up to this
The screen was doing a great job of keeping the air off my torso however was directed to my helmet causing more noise than I like - oh well can't have everything I turned off at the Head of Kenepuru Sound & began the ride Northwards. This is where the seal ended. Here's a typical rural NZ farming road. It was certainly about the road today. Just riding & looking, looking & riding... Eventually the curtain of native bush lining the road slid back & my oh my this trip was definitely worth it. Heading west at the top of the ridge Titirangi bay & the outer islands greeted me. What a magnificient spot. Turning the engine off I began the 5k downhill to the bottom. Up on the pegs driving the front wheel around the many turns.
At the bottom the is a lil campground. I stopped had some chocolate, waved at the few campers relaxing enjoying a beer in the sun then went for a walk down to the beach. It must blow a bit judging by the condition of this windsock A few boats were anchored off the beach fishing but apart from that there didn't look like much else to do there. Although a beautiful spot I don't think I could spend more than 1/2 an hour there without getting bored so i saddled up & had a look arond the neighbouring bay.
A family member has told me a few stories of a commune they stayed in at neighbouring Anakoha bay in the Eighties. I've always tried to picture what it looked like so decided to do a bit of investigative work. Anakoha bay. I caught up to a local farmer that told me where it used to be so I went searching. I found a likely address with many old cars, housebuses & vans just left in the bush where they obviously died. Whilst riding around the property a character walked up eying me suspciously. An introduction & bit of a chat revealed he was there way back & knew my relative well & as it then as it usually does, the conversation turned to bikes. He matter of factly mentioned he had a BMW like mine indicating toward an object covered by a tarp wedged in beside an old beach buggy. A quick peek under revealed a white G/S mono in a condition not too disimilar to mine when I first got it. I maintained a poker face & asked if he wanted to sell it & guess what???? He said 'Nah I'm never gonna sell it' Oh well I left him inspired to ride his old one again so hopefully it'll either be ridden by him or trailered away to someone to restore eventually. I began te hokianga mai & relaxed into a groove weaving my beautiful bike thru corner after corner. Noone around, the road was really sticky now & although my arse was sore my soul was revived. I rode into Nelson as the evening began with only a brief stop at the top of the Mahakapawa to ease the self-induced seasickness. To me the Marlborough Sounds are an inspiring place to ride. Not only are the roads usually empty, the scenery is magnificient. I strongly urge those from the North Island or beyond to take a day trip into them before hitting the Molesworth or rainbow, you truly won't regret it. Thanks for listening
