Oil in weird spots

[montmil]

I've been following this thread. As May 28th was National Hamburger Day and I had a 'Greenwood Grocery' run planned, thought I'd try a small experiment...

I keep all my Airheads crankcase oil levels at the mid point between upper and add marks. Yesterday, I topped the '81 R65's sump to the full mark, checked tire pressures in my tubeless Spitfires, and launched on a 70+ mile burger run.

In all the years and miles where I've maintained the mid point oil level, I've never had any oil collect and drip off a Bing. I also long ago dumped that nasty Air Injection plumbing. That was BMW's answer to a California CARB emissions mandate and all North American imports got it. Pitiful, it was.

After a tasty lunch among BMW mavens, I took a return route that provided plenty of room for some 80-90 mph runs. That little cafe fairing proved its worth as I tucked in and wound out. Was way beyond the buzzy zone in the rev range...

Home. Parked. Wiped off the bugs and hit the patio for a couple adult beverages.

Next morning, checked and spotted some former oil vapor on the bottom of the rightside Bing. Just a little, but it was there. Will siphon out the excess oil and return the sump to its proper level.

YMMV

[Luke D.]

Good day all.  Hope everyone had a great 4th of July, thank you to all the veteran and currently active military personnel.  Also Happy Late Canada day to our neighbors upstairs.  So yesterday I had some free time to work on my bikes oil weepage problem.  I removed what I needed to get at the innards of the air box to remove the plumbing.  When I got to the innards I noticed that this was different than what I though.  This is a picture of the air boxs (not mine but very similar).  Am I supposed to take all of the hoses out?  Am I also supposed to take the small hose that connects to a T on the outside of the air box and the connecting hose off?  Thank you all for you previous help and help to come.

[montmil]

You're gonna enjoy this, Luke.

Step-by-step instructions, a parts list and with color photos! You know we all love photos...

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-technical-articles/pulse-air/

[Luke D.]

WOW!!  Thank you very much montmil, I just read the link over and it looks easy enough that a caveman could do it.    Or in this case me.    Just a question but arnt those pieces important?  I kind of get the concept of the pulse air system but its still alittle over my head.  Thank you again for your help.  Have a great day.

[Luca]

It was added to all US bikes to satisfy California (and probably later nationwide) emissions standards.  Allows fresh air to be drawn into the exhaust when engine vacuum is low, like when you whack the throttle wide open.  Some people here still get emissions tested and passed just fine without the pulse air system.  It's ugly, blocks the right carb bowl from coming off, and is a potential source for leaks.  Some speculate that it increases exhaust valve temperatures too.

The system won't help the bike run.  Euro bikes never had any of the emissions plumbing.  If you feel like spending the money you can get reconditioned european airboxes and starter covers from bmw2valve.com for a real sanitary look.

[montmil]

Mandatory California 'Tree Hugger' law. BMW Motorrad added this junk to all US exports to avoid having to build Cali-Only motorcycles. With both my R65's, the very first thing I did when I brought 'em home was to dump the Political Plumbing.

[Luke D.]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, I was reading over this post and see I did not reply or say thank you for everyones help.  Thank you all very much for your help with this issue.  I just ordered the parts and since it is winter will tear into it as soon as the parts come.  In the mean time I have to clean the carbs because I left gas in the tank for too long and now the bike will not stay running so I am assuming the bowls and jets (whole carb) needs to be cleaned.  I will take some pictures when I take off the pulse air stuff for your enjoyment.    Have a great day everyone, thanks again for the help.

[montmil]

HNY back at ya, Luke.

Pop the float bowls and check 'em for water. Condensation can often afflict the carbs. With winter hitting you pretty hard, perhaps consider dumping all the fuel from the tank and maybe doing a water rise and dry. I did my '81 R65 not long ago and was surprised to find 'things' other than fuel. With only a single petcock, the right side of the R65's tank can harbor all sorts of unwanted "stuff".

BTW, it'll take a few days for the water to evap- or you could speed the process by placing the tank in a sunny spot... if you get those in MN.

[Barry]

I drained my tank this winter and didn't find a drop of water just a few small bits of of the original red liner. And I hadn't done a tank drain in 2 years which is why I thought I ought to do it.

Maybe no surprise though as there is an avalanche effect which means you can find no water even though there is some in the fuel. Up to a point the dreaded ethanol content absorbs the water but once it exceeds the saturation level phase separation occurs and all of the water comes out. All is only going to be 3 or 4 teaspoons per gallon.

I'm not sure I buy the condensation theory as the mechanism of how water gets into the fuel at least inside the tank. I suspect there is some in there all the time through exposure to the atmosphere and the reason we see it in winter is simply that at summer temperatures 1 gallon of E10 will absorb 4 or 5 teaspoons of water while in the winter phase separation will occur with only 2 or 3 teaspoons. So in practice all that might need to happen for water to appear is a drop in temperature. No condensation took place but the process is analogous to condensation of water out of the air when the temperature falls.

I do get condensation of water into the fuel but not in the tank. I get it when the water vapour content in the breather gases condenses out inside the cold carbs. That's a direct result of cold winter oil temperatures.

Perhaps phase separation could also occur inside the carbs before it does in the tank given the very process of fuel evaporation may reduce the carb temperature below that of the fuel in the tank.