asmudgexj600 Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I was tinkering with my bike today (for the first time ever), and I managed to fix a problem (air filter and box getting filled with oil when the engine is hot, then dumping it all over the road when I stop). I went out for a 60mile round trip, and ... no leak, no smoke..........BLISS That feeling of having managed to fix a problem on your own (with the help of the YOG forum) was f***ing amazing! Considering I'm a complete newbie when it comes to bike mechanics, I was chuffed, almost as much as passing my test with only 1 minor after being certain I'd failed it at the first roundabout! Anyone got other bike-related moments of bliss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I was tinkering with my bike today (for the first time ever), and I managed to fix a problem (air filter and box getting filled with oil when the engine is hot, then dumping it all over the road when I stop). I went out for a 60mile round trip, and ... no leak, no smoke..........BLISS That feeling of having managed to fix a problem on your own (with the help of the YOG forum) was f***ing amazing! Considering I'm a complete newbie when it comes to bike mechanics, I was chuffed, almost as much as passing my test with only 1 minor after being certain I'd failed it at the first roundabout! Anyone got other bike-related moments of bliss? Hi There, well done on the test ... just wondered how you fixed the problem... as this maybe useful to others Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmudgexj600 Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Sorry, yeah should have said. I'm not exactly how the problem started, but basically, the guy who I bought it off had over-filled the oil (I don't know if it was the starting cause, but it definately made things worse). When I removed the tank and the air filter and air box, I found that the filter was covered in oil, the box had loads in it too. The breather hose that comes out of the air box (towards the front, to the crankcase) was clogged with thick whitish/grey oil. The thick bore hose that comes out of the airbox (towards the rear) was also all clogged up. I cleaned the air filter element, took off the hoses and cleaned them with meths and pipe-cleaners (trying to scrape out any gunk I could see where I taken them off). I made sure when I put everything back that all the breather-hoses were free from nicks or bends or kinks. I then drained the oil (the bike was warm before any of this - watch you fingers on any hot parts) took the filter off, and did a full filter and oil change. Cleaned the engine and downpipes with a bike-cleaning product that breaks down oil (most of the smoking war from hot oil on metal). I ran it for a bit, then took the tank off to see if there was anything in the air filter, nothing. That was it. I think it was a combination of over-filling, blocked hoses and the bike being barely run in the winter (before I got it), that was the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Sorry, yeah should have said. I'm not exactly how the problem started, but basically, the guy who I bought it off had over-filled the oil (I don't know if it was the starting cause, but it definately made things worse). When I removed the tank and the air filter and air box, I found that the filter was covered in oil, the box had loads in it too. The breather hose that comes out of the air box (towards the front, to the crankcase) was clogged with thick whitish/grey oil. The thick bore hose that comes out of the airbox (towards the rear) was also all clogged up. I cleaned the air filter element, took off the hoses and cleaned them with meths and pipe-cleaners (trying to scrape out any gunk I could see where I taken them off). I made sure when I put everything back that all the breather-hoses were free from nicks or bends or kinks. I then drained the oil (the bike was warm before any of this - watch you fingers on any hot parts) took the filter off, and did a full filter and oil change. Cleaned the engine and downpipes with a bike-cleaning product that breaks down oil (most of the smoking war from hot oil on metal). I ran it for a bit, then took the tank off to see if there was anything in the air filter, nothing. That was it. I think it was a combination of over-filling, blocked hoses and the bike being barely run in the winter (before I got it), that was the problem. Hi There, so the bike belonged to a slow rider on short journeys, when I worked on these bikes we used to call this mayonaise ... i.e the white stuff which was caused by the bike doing short journeys and/or long journeys at low speed .. the oil cooler over cooled the oil which ment the oil condensed and had a high water content and turned the oil white but I would guess your bike has extended 'mayonaise', i.e the breather being full, so some more work may be required ... which is to blank the oil cooler for a few miles (perhaps 300~500) in order to make sure no more water is left in the motor, drain & refill the oil & filter and keep checks on the oil colour thro the sight glass ... I mention this as if the white stuff can effect the gearbox lube. Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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