Maintenance Down Under

[Andells1200]

G'day fellow Aussie riders, thought I could pass on someting interesting about oil and filter when using the RPM adaptor. The good old Holden Z30 fits nicely (just) cheap to buy as well. The capacity goes up to... (thats a good thing right) 4 liters is now what it takes to fill plus a bees gonad.The photo is with 4 litres only.This is the 3rd one I have used with no problems at all.....cheers

[ribbert]

That's a very clean bike.

Noel

[rlucas]

That's a very clean bike.

Noel

Precisely my immediate reaction as well. Wow.

[Andells1200]

Thanks fella's but you should never judge a book by its cover. The bike has done 120,000 ks (74,560 miles) it all started with an oil change.... I couldn't see through the glass window so off with the cover for a clean. There was paint flaking off so repaint cover, off with pipes, paint them as well.....bugga it paint rest of motor while still in bike, paint filter before fitting blah blah blah. I also fitted a stainless bolt kit as well. It will last about a year then I will do it all again.Its all part of the fun right ? Here is a photo of the whole thing just your average 91 pink striper

[Bones]

I used a k&n 303 filter when I first got the spin on adapter, but now run a Ryco z79ahe (high efficiency ) you can get at supercheap auto. Costs about $15.00 but its bigger than the k&n, has an anti drainback valve and comes in a nice shade of silver.

[Mark Olson]

Yeah, make sure the filter you use has the anti-drain back feature or you are gonna have an incorrect oil level in the engine.

Meaning it will look full in the sight glass , then the filter fills back up and you are low after you start it.

So if you do have a cheepo filter start your engine and warm it up , then shut it off and check oil level on centerstand . some oil will come back and you will see true level.

Then add oil if needed.  I had this problem when using the big filters , now I run the K&n .

[ribbert]

It will last about a year then I will do it all again.Its all part of the fun right ?

Not necessarily.

This is a paint job with 20,000kms on it. It now has about 50,000 and doesn't look much different.



The prep involved nothing more than cleaning with a kero gun and a high pressure wash. I figure anything that remains after that is solid enough base for paint, then a single coat.
That's all I ever do and get great, long lasting results although I would normally take more care with the masking and painting.
I have found engine painting to be a process best not over thought.

The only credit I can take for it's lasting appearance is I only wash the motor with a sponge and a large paint brush (for the fins and nooks and crannies) to avoid scratching and dulling.

I didn't even take much care with this one as it is a motor I fitted for "just a few weeks" - 3 or 4 years ago while I fixed an oil leak on the original one, and I'm still riding around on it. It is VHT engine enamel. I painted this out of the bike, which I wouldn't do again, you can see one of the finger print marks on the alternator housing from fitting it. The paint remains soft until it's had a couple of hours of running temp to cure.

The one thing I have never had much luck with is painted engine pipes. After spending a small fortune of every product on the market, I gave up. I am removing the pipes today for another job and will reluctantly refit a set of polished ones I have while I look into black chrome.

I still say you bike looks very clean and tidy.

Noel

[wildfire]

How hard is it to paint the engine when still in the bike?. Thats another thing on my list.

[ribbert]

How hard is it to paint the engine when still in the bike?. Thats another thing on my list.

My preference is to paint when it has just been installed and hanging from the back bolts, before you bolt anything up to it, even the front rails. This makes access and masking very easy and you have finished handling it.

Painting one in a complete running bike is just a lot more masking and only concentrating in what will be seen. Much of the engine is hidden from full view in the bike.

For a good looking job I would allow 2 hrs masking and 5 -10 minutes painting.

Noel

[wildfire]

How hard is it to paint the engine when still in the bike?. Thats another thing on my list.

My preference is to paint when it has just been installed and hanging from the back bolts, before you bolt anything up to it, even the front rails. This makes access and masking very easy and you have finished handling it.

Painting one in a complete running bike is just a lot more masking and only concentrating in what will be seen. Much of the engine is hidden from full view in the bike.

For a good looking job I would allow 2 hrs masking and 5 -10 minutes painting.

Noel

Its the paint on the fins on my that look bad. It takes away from the rest of the bikes finish. Oh well , it will have to wait until next year.

[FJools]

What were you saying about clean bikes Noel ??

[X-Ray]

How hard is it to paint the engine when still in the bike?. Thats another thing on my list.

I think its fairly easy, although you still cant reach the back of the engine low down, but with a lot of masking you can do an acceptable job.

I did this when I installed  the RPM Oil Cooler


Bit of a tired grungy mess


I completely forgot to take photos of all the masking up


I can't put new bits onto a dirty engine, lol




I decided to go all black with no polished fins. Like Noel I used VHT Engine Enamel, very good paint.


On my project '92 I have now I will be pulling the engine to do it properley, though that will be part of a whole new thread, which will probably drag on for 12 months, 

[ribbert]

Damn you Ray, your bikes much sharper than mine (and you've got one of them fancy oil coolers). I hope you're bringing something else to the rally.

Noel

[X-Ray]

Noel! I don't know how you do it but you have called me out on this one. Bring something else to the rally? The only other thing I have in the shed is this --



although March 2015 is going to be a bit soon for this to be back on the road, this poor '92 needs a ground up resto.    I haven't started my project thread yet, probably should I guess.  

[Bones]

Doesn't look too bad in the photo Ray,