2007 MAY Maintenance Log

Last Log Mileage: 94327
Current Mileage: 94327
Cumulative Miles:0

01MAY07 Noted that the bike had a little play in the steering, and found that nut was loose enough to budge by hand. Not good. Tightened steering head nut. May put a dab of whiteout on it so I can see if it is loose. At that check to the Pre-Flight inspection.

02 MAY 07 Bought a 2in wide plain black belt and have placed it around the seat to form a simple auxiliary hand hold for my wife. Seat does not have hinges. Originals gone so must think of a temporary work around. Perhaps thick zip ties.

03 MAY 07 Started repair to ignition kill switch. Used Quik Plastik putty to build up a small piece that had snapped off a long time ago. As of 2300 this evening still has not completely set but it appears that it will be strong enough to shape tomorrow morning. The stem of the kill switch is very thin and had snapped. I masked around the base of the switch and slipped tape up underneath the edge so any repair would not foul the switch. I then used a piece of thin plastic from the Kwik Plastik box to slide under there as well. this would form a flat surface and keep the plastic from drooping while it cured. Molded the putty around and over the switch base and out to form a switch stem.

04 MAY 07 Carved the kill switch to approximately the same shape as original. Actually made it a little larger so I can get to it in a hurry. A little paint and it should be okay. Found a nice belt at WalMart to wrap over and around the seat. Okay, it's a little basic.

05 MAY 07 Painted the kill switch with a little Krylon red. Okay, I feel better knowing its there.

08 MAY 07 Thinking about getting a key made

11 MAY 07 Installed BROWN SIDE STAND. Thank you loving, caring, supportive wife for this additional expenditure. $130 later from Adventure BMW in Cheasapeke VA I am in business. By the looks of the side stand bolts, not a moment too soon. Getting some serious gasoline leakage from right carb. Not sure, but I think I may have damaged the gasket when I cleaned it today with carb cleaner. I pulled the float bowl and did see that the gasket was cracked. For now I just fixed it up with some Permatex 2 stay soft gasket. Had so much fun I did the other side for good measure. This winter I'll pull and rebuild both carbs. Will see tomorrow if that is the trick or if I have a leak at the hose inlet.

12 MAY 07 It looks as though the gasket was the answer. No leaks. This winter I'll rebuild the cabs and clean off the permatex, but for now I can ride.

14 MAY 07 Okay, the gremlin is back. This time the left side-'downhill' on the side stand- is leaking a little bit. I wonder if it is a case of putting the bike away hot and having the fuel in the float bowl expand due to the proximity to the cylinder head. There is what appears to be a float bowl overflow pipe in the bowl. I will have to monitor this one.

20 MAY 07 Victory on two fronts! Ordered silicone gaskets from www.realgaskets.com and they are wonderful. $7 and never another worry. Also fixed the choke issue. Symptom: choke lever feels under tension - acts like a spring in there that needs to be screwed down with a few more cranks on the center screw. Don't do it! First check that the lever is activating both chokes. My right side choke was basically frozen. A little work and some Liquid Wrench and we are over that problem. Tips about working this problem:

1. There is a lot that can be done without disassembling the choke assembly. I could have avoided some grief had I first checked for operation.
2. Do not remove the choke assembly by unscrewing it from the engine housing without first removing the air cleaner housing cover. The choke is held on by a little screw that is on the back of that cover. Loosening the assembly can cause that nut to fall withing the engine housing. Not too serious around the air cleaner area, but there is a slim possibility that dinking around trying to pick it up could cause it to fall into a carb intake.
3. Take care removing the air cleaner housings. They are thin aluminum and if you twist them too much they might be damaged. I snapped a very small piece off the inside of mine. This was due to the alignment of the engine badges I put on a while back, which incorrectly overlap the seam by about 1/8 inch (3mm) on that side. What was I thinking?

Noted that shaft was low on oil. Topped it up and discovered that the drainplug is probably stripped. UNRESOLVED ISSUE: Re-tap drive shaft drain plug.

23 MAY 07 May have been a little premature on the gaskets. Although clearly the new gaskets were needed since the flood of fuel was clearly coming from the old cork gasket...there remains a leak. A very small one, but persistent.

29 MAY 07 I think the leak is in the fuel petcocks. I turned them the opposite way and that seems to help. In the long run they will need to be rebuilt.