The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: Bill Conquest on January 03, 2010, 03:19:20 AM
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Does anyone know about alchohol resistant bowl floats? I've had to replace my regular foam ones so many times.. also, fuel lines?
Thanks, Bill C.
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Wow, what are they putting in your fuel in Hawaii? Alcohol you say??
I'm still on my 25 year old original floats.
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The alcohol resistant floats, come as part of a 'kit', it includes a new float bowls as well .
The floats ride on a brass pin that goes into the bottom of the float bowl, instead of a pivot pin that the OEM floats ride on .
I think the average cost is around $130US, and that is from the Bing Agency, located in Council Groves, Kansas .
I don't know if you can still get auto fuel without 10% ethanol added to it in the US anymore .
They started adding it to the fuel supply here in Phoenix as an oxygenating agent, about 10 years ago, after MTBE was found to be some nasty stuff, and it started showing up in ground water, due to underground fuel tanks leaking .
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I've read a few reports floating around the internet and ABC that the alky resistant floats are neither worth the high price nor do they insure everlasting happiness. A few folks [smiley=2cents.gif]
Monte
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I've had the alcohol resistant float kit installed on my '81 R65, since March 1997, and no problems, or complaints about them yet .
I think I paid $50-60US for them at the time though .
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... I think I paid $50-60US for them at the time though .
Been awhile, eh, Bob? I got that feeling when I ordered the Kansas Bing Agency carb tuning manual. In about two months time, the price went from $9.50 to $11.00 postpaid. They must not be selling enough alky resist float bowl kits ;D
Monte
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What we really need, is the OEM style floats, made from an alcohol resistant material .
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You don't have to buy kits you can get just the floats from
Bing. They are made just like the original floats.
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I did a little searching this morning, and the information that I dug up, is that the BMW float part number : 13-11-1-254-766, is an alcohol resistant OEM style float .
If you are ordering this part number, it should be alcohol resistant .
I sent an email to the Bing Agency, and see what kind of response I get from them, as to whether the OEM style floats they sell, are alcohol resistant or not .
By chance Bill, are you adding other fuel treatment products to your fuel ?
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Has anyone actually experienced failure of the stock Bing floats due to gas additives?
Bill, do you know for sure that your float problems were caused by additives? Just curious. I've run stock floats throughout the Midwest, South, and East Coast with no saturation or decomposition.
Seems like I've always heard differing opinions on this subject and personally have never had a float problem since 1978, with periodic maintenance and replacement obviously.
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I'm not using any addatives in the gas - but I just assumed the ethanol added to the gas here was the reason for the floats becoming non floating... I weighed the float that wasn't working & it was a few grams heavier than my spare new one. I'll be interested to see if the new bings are alchohol resistant.
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I just received an email from the Bing Agency here in the US, and they stated, that the white foam OEM floats are not alcohol resistant .
So for whatever that is worth to anybody !!!!
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I just received an email from the Bing Agency here in the US, and they stated, that the white foam OEM floats are not alcohol resistant .
So for whatever that is worth to anybody !!!!
Thanks, Bob, for going to the effort to check it out for us all. I have those purty white floats in my '81. Bengt Mike says he's doing a long-term tech test on the new Bing floats. Has 'em in a glass of Shiner. So far so good.
[smiley=beer.gif] <That's a pic of Mike during his test.
Monte
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Now, if I had read the email completely, there are alcohol resistant floats from Bing .
They sound like they are similar in construction to the independent floats, they are hollow molded black plastic floats, the same shape as the OEM foam floats .
Bing part number : 35-310 .
Now the bad part, they want $37.08US each for them .
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... they want $37.08US each for them.
So! For the asking price of a couple ($74.16 plus shipping) Bing Agency hollow, black, alky-resistant carb floats, I was able to completely overhaul a pair of 32mm Bings. Of course, I used the OEM style floats but I'm not telling my scooter.
Now I'm wondering if the $11.00 I just sent those cats for a Bing Tuning Manual will be little more than two xeroxed pages.[smiley=tongue.gif]
Monte
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I have the Bing manual, and it does contain a lot of information, I don't regret getting it .
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I have the Bing manual, and it does contain a lot of information, I don't regret getting it .
Cool. I feel better. Monte
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Thanks for checking on that, Bob.. I guess i'll stay with the white foamies 'till they sink & then decide. I'm experimenting with drying the soaked one in a container in the sun..
Bill
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Perhaps it's just a coincidence or one or more of us may also hang out on the Airheads List, but... There's a big buzz about the Bing Agency's alcohol-resistant floats; single floats and the full kits. Few people are happy with either of them.
It's not necessary to be a member of the ABC to join the Airheads List. Lots of very experienced and long time BMW gurus, mavens and aficionados hang out on the List. Much good info for all Airhead riders.
Note: They do occasionally get into some flame wars that we don't experience here, thank goodness.
http://www.airheads.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
Left side of the ABC homepage. Click on Email Lists.
Monte
ABC member
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Monte
Maybe I'm doing it wrong but the Airhead digest e-mails are the most tedious thing in the world to read. Everyone seems to include the previous e-mail in their post so there is constant repetition. I find using the archives much simpler.
I agree the great value of the list is the wisdom and experience of the contributors. Snowbum in particular seems prepared to make a big effort to help people. He seems to have the patience of a saint. There are not many posts specific to R65's (and not much R65 knowledge or experience compared to our own forum) but a lot of stuff is common to all airheads.
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Monte
Maybe I'm doing it wrong but the Airhead digest e-mails are the most tedious thing in the world to read. Everyone seems to include the previous e-mail in their post so there is constant repetition...
Many peeps do not follow the list minder's request to "clip" lengthy emails. Hence the "tedium". M
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Man I have been running mine for so long and they are still floating.
Let's see - I have been using Marvel Mystery oil for years. I have just switched to SeaFoam and I might try the Marine additive Starbrite (?) which is supposed to counter act the ethanol.
Still floating after all these years.... :-?
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On time in the early 80's I was night diving on the north shore. It was my first night dive. I dove down in the reef and broke my light. when I came up, I couldnt tell the difference between the lights at princeville hotel and the lights at charo's and my diving partner was nowhere to be seen. I knew one was less than a mile and the other was several miles away. I also knew if I went toward the lights at princeville that the current coming out of hanalei bay would take me out to sea. I just couldn't tell which lights were which and just floated for 20 minutes in the dark. the water was way to rough to be diving and my diving buddy got caught in a wave and got pushed into me. He didn't know what he hit and took off swimming away. Since I had no light and wasn't sure where I was I wasn't going to let him get away. so I chased him and grabbed his fin. He turned and kicked me and kept swimming away, but I had his fin in my hand so it was easy to catch him the second time. then he turned his speargun at me but shined his light on me first. He new the reef pretty good and knew which way to go. but he was having good luck. and handed his bag and fish box to me and kept spear fishing. An hr later while he was down in the reef and I was up top a set came in and wash me up on the beach. I got rolled up on the shore and heard music and saw christmas lights. I tried to get untangled and some ladies on the beach started screaming and ran into charo's. My buddy got wash up on the next set and asked up I was alright. I told him I was fine but just scared two tourist. We looked over and the were coming out of charo's with a manager. Since we had too many lobster we just ran down the beach and went home. The headlines the next day said. Two Tourist See Fish Monster While having Mai Tai's at Charo's.
Great riding in Kauai. How long have you been on the Island
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Hey jds - That was a great story.. I know hanalei quite well. Been here 24 years & enjoy the ocean daily...also riding my R65 around, too. Thanks to the knowledgeable people on this forum i'm able to keep it running well!
Bill
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The new float kit from Bing that includes the new bowls do not have a vents to the outside(carb will not piss on your boot) That means when the needle sticks or gets dirt in it the gas is going to fill the cylinder and possibly hydraulically lock the motor. If my needle sticks I want to know it. A lil puddle on the ground is a nice indicator of something wrong.
The R65 that I have now has the new kits on it and one morning I tried to start it and it made a 1/2 revolution and stopped like my battery had given out. NOT SO, my cylinder was full of fuel, I could see the gas leaking out the pipe at the cross-over
When I snag a set of "old" bowls I'm going back to standard floats
Anybody want to trade ! LOL
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Hey Wilcom - I'll never complain about the drips again..it's always the floats or the float needle & i've always been able to fix it where ever it happens. But the drips are the visible warning sign & thats good, I guess!