A mouse in the house...help

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Hello gang. I'm fairly new here and recently bought a couple older airheads that haven't been run in 8 years (although garaged). One is a well equipped '83 R100T, the other a '76 R90/6

I rebuilt the carbs on both and managed to get the /6 going, but I think it probably will need a top end job. So, I've parked that project for a bit to focus on the R100T. I'm guessing that the R100T differs from the R100RT by not having the factory fairing???

...anyway, about the mouse and the R100T. I changed the oil, pulled the tank, emptied it (although it really didn't smell all that bad), cleaned and tested the petcocks, filled with a couple gallons of premium. I had already rebuilt the carbs and as I was replacing the fuel line, I popped the airfilter top and it was like a can of popcorn <poof> sunflower seed hulls, peanut shells galore. I cleaned that up, put the K&N filter back on (after my laugher subsided) and replaced the battery. I pulled the plug wires to make sure it would actually turn over without emitting strange sounds from the engine...and that went fine. Connected wires and fired it up...and heard a popping sound and heard/saw something fly out the exhaust. More mouse evidence!!

I pulled both mufflers, cleaned them up and shook them to empty any remaining kernels (just a couple). Then, with the mufflers still off, I pulled the plug wires and cranked the engine a couple times more to clear anything out further up the pipes.

Upon re-assembly, it fired up and to my amazement (never rebuilt a Bing before) it idled reasonably well. Now I am wondering about the possibility that I made a mouse pancake on the face of one (or both pistons). Seems a strange/morbid question to ask, but assuming one COULD squeeze through the exhaust valve...then what? Must I remove the heads or more frequent oil changes??

Any help, thought, humor would be appreciated. I miss riding and want to get this bike on the road soon--in the meantime, new Metz on the way, forks and brakes next. I suppose the spline and check out the electrical components too.

[Rod Sheridan]

Dear killer of mice, I've forwarded your post to the ASPCA and PETA.

Actually I would be very surprised if a mouse could get through the carbs with the slides closed, or if one could get through the small space between the valve and seat when the valve is open.

That said, I once had to dis-assemble a turbo on a Caterpillar engine that had a Starling inside the exhaust blade section. The starling had flown down the exhaust pipe for a distance of 10 metres, then crawled through the silencer and flex into the left side turbo.

The bird hopped out of the turbo once I had removed the ducting, it was pretty sooty, however it flew out the engine room doors to freedom.

Regards, Rod.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Great, and I thought this was a friendly place! Now I'm on the lamb from PETA, (er, that sounds strange like a Vegan asking if its 'ok' to eat an animal cracker). Aside from the pending PETA arrest...I'm guessing the mouse/mice (family) crawled in through the exhaust, not the carbs. The bike has a K&N air filter that was coated in seed hulls, but not bite marks or escape hatches.

[PAULBACH]

PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals

In one of the touring tips the value of moth balls is discussed. Mice and most critters hate them. When you store the bike away fill some old socks with moth balls or moth flakes and stuff or lay the socks in various positions on the bike.

Check out this link. (http://www.bmwmoa.org/features/touringtips/BMWMOA_JAN_08_Touring_Tips.pdf)

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Great idea. for what its worth, I hate them too...bad aftertaste. This bike had been in a *very* crowded garage for 8 years or so...so its very conceivable that the exhaust tips were within jump range from other, better grip things in the garage.

Once I get it on the road, I really don't plan to ever store it more than overnight.

[ultracyclist]

Get a cat.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

...need a bigger exhaust hole for a cat. These mice (or their trailings) came free with the bike from the previous owner.

So, if a mouse did get past the exhaust valve do you think it warrants a head removal or just ride, change oil, ride, change oil....???

[535is]

...need a bigger exhaust hole for a cat. These mice (or their trailings) came free with the bike from the previous owner.

So, if a mouse did get past the exhaust valve do you think it warrants a head removal or just ride, change oil, ride, change oil....???

I have little reservation in saying that if a mouse had somehow gotten into your cylinder, it would not run worth a damn.

FWIW, the February Wisconsin Airheads' Tech Session got a great laugh when a sizable nest and mummified mouse parts fell out of my airbox during the clutch spline lube operation. It did not appear for even a moment that said critters got past the filter, much less down the carbs and into a cylinder.

[crazydrummerdude]

If everything seems to work fine, I wouldn't worry about it. If anything crawled up the exhaust, I'm sure it (or pieces of it) would blow out with the exhaust.

But, I think you're looking for someone to say.. yes, take it apart. So, if you've got the time, you might as well take it apart and see what it's like in there after the 8 years of storage. If you're new to airheads, it seems like a great way to familiarize yourself with the ease of working on these bikes.

Just find a night where you don't have much to do, and take the few hours necessary to disassemble/reassemble if you think it'll give you the right amount of peace of mind.

[mrich12000]

:bow :bow That is good and tasty:eat :eat

[tghsmith]

over the years we have had mice fill an airbox or a muffler once or twice, have found out from a car collecting friend that cheap drier sheets keep mice away, they put them under the hood,in the trunk and under the seats.buy the buget big box, I tuck one or two around the airbox, loosely in the tail pipes, and anywere else in the garage that the mice want to make a home, works better than traps and your garage will have that fresh april sent.

[brickrider]

It is my understanding that mice can squeeze through an opening as small as 1/4 inch. That's pretty amazing when you consider the physical size of the average mouse. Your concern is justified.

That said, consider the evidence. If there were any solid remains of a carbon-based mouse-sized unit in one side or the other, it is most doubtful that the engine would have run as smoothly as you state. I think you may safely conclude that there are no mice remnants in there.

You do not state how many miles are on the R100T. If more than 35,000 miles, a valve job is due. There are about a zillion (plus or minus a couple) threads regarding this major issue on this model bike (airhead 1981-1984 series). So any post suggesting that you take down the engine heads and cylinders "just because" actually do have some merit.

The pushrod seals have dried out and will probably leak at some point this season if you do get it going, so that may be a case right there for cylinder removal right up front before you get to riding too many miles. Did you replace the carb diapragms as part of the rebuild? Open the right handlebar assembly where the throttle pulls the throttle cable. There is a large slotted machine screw holding the cover on. Clean out the hardened gunk and repack with grease, making sure that the chain links are all working freely. I would use a non-fiber wheel bearing grease (am thinking of Pennzoil WB Grease, red in color), as anything thinner will get "runny" after time. Grease the cable nipples where the clutch cable (left) and throttle cable (right) enter the handlebar bodies. This is a well-known problem area. There are many more items "to watch for", and maybe some of the other posters could contribute a few of their favorites.

This statement could set off some fireworks/discussions, but I use only BMW oils for engine, trans, final drive/ etc. While a knowledgable person could come up with any number of valid reasons to use some other brand, know that you cannot go wrong using the BMW Spec oils. If you wish to experiment in the future, so be it, but at least you know a baseline of performance with the BMW brand.

The famous diode board failures are another one. Check the brand of diode board. If it is a Bosch, you're good to go. If it is a Wherle, might as well replace it before it takes a dump when you are somewhere south of Timbuktoo. Ditto on the alternator rotor. Big-Time problem. See Rick Jones at Motorrad Electrik. Do NOT buy a new rotor - instead, if you make it through summer, pull it and send it to Rick to rebuild during the off season. You won't regret it.

A good manual, like a Clymer or other, is a must.

Good Luck.

Ride Safely,
BrickRider

[boxermaf]

Unless I plug up the exhausts and all air intakes on all my motorcycles for the winter, I will end up with mice (And chipmunks) getting in there.
I find that putting a few mothballs in some plastic shopping bags (like you get from Walmart) and stuffing these bags tightly into the exhausts and air intakes keeps the critters out, and avoids unsightly messes of melted mothballs should you forget to pick up one which has rolled in someplace and become invisible. Just don't forget to remove them before you start up the bike in the springtime - but at least the tufts of
white plastic poking out help provide a visual clue...

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Excellent info folks. While I am intrigued by the engines, I wasn't/am not looking to tear one down just to tear one down (I bought a '76 90/6 for that purpose). Still, Brick, I think the tip about the valves is good enough reason to pull the heads. I'm sure plenty of other lubes will do, I'm going with the safe route for now. I did the carbs, got her idling reasonable well last night...but I think its probably a good idea to replace the cables.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Boxermaf, I'd heard about moth balls repelling rodent but not dryer sheets. That seems easier and less offensive to human senses. Upon first start, no doubt the dryer sheets would be shot out of the mufflers anyway.

However, mice are not a problem, at least in my house. The rodent remnants from the previous owner's garage are (as expected from such a prolonged storage) the problem. I think I am working through it though.

Interestingly, I did change the oil initially but not hte filter...just to make sure the engine turned over. It did. I rebuilt the carbs, replaced the fuel line, emptied the tank (gas actually smelled like gas, not varnish) and flushed the petcocks. Petcocks all work fine, click into various positions and don't leak. When I started it, it idled a bit rough but I expected that but after a few minutes (and a lot of black and blue smoke, it started to settle down then the idle became erratic and a little more blue smoke came out of the left exhaust. I stopped it then it would start but rough idle followed by cutting out.

I think the choke cable is probably not properly adjusted even though I left them in the same position before I pulled the carbs. I drained the oil again, this time changed the filter. The oil was surprisingly black already. This time, with new filter and oil (again) it fired right up, idled pretty smoothly, no smoke at all. My guess is that the oil filter was clogged and it was burning off old stuff in the engine earlier.

On to the carb synch and attempt to lube the choke and throttle cables as BrickRider suggested.