How to Remove Heat Stains on Engine?

[vagueout]

Originally Posted by def

The boxer engine should never be warmed up before riding. It is best to get your gear on, mount up and start the engine. Move the bike off the center stand, engage 1st gear and ride off...no warm up.

There have been instances of boxers catching fire by owners who made the same mistake...starting the engine, leaving it running and getting distracted.

.

This is an old chestnut i will argue against till the kangaroos come home. Cold oil / cold metal must be warmed to a sensible temp before loaded or you are courting increased wear, the modern boxer engine is not magically exempt from this. Seriously all that is required is simple plain common sense, if a rider is going to abandon a running motor without thinking to switch it off is said rider really in the right frame of mind to be operating said machinery in the first place ? (not being disrespectful , a genuine rhetorical question).

[def]

Originally Posted by vagueout

This is an old chestnut i will argue against till the kangaroos come home. Cold oil / cold metal must be warmed to a sensible temp before loaded or you are courting increased wear, the modern boxer engine is not magically exempt from this. Seriously all that is required is simple plain common sense, if a rider is going to abandon a running motor without thinking to switch it off is said rider really in the right frame of mind to be operating said machinery in the first place ? (not being disrespectful , a genuine rhetorical question).

I never leave a vehicle running unless I am on it or in it.

I turn lights off when I leave a room.

I turn the heat down at night.

I turn things off if I am not using them, riding them, driving them or otherwise operating them.

Had a fellow trip and fall on his chainsaw that was on the ground idling. He was not killed but he did loose a finger.

[def]

Originally Posted by vagueout

This is an old chestnut i will argue against till the kangaroos come home. Cold oil / cold metal must be warmed to a sensible temp before loaded or you are courting increased wear, the modern boxer engine is not magically exempt from this.

BMW and most riders disagree. Do not warm the boxer engine. Start the engine, disengage the clutch, engage 1st gear and ride off loading the engine lightly until the engine is at operating temperature.

Remember, some of us have CATs in our exhaust and during cold start, the mixture is enriched causing some extra heat in the CAT. Also, engine blowby is reduced when the engine is lightly loaded during cold run. Also, lightly loading the engine will warm it much faster getting into the right tolerances and heat range sooner so lubrication is optimized. Warming the engine only increases the cold run time, may create more crankcase condensation and therefore wear out your engine oils ability to neutralize acids (TBN).

If you are concerned about cold start engine wear, use a synthetic engine oil with superior pumpability and better film strength.

Hmmmmmmm....is that kangaroo I see in your front yard?

Aircraft engines are different...they are warmed for reasons of safety and maximum power at takeoff.

The GS is a lousy airplane....no propeller!

[WindSailor]

I think everyone knows it is better on an engine if you warm it up first.

Starting an air cooled engine and then riding it has been an old train of thought that I can remember dating backwards of the middle sixty's in my count. More than one air cooled engine has seized because someone got distracted after first starting up the bike; and I'm sure many more will happen after today. It just happens, people get distracted.

So... next we talk about preventative steps to keep this from happening again. Besides creating and following through with those repetitive steps -repeatedly- on creating a good habit, right?

What about adding an oil cooler fan - either with a thermostat controller or simply running through a switch. That way when you start the bike you could start the fan - and hope for the best in case you get distracted. Testing required.

Most of the time I back the bike out, lay out all of my gear, and start the bike. Put gear on, load the bike up, gps on and running - then - get on the bike and ride slowly for better than two miles (2nd gear show).

I don't think the new water boxer should have a problem in this topic... or at least it *shouldn't* have a problem. Interesting thought though if it has enough cooling power to just sit and run idle for 15 minutes. Hmmmm.

[slartidbartfast]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

Seriously? You think a motor hitting maybe 250-275° will remove the temper from the input splines?

You would have to melt the case to do that!

Jim

Jim, I think he "got" you . I nearly took the bait too, until I read the bit about splash lube of the clutch release bearing on the side-stand.

[slartidbartfast]

Originally Posted by WindSailor

I think everyone knows it is better on an engine if you warm it up first.

Starting an air cooled engine and then riding it has been an old train of thought that I can remember dating backwards of the middle sixty's in my count. More than one air cooled engine has seized because someone got distracted after first starting up the bike; and I'm sure many more will happen after today. It just happens, people get distracted.

So... next we talk about preventative steps to keep this from happening again. Besides creating and following through with those repetitive steps -repeatedly- on creating a good habit, right?

What about adding an oil cooler fan - either with a thermostat controller or simply running through a switch. That way when you start the bike you could start the fan - and hope for the best in case you get distracted. Testing required.

Most of the time I back the bike out, lay out all of my gear, and start the bike. Put gear on, load the bike up, gps on and running - then - get on the bike and ride slowly for better than two miles (2nd gear show).

I don't think the new water boxer should have a problem in this topic... or at least it *shouldn't* have a problem. Interesting thought though if it has enough cooling power to just sit and run idle for 15 minutes. Hmmmm.

Better idea... If the phone rings, or you remember you left the fridge light on, or you need to pee, or whatever - Just turn the bloody bike off before you run back in the house.

Let me put it another way - Make this your mantra: "Never, ever, leave a running motorcycle unattended."

[vintagerider]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

Seriously? You think a motor hitting maybe 250-275° will remove the temper from the input splines?

You would have to melt the case to do that!

Jim

Originally Posted by def

Yes, if the splines were made of silly-putty.

Hi Jim, Hi Def, Something like that. It appears that some 1150's did not receive normal hardening. That aside I do not think that the factory anticipated pp leaving their mc idling on the stands when they enabled idling on the 1150. I mentioned this before but I have to switch off 1150's left to burn up by riders parked in front of the dealer all the time. When the riders finally come out 20 minute later they had no idea that the mc was not to be left idling. The mc's were in full view of dealership personnel to boot.

When you see the threads where pp try to place a value on this or that 1150 with x miles then that is where I jump in and say miles on an 1150 don't mean squat. It's all about condition and nothing more. Signs of overheating are the first things you need to look for on any 1150. Nevertheless pp still place too much value on miles rather than condition. If I were op then I might salvage out my abused overheated 1150 and start over. Never can tell how much is compromised till you are broke down. It isn't like you can buy repair parts for a reasonable price.

[toy4fun]

You guys are killing a dead horse the guy messed up, needs to know how to fix it. let's wait unitl he screws it up again before we get a couple of hundred pages on the subject and thank u, thank u, thank u......i have the 1150rt and I won't do that!

[DetourJournal]

So back to the the original topic of Removing heat stains...
I tried a couple different products to see what worked best. It's hard to tell from the lighting in the image below but the Carb cleaner and the Super Clean did the job about the same, Both equally and almost entirely brought the color back. Ultimately Super Clean wins because it required less scrubbing. I plan to pull out the buffer pad and do the whole thing later tonight.



Also, I indeed got super lucky. Chain Tensioners, guide rails and the Hall sensor are all fine. Regardless it still ended up costing me $250 in parts to fix everything (New oil window, Valve gaskets, Oil & Filters, Oil fill cap, etc...).

The Burnt color isn't entirely gone so I'll still try out some other suggestions.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by DetourJournal

So back to the the original topic of Removing heat stains...
I tried a couple different products to see what worked best. It's hard to tell from the lighting in the image below but the Carb cleaner and the Super Clean did the job about the same, Both equally and almost entirely brought the color back. Ultimately Super Clean wins because it required less scrubbing. I plan to pull out the buffer pad and do the whole thing later tonight.



Also, I indeed got super lucky. Chain Tensioners, guide rails and the Hall sensor are all fine. Regardless it still ended up costing me $250 in parts to fix everything (New oil window, Valve gaskets, Oil & Filters, Oil fill cap, etc...).

The Burnt color isn't entirely gone so I'll still try out some other suggestions.

If you didn't burn up any of your sensors I would suggest that the bike didn't get to critical in overheating. It is common in these situations that the sensors get destroyed when the overheat hit a critical level. At that point it is hit or miss whether or not the motor would survive long term.

Jim

[PNWRR]

rattle can it flat black

[vintagerider]

Originally Posted by PNWRR

rattle can it flat black

There have been some great threads on re-finishing mag alloy covers. Conlusion was do not remove the chromate? base coating. Just lightly sand and re-paint. If you have abrasions then that is almost not worth trying to repair. . A few places claim that they can sand then powder coat. If you can find 1100 Al alloy covers then they are easier to refinish.

I'm glad that you didn't catch fire. If she is running now then just ride and be happy.

[H96669]

Yes been looking into that refinishing magnesium. Leave the chromate there or add some more if missing in spots. It is a very important step to the process otherwise good chance the paint will bubble.

The powdercoating is eluding me, altough my friend has a proper setup we are weary. Flashpoint for magnesium is only 500F, may even warp at the 400F baking temp and looking at some that DIY it, good chances of bubbling. I'd need a piece of magnesium and different powders to do my own tests, won't be this year,already spent too many hours looking into that and getting info all over the place.

Be very weary using any caustics even at low concentrations against Aluminium/Magnesium and anodizing. Google the warnings, don't believe everything.

Don't know if you have the same coating as my K-bike magnesium covers, I'd assume so. Carb Cleaners will soften it, may not look like it has failed right away, may be a different story after a few heat/cold cycles.

[H96669]

Did a bit more checking today picking up BMW parts I had powdercoated. Looks like all of them already were from BMW. A coat of silver then a clear coat and that's what you may be removing with the yellow, the clearcoat. It tends to get yellow with age, heat and also in the case of the K-bikes.....gasoline.

Altough my powdercoater is very good, he doesn't do that for a living. Did not have the right stripper, that would be B17, and used aircraft stripper. It did work but took many applications. Looks like I owe him a big favor now and he has learned not to quote before such jobs.

"Powder 365" Silverado Silver with the right clear coat, I can doublecheck I think mine is lower gloss is very close to the BMW color. Saves getting lost in other sites with too many color choices and chips you can't see online. I took a gamble when ordering, paid off. Finding a powdercoater that does Magnesium well, another story. Maybe DIY for some of us but will take some studying first.