Bits that fall off

[Dick_Stilton]

Hello All, Dick here.

Checking the bike after a run and found the left hand rocker cover nut missing and the stud hanging out. Does this mean that O'ring,spacer and rocker pillow block are now rattling about in there somewhere?

Where am I going to get a replacement cap nut?

Cheers Dick

[Bob_Roller]

If you are talking about the cap nut and threaded stud that go through the middle of the valve/rocker box cover, then there are no loose parts rattling around the rocker arm area. That stud and nut secures the cover only. BMW part number for the cap nut is : 11121744330, wave washer part number : 07119932121. You need to check the threads in the head, they are prone to stripping from over torquing. If they check good, a little locktite put on the threads will prevent this from happening again.

[Dick_Stilton]

Hi Bob, Thats a relief. I was planning one final ride in the morning before my big trip to the good old USA.
Part numbers are usefull, where did you find them?
Regards

Dick

[Bob_Roller]

There's a good website :www.RealOEM.com, make sure you have the last 7 characters of your bikes VIN, put it into the search box, and all of the exploded views, will have the part numbers that your bike left the factory with. Also it will tell you the month and year your bike was assembled, which is necessary for some part numbers, because of a change in design or availability to BMW during production runs. It's best to get familiar with  the parts catalog, at least here in the US, as support for these old bikes is quite lacking, I don't know if that is the case where you reside or not.

[Dick_Stilton]

Hey Bob, thats perfect. Now I can see quite plainly that its not a major problem. Very usefull. Many thanks. Dick

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Mine fell off.  I never put them back on.  Even though both my heads have good threads, for the time being.

While they help some, they are not required to keep the valve cover leak free.

[Bob_Roller]

After being involved in aircraft maintenance, I've grown quite fond of self-locking nuts . Plain nuts and wave washers, just don't make the grade in my opinion.

[tagordon]

Bob
When you say self locking, do you mean the ones with the nylon bushing in the last part of the threads?
Troy

[Bob_Roller]

Yeah Troy, there are the self-locking nuts that have the plastic or nylon insert in them, and they are for 'low' temp applications, usually under 250 F. Then there are the all metal self-locking nuts, that have the last 2 or 3 threads will be squeezed into an oval shape cross section wise instead of round.