Service
SERVICE
Paul Dean
Oily-Davidson
I just bought a 1996 Harley-Davidson Road King with about 5000 miles on it. It has had one of Harley’s Screamin’ Eagle EFI Stage II kits installed, and the heads have been modified to raise the compression. My problem is that engine oil is blowing through the air cleaner. On any ride farther than 30 miles, oil drools all over the engine as soon as I put the bike on the sidestand. My first thought was that there was too much oil in the tank, so I reduced the level until it was halfway between the full and add marks with the engine hot. I then took a 50-mile ride and had the same thing happen-the air filter was saturated with oil, oil was dropping onto the engine, and the whole right side of the bike was covered with oil.
What should I do? Is it possible that something was incorrectly assembled when the Stage II kit was installed? The engine doesn’t seem to have any loss of performance compared with other similar Harleys. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Franz Heinen Posted on America Online
I strongly suspect that the crankcase breather gear was improperly replaced when the bike ’s previous owner had the Screamin ’ Eagle kit installed. That Stage II kit includes a new cam, the installation of which requires removal and reinstallation of the breather gear. If the breather is not put back in place properly, it will allow an excess of oil vapor to be forced from the crankcase, into the camshaft gearcase, up through the pushrod tubes and into the rocker boxes, where it exits into the external breather lines and flows out into the air-cleaner housing. The oil droplets then accumulate and eventually spill onto the exterior of the engine.
Harley-Davidson Big Twins are drysump engines on which both the transmission and the primary drive bolt onto the crankcase rather than being an integral part of it. Hence, they share no internal cavities with the crankcase, which is so small that it almost looks like it was shrink-wrapped around the crankshaft. Consequently, as the two big pistons pump up and down, the pressure fluctuations inside the crankcase are much greater than they are on engines that have smaller pistons and/or much larger crankcase volume.
To deal with these enormous fluctuations, Big Twin engines use a rotating, camshaft-driven breather valve that must be very precisely “timed” so it is wide-open at certain times and completely closed at others. This allows the engine to breathe in and out when necessary, while also preventing excess oil from being expelled into the air cleaner. But if the breather is timed improperly, even by just a tooth or two, the pressure fluctuations will then force oil through all of the engine’s interconnected chambers and into the air cleaner, where it eventually drools all over the engine, just as you describe.
The only solution is to remove the cam cover and properly retime the breather gear. I suggest you not try this yourself; have a reputable Harley mechanic in your area do the work. It’s a simple job if you know what you ’re doing. Your bike is testimony to what can happen if the mechanic doesn’t know what he s doing.
Adjust in time
I’m the proud owner of a new 2000 Suzuki Bandit 1200. It’s a fabulous bike! My question is in regard to the valves-specifically, when to adjust them. I’ve talked to almost everyone I know about this and I keep getting different answers and opinions. My Suzuki rep says I should ignore the 600mile check of the valves and then check and adjust them if necessary at 1500 miles. My Bandit buddies say that the engine is so bullet-proof that bothering to pull the valve cover before 4500 miles is a waste of time and money. My Suzuki dealer says I should check them at 600 miles. A long-term friend and fellow rider said I should check them at 600 miles and every 3800 miles thereafter. I need the truth and the cold, hard facts. Three hours of labor at the Suzuki dealer is a chunk of cash, and I’d rather not waste it on a valve check I may not need. Please help. You have the only opinion I trust. Dennis Clark Temecula, California
With anything that’s as complex as an internal-combustion engine, there always are enough variations in manufacturing that not all examples will perform and evolve identically. Some will be slightly faster than others. Some will break-in quickly, some more slowly. Some will go out of adjustment sooner than others. What’s more, during its initial break-in period, an engine is much more likely to go farther out of adjustment in fewer miles than at any other time in its lifespan. And when it comes to valves, remember that each Bandit has 16 of them, greatly increasing the chance that at least one in any given engine could need adjustment during the first 600 miles of use.
The Bandit’s 1157cc engine is, in essence, a retuned and resized GSX-R1100 powerplant. The Suzuki factory, which designed these engines and has manufactured hundreds of thousands of them, recommends checking the valves at 600 miles. Despite what your “Suzuki rep ” says, the U.S. distributor, which has sold tens of thousands of bikes powered by these engines, also stipulates a valve check at 600 miles. So does your local dealer, who no doubt has rolled many dozens of these models out the door. Yet with one exception, all of your fellow Bandit riders, each of whom has experience with only one or two of these bikes, recommends that you blow off the 600-mile check and wait for nearly another 4000 miles before looking at the valves.
Realistically, perhaps only one Bandit in 10 or even one in 20 will need any of its valves adjusted at 600 miles. But unless you physically check the clearances, how do you know if your bike is among them? And if you skip the 600-mile check, who is taking the risk, you or your buddies?
I’m not always a cheerleader for the commercial side of motorcycling, but if I had invested more than seven large in a new Bandit 1200, I’d play it safe and have the dealer check the valves at 600 miles. If he finds even one that needs adjustment, the money will have been well spent. And if he doesn’t, it still will have been a worthwhile expense simply because you ’ll no longer have to worry about whether any of your new Bandit’s valves are too loose or too tight.
Flashy Beemer
I have a 1994 BMW K75RT I bought about a year ago with 5500 miles on it.
When I bought the bike, the ABS check lights were flashing, so I took it to a dealer who put it on a machine and reset the system. Everything was fine for about a hundred miles and then the flashing started again. Through the internet, I contacted a BMW club and found out how to reset the system myself. This time, it was okay for about 50 miles before the blinking started. I took the bike back to the dealer, who couldn’t find the problem but thought it might be with a wheel sensor. He said he didn’t think it was in the computer “brain,” because they don’t go bad very often, and he didn’t have a new one to try. He said my only option was to buy a new brain (at least a K-note) or pull the bulbs to keep the flashing lights from driving me nuts. I’ve tried resetting the system several times since then, and all I have to do is ride around the block and the lights will start blinking. Can you offer any solutions? Bert Rose Posted on America Online
When you say that a dealer put your K75 on a “machine,” I have to assume you ’re referring to the diagnostic tester that all BMW dealers are supposed to have. This piece of troubleshooting equipment is designed to detect faults in the bike ’s electronic systems, including the ABS. If the dealer is using it properly, the tester should clearly identify the fault that is causing the warning lights to flash.
Our contacts at BMW, however, claim they have seen two circumstances that can cause the warning lights to flash, even when there is nothing wrong with the ABS. If for instance, the condition of the bike ’s battery is marginal, it could have just enough voltage to start the engine but not enough juice immediately afterward for the ABS to function properly. This could then cause the warning lights to flash. Then, by the time you ride the bike to the dealer to have the system checked, the battery gets enough of a charge to allow the ABS to function properly while being diagnosed.
The second example involves the selfcheck function the ABS performs immediately after the ignition switch is turned on. If you start the engine right after switching on the ignition, rather than waiting a few seconds, the ABS doesn’t have sufficient time to perform the check. That, too, can cause the warning lights to continue flashing after the engine is fired.
Based on your description of the symptoms, though, it is likely that neither of these conditions is responsible for your K75 ’s flashing-light syndrome. I suspect that the mechanic who is troubleshooting the problem either doesn’t fully understand the diagnostic procedure or isn’t following it closely enough. So, even though it might be very inconvenient for you to try another BMW shop, in the end, that might be the simplest way of putting this annoying problem behind you.
Dos equis caliente
Until just recently, I owned a ’97 Honda CBRl IOOXX that I traded for a 2000 model. Both bikes were purchased new. From day one, the 2000 model’s temperature gauge has read higher than the ’97’s or even those on any of the other Honda motorcycles I’ve owned. In stopand-go traffic on 60-degree days, the gauge is at the 3U mark, and on 70degree days, it goes all the way to “H” (hot). If I rev the engine when stopped in traffic, the needle moves down somewhat, but if I just sit there another 30 seconds or so, it works its way back to hot. The coolant level is correct, and the temperature stays in the normal operation range on the highway. But even when the gauge reads hot, the engine doesn’t seem to be overheating. Just for the record, I ride very moderately and hardly ever get nuts with the throttle. Ed Chalmus Posted on America Online
According to Honda ’s tech people, the 1999-2000 CBRl 100XX does indeed run considerably hotter than the 199798 version, particularly in stop-and-go traffic. They attribute this to the newer model ’s increase in power as well as its switch from carburetors to electronic fuel injection. To keep the exhaust emissions within federally mandated limits, the injection is calibrated to run just on the acceptable side of lean under most lowand medium-load conditions, which results in hotter running. To help compensate for the additional heat, both the oil cooler and the radiator on the '99’00 models were given increased capacity. And if your 2000 XX also happens to be a California model, it will run even hotter yet compared to those sold in the other 49 states.
Fuel also can play an important role in creating higher operating temperatures. Fuel quality can vary considerably, depending upon whether it’s a summer or winter blend, whether or not it is oxygenated, and the region of the country in which it is bought. This is why Honda strongly recommends that XX owners avoid the bargain brands and stick exclusively with name-brand, highquality unleaded fuels-although 87 octane still is okay for use in the big 1100. Don’t go too far to the other octane extreme, however, and use airplane fuel (avgas); its high lead content is likely to foul the XXs special sparkplugs.
If you still aren’t satisfied that your bike s operating temperatures are within the acceptable range, have your dealer check the cooling system very closely, making certain that the bypass circuits and the heater lines for the injection system are completely purged of air. If they are not, any air trapped in the system could contribute to the engine’s excessively high operating temperatures.
Gas-caps and websites
I experienced the same Yamaha FJ1200 fuel-starvation problem reported by Dewey Slough (“Feed the starving”) in the June Service column. I got help from a website that instructed me to remove the gas cap and disassemble it to get at two little diaphragms inside. By removing these little check valves, I eliminated the problem. Just be careful not to lose any of the small springs, etc., when taking the cap apart. Unfortunately, that website no longer is in operation, but there still is a great online list that FJ owners can subscribe to. Its address is yamahafj@netpath.net. The FJ owners there are glad to help and talk about these great bikes. Mike Allen Posted on America Online
Thanks for the heads-up. I’m sure that Mr. Slough and other owners of fueldeprived FJ1200s everywhere will greatly appreciate your feedback. □
Got a mechanical or technical problem with your favorite ride? Can’t seem to find workable solutions in your area? Maybe we can help. If you think we can, either: 1) Mail your inquiry, along with your full name, address and phone number, to Cycle World Service, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92663; 2) fax it to Paul Dean at 949/631-0651; or 3) e-mail it to CW1Dean@aol.com. Don’t write a 10-page essay, but do include enough information about the problem to permit a reasonable diagnosis. And please understand that due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we can’t guarantee a reply to every question.
