The Bike is Down

[From MARS]

Its time to continue the refurbishing of a great machine. I've gotten plenty of wood for the stove stacked, all of my work projects have either been completed or have come to a standstill until it warms up, most of the parts I'll be needing have been purchased over the past 10 months and are sitting on the shelf waiting to be installed, and the SO is glad to have me out of the house.

Last year, the bike was new to me. She had been well cared for, but there were a few items that I wanted to take care of based on knowledge gained from reading about things that broke on y'all. So, I concentrated on the stuff that makes her go; tranny, driveshaft, cables, splines, seals and bearings. Mainly the back half of the bike.

This year, I'm starting at the front. Eventually, I'll pull the swing arm and take care of maintenance items, but the real work is going to be up front. I developed a slight weeping of the left fork so a new seal is going in, the steering bearings work fine, but I don't know when, if ever, they were lubed, the brake fluid needs changing and I'll be replacing the pads, one of the little plastic keepers on the headlight adjusting screw shattered at some point:dunno, she's getting a new speedo cable 'cause the speedo needle bounces sometimes and its not because I have it pegged, and I just want to check over the wiring connections up under the fairing. Depending on time and money, I may rebuild the brake calipers and change over to a stainless steel brake line, as well, but .......

Today, the fairing was removed, the sliders pulled, and the broken plastic keeper replaced with no problems. But y'all standby. I may be calling on the great collective for help to get her back together.

Tom

[geisterfahrer]

Pictures, man, pictures! :lurk

[From MARS]

Geez, Kevin. I'm not much of a photographer, but I'll get you a couple of pics and post them up tonight.

Tom

[From MARS]

Did I ever dodge a big one! The triple tree came apart easily; I probably scared it with the piece of wood and the big hammer I had laying there ready to go or all that penetrating oil I've been applying periodically to the knurl nut worked. The bearings looked good, a little grease was still present, but after cleaning them, working the grease in, and reassembling, the movement was notchy! Crap! I've read all the stories about getting these bearings and races off, and frankly, I was worried. Needlessly, as it turned out. Sure, I destroyed a couple of good big screw drivers by grinding them to fit into the little recesses on the lower triple, but after heating the bearing with a heat gun, I slipped the screw drivers under the bearing and off it came.:dance The top bearing was easily removed with a punch after heating it. The races proved a little more challenging, but again I was able to use what I had in the shop to get them out without resorting to some of the more drastic methods I've read about.

I did take a few pictures for you, Kevin and will try to get them posted up tonight. I just stopped to order the parts and thought I would share my good fortune!

Tom

[SIBUD]

Did I ever dodge a big one! The triple tree came apart easily; I probably scared it with the piece of wood and the big hammer I had laying there ready to go or all that penetrating oil I've been applying periodically to the knurl nut worked. The bearings looked good, a little grease was still present, but after cleaning them, working the grease in, and reassembling, the movement was notchy! Crap! I've read all the stories about getting these bearings and races off, and frankly, I was worried. Needlessly, as it turned out. Sure, I destroyed a couple of good big screw drivers by grinding them to fit into the little recesses on the lower triple, but after heating the bearing with a heat gun, I slipped the screw drivers under the bearing and off it came.:dance The top bearing was easily removed with a punch after heating it. The races proved a little more challenging, but again I was able to use what I had in the shop to get them out without resorting to some of the more drastic methods I've read about.

I did take a few pictures for you, Kevin and will try to get them posted up tonight. I just stopped to order the parts and thought I would share my good fortune!

Tom

I take luck over skill every day. Good for you.:thumb

PS Because there is no inflection on the inter net, what I said above was strictly tongue in cheek.

[geisterfahrer]

Geez, Kevin. I'm not much of a photographer, but I'll get you a couple of pics and post them up tonight.

Tom

Hey, Tom, I'm just jerking your chain a little. I've taken dozens of photos of my deconstruction project (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41334), but they are mostly for my reference for when I start putting it back together. I've posted several for the amusement of the forum.

Seriously, we'd love to see pics, but it's not that big of a deal :)

Keep us posted on your progress, with or without pics. :thumb

[From MARS]

Actually, I appreciate your interest and the encouragement to learn how to post pics.:thumb

There are no other BMW riders around, much less other airheads, to bounce ideas off or to discuss options. Sometimes it gets a little lonely out in the shop, and I wind up talking to Capt. Carpenterhttp://frommars.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Bike-Project/1001174/753443177_Lu69h-L.jpg
He's a good listener, but doesn't offer much in the way of feedback.:laugh

Its like today, when the steering head came apart and everything looked pretty goodhttp://frommars.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Bike-Project/1001180/753443528_9YKXG-L.jpg
I told CC that we were sailing downwind now! But after all the work cleaning out the old grease and re-greasing (I even preheated the bearings on the wood stove to help the grease penetrate better.) to have them feel notchy, sucked!:violin

Of course, when I asked him how the heck we were going to get those races and bearings out, he didn't have any suggestions. My shop is equipped for carpentry, mainly. Sometimes the tools cross over, like when I had opened the left fork leg to verify that the PO had indeed put in progressive springs and was having a difficult time starting the threads on the top plug, I pulled out one of my 48" wood clamps. It worked.:thumb Now the room where the bike is sitting, I added this summer. It is strictly for bike stuff, but very sparsely equipped.http://frommars.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Bike-Project/1001173/753443087_sET8v-L.jpg
So when difficulties arise, I start looking for cross-over tools.

To remove the races, I used a "cat's paw" which is usually a nail removal tool.http://frommars.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Bike-Project/1001183/753442067_VUDQZ-L.jpg
Today, it became a race-removal-tool and worked great. The points fit in behind the race, and I could tap it from the other end of the neck using a screwdriver wedged in the fork and a big hammer and, walla, out comes the race:dance

You'd think the Capt. would be appreciative of my ingenuity, but he just hung there, not saying a word. If he's not careful, I may demote him back to boat fender!

I'm really glad BMW saw fit to cast in the little recesses for removing the lower bearing. I thought I was going to have to take it to a shop and have it pressed off.http://frommars.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Bike-Project/1001185/753442200_pH6pC-L.jpg.
A couple of large screwdrivers, with their blades ground narrower, fit in and pried it right off.

Now, everything for the front end is on order. I found a couple of places where the wires have rubbed, and I need to address those.http://frommars.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Bike-Project/1001178/753442511_v4ZHx-L.jpg.
That'll give me something to do while I wait for the parts.

Well, there you have it gang. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Tom

[PAULBACH]

You do one hell of a job Marine. The Bulldog would be proud.

[geisterfahrer]

:dance

:thumb

Great job, Tom!

[Manfred]

I recently replaced my steering head bearings - didn't trust myself to do this without the right tools. I bought the set for races and lower bearings from CycleWorks (http://www.cycleworks.net/tools_chassis_wheels.htm) and found that they made this job manageable for one of my limited skill.

[From MARS]

Manfred, I want all those tools, too. Eventually I'll accumulate the tools necessary to do most anything to the bike. But for now, I have to think of it as adventure riding, and I enjoy having to be resourceful in finding solutions. Having lived on boats for much of my adult life and being the type of guy that was always looking at the horizon and wondering what was just beyond it, accumulation of stuff was just not practical.

Now, this rolling stone has come to rest. Its time to gather some moss.:dance

Tom

[Manfred]

Tom,

In case you haven't seen these articles, this one from Airheads Beemer Club (https://www.airheads.org/content/view/193/98/) has a neat tip on how to get the races back in straight, using a piece of threaded rod and some large washers.

And this one from Snow Bum (http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/steering.htm) shows how to tighten the top caps without putting stress on the forks, he calls it an anti-torque tool.

Looks like this, with the flat wrench in place:

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/AntiTorque.jpg

[From MARS]

Hi, Manfred. Thanks for the links.

This morning I took a piece of sycamore, about 1" thick, left over from a wardrobe I built my last ex-wife, and fashioned a couple of press pieces to install the races. I used a 2" hole saw to put an 1/8" groove it to hold the race in position and then cut the circle with a 21/2" hole saw. I'll pick up a couple of nuts, large washers, and some threaded rod next time I go to town.

I took the old bearings and cut the rollers off so I can use the center for pressing on the new bearings. With a couple of pieces of 11/4" pipe cut to 3/4" different lengths, I'll be able to use the knurl nut to seat both bearings. I could take them into town and use a press, but where's the fun in that?;) I'll make a wood shim to protect the knurl nut while I press on the lower bearing.

The rest of my morning has been spent taking all the electrical connections apart and cleaning them. Using two acid brushes, one for cleaner and one for dielectric grease, I have cleaned and greased every connector along the frame including the relays and electronics. In several places, the tape around the wire has rubbed. Those areas are getting short sections of spiral wrap. After lunch, I'll tackle the area under the fairing.

Have a great afternoon!

Tom

[From MARS]

I failed to note the arrangement of the seal and washer when I removed them from the slider. Over on ADV there is a thread that shows the washer under the seal, but the Clymer manual, pg 499, shows it above the seal. Which is correct?

Thanks,
Tom

[grahamm]

I purchased the bearing tools as well from Cycle works, the one for the Races worked beautifully, as for the one for the lower bearing not so well, the bearing was locked on there "real" good. I looked at at it for a while then I notice my zip cutter wheel installed on the angle grinder... After removing the rollers and the cage, 10min of grinding and the bearing simply slid off. One has to be careful not to go to far, cutting a layer away at a time with the zip cutter wheel worked well, when the thickness of the bearing became pretty thin you can see the colour changing... indication to stop. Once it was evenly this thickness the bearing crack from the the tension and simple slid off. I do not like the process listed in the manual to press the tube through the bearing and triple by 10mm then back to get the puller underneath the bearing... a bit of risk there in moving a 18yr press fit.

In this process there was no affect or marks to where the bearing presses on the stem.

http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp292/grahamm_album/R100GS012shd.jpg

[From MARS]

I agree with you about not wanting to move the stem after 18 years in the same place. I'm just glad that mine came off so easily. After all the horror stories I'd read, it was a nerve-wracking 30 minutes! Now that the new ones are in place and roughly adjusted, it is obvious they needed replacing.

I did find a great use for one of the steering bearing races; it is the perfect size for seating the seals in the fork sliders.:thumb

Tom

[beemerguru]

The easy way was to find someone with a 10K lb press. Mark the bottom of the triple tee so the shaft can be relocated exactly in the same position as before..

Press out the shaft, align the bearing and put it all back on the press using an appropriate size pipe to press the bearing back.

Whole thing takes 10 minutes or less.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

The easy way was to find someone with a 10K lb press. Mark the bottom of the triple tee so the shaft can be relocated exactly in the same position as before...

Just out of idle curiosity, if you are installing a new races why do you need to mark where the shaft was? It doesn't wear, right?

(nearly a half a million miles on your CSi....impressive!!)

[beemerguru]

You mark the stem and lower triple tree to keep them aligned because someone might actually use the steering lock ;-)

Keeps the hole in the right place.

[beemerguru]

Lucked out so far with a solid body...new top end at 300K miles and a ton of money in suspension, brake, electronics, and interior.....but man is it fun to drive. Still get compliments on the BMW design...classic!

[AnnapolisAirhead]

You mark the stem and lower triple tree to keep them aligned because someone might actually use the steering lock ;-)

Keeps the hole in the right place.

People use those things? lol

Thank you!

[From MARS]

Wow! What a difference in handling the new steering bearings made! Just came back from a shakedown ride of about 60 miles. The bike is rock steady.

This is my first R-bike, first airhead, and first dual-sport bike. I wasn't sure that they all didn't drift a little, but now I know; drifting around in the lane is not normal! Even with a 20-25 mph wind and running in the triple digits, she just tracked like she was on rails. How fun! Everything seems to be just the way she likes it, but I need to tighten the rear brake a little. However the front brake is working better than ever with the new pads; at least they did after I gently applied them a few times.

Now I'm so happy with the bike, I'm not sure I can bring myself to sell her.

Tom