Bringing 74 R90S back to life after sitting 30 years

[squish]

What ever path you take with this bike is the right path.

Sure polishing wheels and cleaning spokes is not high on some folks list. But it's a satisfying way to spend a few hours in the garage. It's not like the wheels will be worth less when you are done.

One tip that I didn't see mentioned was to pull the oil pan, clean out the sludge and make sure the pick up is still firmly attached to the pick up feed tube.

The also gives you a chance to see if there's any nasties lurking in the oil pan. All it costs is an hour and a new gasket.
Assuming you don't strip a thread when you reassemble.

[_cy_]

thanks for the tip about dropping the pan. need to order pan gaskets first.
would like to adjust the valves too. so need valve cover gaskets too.

what's with BMW parts? no one discounts ... brake master cylinder costs $395 from all sources that I've able to find so far. looks like I'll be re-sleeving it instead

here's the missing pic from above showing dial indicator from truing up front wheel.

[_cy_]

had a brain fart ...flat forgot I had a video scope ...

all the comments about what if interior of motor is sound or not can be easily resolved by a Video scope. will be peeking inside soon.

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by disston

Your doing just fine. They all want to know if your engine and trans are OK or they can start feeding on the remains after you decide to give it up. Fix the wheels and clean the gas tank. I can see what you are doing and it will have more cohesiveness as you make more progress. Rebuilding the carbs, maybe just a light rebuild, right away is cool too. And of course I would have new oil in in before the first crank. It's gonna go. I've done this before and they want to live. Well hopefully.

Did you rinse the tank yet? It should be rinsed pretty good at least. How much crud was in it? Should replace fuel lines. pretty cheap to do. They old rubber will be very bad after 30 years. Maybe check petcocks?

Very soon after she fires up you're going for a ride. That's what I do. I have that little stuff out of the way before starting because I'm not going to grease a wheel bearing after she fires up. We are moving out.

inside of tank is bone dry and clean. looks like tank was drained shortly after being put up. this bodes well. wouldn't surprise me a EE would have the foresight to take preventative measures knowing bike would be in deep freeze for a decade or more.

all fuel lines are getting replaced. intake rubber hoses are going on parts list. yup, taking care of all the little things as I go along. sure like to go for a ride after the motor starts up.

[xavier296]

Now that is awesome! A video scope is not in my tool list, but should be!!! I'll put it right behind the plasma cutter and the band saw.

[vernon dent]

some of the stubborn rust/corrision on the spokes that can't be removed with compound/scotchbrite/elbow grease can be tackled first with a brass brush either by hand or on a cordless drill. works a treat on some of the heavier chrome plated parts like headers, fenders, wheels and handlebars. too.

[vernon dent]

Originally Posted by _cy_

inside of tank is bone dry and clean. looks like tank was drained shortly after being put up. this bodes well. wouldn't surprise me a EE would have the foresight to take preventative measures knowing bike would be in deep freeze for a decade or more.

all fuel lines are getting replaced. intake rubber hoses are going on parts list. yup, taking care of all the little things as I go along. sure like to go for a ride after the motor starts up.

that photo looks eerily like the ones from my last colonostrophy. both clean as a whistle.

[disston]

I think the price of video scopes has come down a little. Just a guess but I think a cheap one might be 5-$600. That one doesn't look so cheap though. I'm realistic, this item is not on my shopping list.

I use the well known product, Naval Jelly, on rust. You can use Phosphoric acid, I think, but I don't know the concentration. It is the active ingredient in Naval Jelly. It leaves behind a treated surface that is anti-rust protected. The problem with rust, in addition to loosing some of the metal that you can never replace, is that the rust bleeds and migrates to unrusted areas. The bleeding rust is red colored and shows up as such. It stands out. The Naval Jelly gets rid of the bleeding redness and helps to prevent it returning. I think more industrial versions of Naval Jelly are available but the little plastic bottle is good enough for me. Once the redness is gone the difference is like night and day. When the rusting is just too bad then it's time for new spokes.

Great looking gas tank. And the list of parts is growing. Have you checked out what you have for ignition yet? Really sounds like you'll have no major problems. But keep going.

These guys here have been really nice to me and they put up with a lot of my nonsense. I kid around a lot.

[Wirespokes]

If you're careful, the pan gasket can be re-used. And unless the valve cover gasket gets ripped or is damaged, they always get re-used. It doesn't hurt to have a spare around - because sometimes they do get damaged. For some reason valve cover gaskets tend to get sucked in (most likely from crankcase vacuum) and then leak. I've seen it often enough that I'm beginning to think it's a good idea to seal the gasket to the head surface initially. I hate scraping stuck gasket material from mating surfaces so haven't done that yet.

[wirewrkr]

Terry, I'm aghast!
If it wasn't such a pain in the ass to change i could maaaybe justify attempting to reuse a pan gasket, (and I'm a cheap sonofabitch.)
I was even straightening nails the other day!
Valve cover gaskets, sure all the time, but pan gaskets???

[supershaft]

+1 ww! Used pan gasket?!?!? Definitely reuse valve cover gaskets whenever possible. Every time you replace one, you could be opening up a can of worms!

I have been around shops ALL of my 50 years. I have come to the conclusion that the bigger the toolbox a wrench has the bigger the chances that he is a hack. Of course, there are exceptions but that makes the rule. We always called it chrome fever. It can get ugly!

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by supershaft

+1 ww! Used pan gasket?!?!? Definitely reuse valve cover gaskets whenever possible. Every time you replace one, you could be opening up a can of worms!

I have been around shops ALL of my 50 years. I have come to the conclusion that the bigger the toolbox a wrench has the bigger the chances that he is a hack. Of course, there are exceptions but that makes the rule. We always called it chrome fever. It can get ugly!

no way I'd re-use a pan gasket while bike is at home... but it's good to know it's re-useable on the road. make a gasket silicone does wonders when in a pinch.

now that's a new one about the bigger the toolbox = hack

but I see what you are getting at ... a perfect example is machine tools... just because one has a Southbend lathe doesn't you know how to operate it. now I am a hack at machining, but I've been able to machine out my needs for quite sometime. The same for welding, fully setup with Miller TIG, Lincoln pipeliner, MIG, etc. but that doesn't mean I'm able to pass coupon bend tests. but it does mean I've got access to welders and plasma cutter to fab most anything within reason.

needless to say I will not be purchasing any luggage frames. will be constructing my own from tubular chrome-moly.

[_cy_]

a peek inside, down spark plug hole ... some corrosion inside, but nothing out of the ordinary for a piston sitting this long. no mechanical damage that I can see.

will soak down with ATF to make sure everything is good and coated with a light oil before motor is run. will do a compression and leak down test soon.

[kbasa]

Can we stay on topic? If parties are unable to do so, I'm going to start handing out timeouts to all involved in the diversions. I've had to remove posts from this thread once and now I have to do it again.

Please put your peckers back in your pants and stop wasting my time.

Official warning shot now fired because you're pissing me off.

[bpeckm]