Roxy: No More Leaks

Whew... the oil leak at the breather hose really was just a case of the hose being loose.  When I detached it, I found that the rubber had become rock hard at the end.  Is it possible that it was baked by the overheating engine?  Being rigid it must have then leaked.  I snipped off the hardened portion and reattached the now pliable end along with a ziptie.  Problem solved!

Roxy: Odometer Log - 17,615

Filled up on gas.  Used 91 octane this time.
Air in tires was low at 18 front, 20 rear.  Line for the air pump so didn't fill them.

Roxy: Sizzling!

After Wednesday's ride, noticed that oil was leaking from the intake cover again.  Also, water would sizzle on the fins of the head, which I'd read was a sure sign of an overheating engine.  A lean mixture can cause overheating, and it seemed probable that switching back to stock jets had leaned things out too much.

I was hoping for an easy fix, so I just swapped out the stock jets with the silver ones that were in the bike originally.  So now I have the two silver jets in the "C" carb.

She started up cold on one kick after the swap, but wouldn't idle until I dialed in the air screw.  It's now only 7/8 turn out!

Rode Balboa again today, and was worried when I saw the oil leaking again on my way back.  I thought the oil leak was another symptom of the overheating.  But after getting back to the garage, I found that water wouldn't sizzle anymore.  The head was definitely much cooler.

The oil leak is still worrying.  I wonder if the overheating may have distorted the rubber or somehow caused it to loosen up.  I'll just try tightening things up first.

So now it looks like the silver jets are larger than the stock 85/35.  I just ordered some micro drill bits so I can figure out exactly what size they really are.  You find the largest drill bit that fits through, then you measure it with a caliper.

Roxy: DuPont Teflon

Cleaned and re-lubed the chain with DuPont Teflon Chain-Saver.  Hope it lives up to its reputation for having zero fling-off.

Used 2 parts Pine Sol to 1 part water for cleaning.

Also realized that simply adding cardboard under the center stand is enough to get the back wheel off the ground (duh).


Nothing like a clean chain!

9/20 Update: a little fling-off, but definitely nothing compared to what the Lucas did.  Unfortunately, any saddlebag on the left side will inevitably get sploshed over time.  But will definitely be sticking with the DuPont.

Roxy: Odometer Log - 17,594

Filled up on gas and calculated 76 mpg on this carb.

But not a great GGP ride.  Stalled a couple times in the garage, stalled when slowing for a turn in GGP, and very hard hot start at the gas station.  Also rode with headlight on (up until the GGP stall).  Wonder if that could have been a factor...?

But battery good at 6.4v and spark plug toasty brown with no more signs of build-up.  I think it's just trying to learn her warm start quirks.  Will need to test 5-10 min warm starts for awhile until I figure it out.

One post suggested kick once with ignition off, then kick with ignition on.  Reasoning is that an air-cooled bike needs a leaner mix to start when warm.

Roxy: A Quick Fling

Fling-off from using the Lucas lube.  Not horrible, but I'm eager to see how clean the DuPont Teflon is in comparison.

 

Roxy: Chain Cleaning [15,575]

I should have really cleaned and lubed the chain as soon as I got her.  Hard to say, but for some reason I doubt the PO was doing regular chain maintenance given he didn't even keep the oil topped up.


The cleaning station setup.  Unfortunately, there was no way to get the rear wheel to rotate, even by weighing down the front end, so I just had to keep walking the bike a few feet every time I had to move the chain. 

Dirty chain.

Cleaned and lubed.  Just used 50/50 Pine Sol mix in a spray bottle for cleaning, along with a nylon bristle brush (love that Pine Sol!).

Using Lucas chain lube, since that's what they had at the auto store.  But I already ordered a couple of cans of DuPont Teflon Chain Saver, since I hear that's the gold standard in good, no-fling chain lube.

Roxy: Odometer Log - 17,595

First full tank of gas since all the work on the carb, so can't really calculate MPG on this one.  Will be interesting to see what the change to the carb does for gas mileage.

Also added +5 air to front, +6 to rear.

Oil was at 9/10.

Roxy: Idle Problem Fixed! (sort of)

Hallelujah, she runs!  But I cheated a bit in that I just swapped out the carb with Viola's carb (labeled CS90C), which I'd already cleaned.  She started up and ran like butter.  Actually had a better, lower purring sound than with the old carb for some reason.  Idled strong for 5 minutes with no signs of hesitation, and it was a warm day so I think the running rich issue is gone.

I suppose I'd still like to figure out what's wrong with the newer carb, but first I'll have to figure out how to remove the stuck float pin.


First thing I did since the engine was cold was to check valve clearances.  Happy to see they were .002" on both intake and exhaust.  Also learned from the forum that the reason the PO probably added the breather tube was to accommodate a bigger cylinder or higher RPM.  Since there's a piston in the old parts bin from the PO, I wonder if the cylinder has been bored out.  We'll find out eventually.

Beautifully clean alternator compared to Viola's.

Then did a compression test for the first time.  Again, thrilled to see that I was getting 120 on a cold engine, especially since I was worried about an oil leak into the cylinder.  Odometer at 17,571.

Noticed there was this hole in the bottom of the muffler, though it seemed like someone put it there on purpose.  Another PO mod to increase breathing?

Also took the opportunity to switch to the new shorter filter (Visu-Filter Mini) that came in the mail today.  Much easier to squeeze between carb and petcock, and doesn't kink the line.

And finally everything installed.  Whew.  She idled and revved smoothly, but I'll have to take her on the road to really make sure everything's sorted.

Roxy: Carb Swap?

It would be nice to replace the carb entirely just to see what happens.  If it's the exact same problem (stalls at idle when warm), that's a big clue. 

Then again, I don't know if the replacement carb has problems of its own.  I'd really need to take a carb from a good working bike to be sure.

But as a test, I suppose it can't hurt.  So I started prepping the "C" carb (Viola's original) for duty.  Tested that the floats worked and then she was water-tight.  All in all, she looks to be in good shape.  The only problem I found is that due to heavy corrosion on the back threads, the throttle screw doesn't want to screw all the way in.  But it does go in far enough to just barely lift the slide.  So maybe that's enough.


Testing for leaks.

Testing to make sure the floats aren't leaking.

Roxy: Stalling when Idle continued...

Today I swapped out the slow jet with the Keyster one.  No change.

Swapped the air intake along with the gasket and insulating rubber, just to rule out leaks.  No change.

But did notice something new.  The bike actually idle ok (a little ragged, but held on) for about 2 minutes, when the engine got warm.  That's when she started to want to stall.

At that point, I happened to pull the throttle slide out, and white wispy smoke came out of the top of the carb.  It wasn't just one puff, rather it continued for 30 seconds or so.

I then pulled the plug and noticed it already had oil on the node, despite being only a day old.

So definitely seems that I have oil leaking into the cylinder, the question is just whether that is also affecting the idle problem or not.


The replacement intake is the one from Viola that I had painted with engine paint as a test.  The insulating gasket is in a lot better shape than the original one.

Roxy: New Plugs [17,571]

Still dealing with the weak-idle-then-stall problem.  Figured I might as well change the spark plugs.  Old one looked to be in pretty bad shape.  No telling how long it had been in there.  Figure the PO never changed it in the 2 years he owned her.

Replaced it with another D6HA.  Unfortunately, it had zero effect on the idling problem.  Also tried running the fuel line directly from the petcock to the carb to test if the issue could be related to the filter or a kink in the line, but again, zero difference.  Yesterday, I could have sworn that jiggling the fuel line seemed to affect the idle, but that doesn't seem to bear out today.

Roxy: Oiling the K&N [17,541]

After letting it dry overnight, I added the red oil to the filter today.

Roxy: Carb Cleaning

Decided enough was enough.  Time to pull the carb off completely and give it a good soak.  Removed the carb and did the 2-hour Pine Sol dip.  After it came out, I sprayed WD40 through the slow circuit several times. 

Put it back on the bike, and also changed the fuel line from carb to filter (since I had to cut off the old one).

Bike started and held a weak idle, but I want to give it 24 hours to let all the WD40 get cleaned out of the system.  If the idle's still weak tomorrow... well, back to the square one.

Also took the opportunity to clean the air filter.  Just washed it out and I'll let it dry overnight, then apply the oil.