In memory of Jim Adams - an R60/5 build diary

[bmweuro]

Originally Posted by wirewrkr

Stop!
dON'T DO IT!
I tried that on a /6 and nothing fit right.
Do it from the top. TRUST me.
If you do decide to do it your way, PM when you want to buy some /5 ears so you can do it right.

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Thanks for the advice, wirewrkr. I'm happy to learn from others mistakes, so I'll keep to cutting off of the top of the ears. Thanks again!

Actually Wirewrkr is wrong. You need to cut and equal amount off of the top and bottom. This is the only way the rubbers will kinda fit back on the ears. Trust me have done this prob. 20 times.

[wirewrkr]

Originally Posted by bmweuro

Actually Wirewrkr is wrong. You need to cut and equal amount off of the top and bottom. This is the only way the rubbers will kinda fit back on the ears. Trust me have done this prob. 20 times.

Ouch Chris, But that's a nice approach too.
Maybe you should call big Chris and have him redraw the directions.

[bmweuro]

Originally Posted by wirewrkr

Ouch Chris, But that's a nice approach too.
Maybe you should call big Chris and have him redraw the directions.

I wasn't trying to offend you you here. There is still lots of love:) There is no way the top rubber will stay in place if you take it all off the top. I guess if you took a bottom rubber and cut it, it might work.

[backdrifter]

Lots of parts arrived today. Everything looks great, and this has me all the more excited to jump in. Unfortunately, I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning for a relaxing weekend in Tennessee, so nothing will get accomplished this weekend. Somehow I don't think my wife will let me stay home and work on the BMW on our anniversary weekend!

I also cleaned the garage and my workspace to make everything more manageable. It doesn't look like much in the photos below, but trust me, it's way better than it was!

[east high]

Originally Posted by wirewrkr

Ouch Chris, But that's a nice approach too.
Maybe you should call big Chris and have him redraw the directions.

You guys talking about these instructions? Or are these specific to the toastertan braces?

[backdrifter]

Out to the garage for some more progress. You may or may not remember (it was 6 months ago, after all!), that I had a slight self imposed electrical issue that occurred when I grounded my my positive lead against the frame while trying to start the bike. With some help from friends, I narrowed the issue down to either a fried voltage regulator or starter relay. I decided to replace both and move on. So, I went out tonight and did so. Shiny new pieces:





I (very carefully) hooked the bike up to the car battery again and was able to get the bike fired up. It's still puking oil from every gasket and seal, but I was happy to prove that the electrical gremlin had been solved.

Next I took the valve covers off. Some oil poured out - is that normal? It seems it should be try above the head. Here are some pics. I appreciate any input or comments. Off-hand, I thought everything looked pretty good, but I'd love input from the experts.

Right side:



Left side:



I was worried that the pushrods were bent when I looked at them from above and saw this:





But after kicking the bike over a few times and watching the pushrods, it appears to be normal. Can anyone explain to me how the ends bend or swivel like that? Sorry for all the questions, I've really only torn down two strokes to this point.

Next I decided to take the exhaust off so I can start taking the cylinders apart. No issues, everything came apart nicely.



Old silencers off. Keep an eye out in the Flea Market if you need a cheap but functional set of pipes.



Old and new side by side:





Looks like the Dunstall style pipes should be a bit louder than the stockers. Next came the headers.





They look a bit dirty (and are), but overall they're in good shape without any major dings, and very few small dings. I plan to send them off to Jet Hot to get their polished coating applied to them.

By this time it was starting to get dark and lighting was suffering, so I decided to call it a night. Here's how she sits now:



I have most of tomorrow to work on it more. I'm hoping to have the cylinders apart and take a look inside. I'm anxious to see the pistons and cylinders. With 43,000 miles and everything turning over very easily and smoothly, I have no reason to believe anything will be wrong, but you never know!

More soon....

[backdrifter]

Continued breaking down the cylinders today. The right looked pretty good, all in all, and everything came apart easily.











I was in good spirits when I started into the left cyclnder. That's when I came across this.







Pretty severe pitting at the head and cylinder where they meet. Doesn't look good. I started another thread to see if there is some kind of fix or if I'll need a new head and cylinder.

It was enough to take some wind out of my sails, and with the Indianapolis MotoGP starting in 15 minutes, I figured it was a good time for a break.

As always, any input is greatly appreciated!

[disston]

Looks to me like you just had a blown head gasket. Can happen for various reasons. Sometimes a fault in the gasket itself. Check the two surfaces, the head and the cylinder for any imperfections. If none then put back together after cleaning and keep an eye on it. If there is a problem that caused the gasket to blow you should be able to see and/or feel it.

Are you having the heads refurbished? You should have them checked for flatness at the same time. Also have cylinders checked for same.

Should clean up. Clean them before you decide. May have to mill a bit.

[Bobmws]

"In memory of Jim Adams - an R60/5 build diary"

I knew a Jim Adams back in the late 80's here in Florida. At the time he was running a GoldWing with an EML sidecar setup. Used to meet up with him at Beemer rallies, he was quite a nice guy. Any chance this was the same gentleman?

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by disston

Looks to me like you just had a blown head gasket. Can happen for various reasons. Sometimes a fault in the gasket itself. Check the two surfaces, the head and the cylinder for any imperfections. If none then put back together after cleaning and keep an eye on it. If there is a problem that caused the gasket to blow you should be able to see and/or feel it.

Are you having the heads refurbished? You should have them checked for flatness at the same time. Also have cylinders checked for same.

Should clean up. Clean them before you decide. May have to mill a bit.

Thanks disston. I'm going to try to get some better pictures when I get home on Wednesday because the photos don't show how pitted the metal is. It's not just deposits that will wipe away, there are pits up to 1/8" deep. I'll have to put the new head gasket in place and see if it looks like it will seal, but I don't think it will. I think too much material would need to be milled off to make it solid again, so I think it will have to be filled with something.

More soon....

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Bobmws

I knew a Jim Adams back in the late 80's here in Florida. At the time he was running a GoldWing with an EML sidecar setup. Used to meet up with him at Beemer rallies, he was quite a nice guy. Any chance this was the same gentleman?

I'd have to ask my wife, but I don't think that was him. To the best of my knowledge he never owned a Goldwing or a hack. I'll let you know if I find out otherwise.

[disston]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Thanks disston. I'm going to try to get some better pictures when I get home on Wednesday because the photos don't show how pitted the metal is. It's not just deposits that will wipe away, there are pits up to 1/8" deep. I'll have to put the new head gasket in place and see if it looks like it will seal, but I don't think it will. I think too much material would need to be milled off to make it solid again, so I think it will have to be filled with something.

More soon....

You'll have to clean it to see how deep. Maybe you can tell it's not as lite as I see it but you cann't really tell how bad. I've cleaned stuff like this, heads, with Oven Cleaner. Others have used a soak in Simple Green. Either one will discolor the metal if allowed to dry. Just look at my cylinder heads and see.

The proper fix I suppose is to have it welded up, filled with Aluminum, and then milled. I don't know anything about something like that except I take it to someone else. I do know about epoxy and such things I have done but in this instance and this machine I don't think the shadetree quicky is called for.

[backdrifter]

Time for another quick update.

So, the cylinder and head did indeed need to be repaired. The good news is that I took it to our local vintage BMW fanatic shop (Dave Clark's Forever Endeavor Cycles in Eureka, MO) and he said he could fix it. I dropped it off yesterday and got a call saying that he would probably have it back to me by the weekend. Fantastic! I went ahead and gave him both cylinders and heads. Might as well get a clean bill of health on both all at once!

So, I've suddenly mustered up more motivation than I've had the entire project thus far. I have the bike on it's way to being stripped to the frame. I should have it completely stripped by this weekend or early next week. Once it is, the frame, sub frame, and swing arm will go to the powder coater. Unless I first send the swing arm to San Jose BMW to be reinforced, which I'm considering. I'm also considering powder coating the fork lowers. I'm not sure why, but I just think they look better black and matching the frame.

The speedo should be sent of to Wirespokes soon for reconditioning, and then I'll start working on chroming what needs to be re-chromed, and collecting the body parts for paint.

Here's how she currently sits. More to follow soon.

[SlackerSteve]

Although it won't look as cool, a used 1981 and later swingarm is very strong and is a lot cheaper than reinforcing the current swingarm.

[backdrifter]

Thanks Steve, I appreciate the idea. I'd prefer to keep the stock swing arm, just because I'm trying to keep as many of the original parts as possible (even if they're then modified). I'm not really an originality fanatic, but I do want to be riding the same bike that Papa did when it's all done.

I've received some other input from inmates suggesting that the reinforcement probably isn't worth it unless I'd be racing. I don't plan on racing, but I did have my race license at one time, so I guess you never know. Regardless, and this point, I'll go without the reinforcement.

This morning I got the engine out. I'm almost down to the bare frame - just need to go to the store to buy whatever size socket it is that I need to take off the top triple clamp nut. I'll measure it before I go.

Then, with any luck, I'll get the parts to the powder coater tomorrow (if they're open).

We're moving right along now!