Author Topic: My first DIY service  (Read 1871 times)

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Noodlees

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on: May 27, 2018, 07:28:07 pm
I did the service of my bike. I also had drain the timing chest unscrewing the quill bolt. Whit that I also check for the worm seal. That is the steps i did:

- I turned the bike on and let it heat for a few minutes, so that the oil went to temperature and flowed more easily;
- Bowing under the bike, I found 3 bolts: two equipped with a metallic retina filter and one, central no. I opened them one at a time individually, causing the oil to flow;
- Waiting a while, I then opened the valve on the side of the distribution, the one with the "syringe" that enters the seal (quill seal);
- I opened the oil filter compartment, paying attention to the order of the pieces, stacking everything in an electrician band in order not to lose the sequence;
- I removed the spark and I push the kickstart a few times to let out more oil, then I inclined the bike for a while, first on the left and then on the right;
- (IRONIA MODE ON - I did this I did the mystical dance in the round to the bike for 3 times, the first clockwise, then counterclockwise and again, please be careful that the dance must be done at 12.00 o'clock - IRONIA MODE OFF );
- I cleaned and dried the various pieces disassembled, putting a new oil filter in a glass filled with engine oil;
- With a little compressed air (in can) I verified that the oil hole at the base of the screw housing (distribution side) was free. Spraying in air, venting from the filter compartment;
- After this I checked the seal (quill seal) distribution side (you can see the attached photos). It seems in good condition. For safety I have a spare part if needed in the future;
- At this point I inserted the new gaskets and oil filter and I tightened everything;
- I opened the inspection compartment of the rods and I poured in about 200 ml of engine oil and then topped up the oil in the appropriate hole;
- I again kickstart and also having the bike on the center stand, I meshed a high gear and I turned the wheel, so that the pump is activated and sent in circulation a bit of oil, so as to run the lubricated engine immediately;
- I turned the bike on, taking care to listen carefully for any strange noises;
- As I am paranoid, I loosened quill bolt on the distribution side a little to make sure that oil arrived;
- Same thing has been done for the Banjo Bolt who bring oil to the rockers. If they are not completely unscrewed they only make a few drops of oil. I have been told that you can check that oil arrives to the rocker arms even inspecting the inspection cover of the rods: if you see the oil go down it means that everything is fine. I honestly did it and it's not that I see all this waterfall of oil.

Nearly 2 liters of oil (1.7 liters ) came in against 2.25 liters, reaching almost the maximum of the notch.
That done I checked the oil in the primary distribution. I opened the valve at the top and unscrewed the bottom one (a bolt with a split notch) to check the level. If a little oil comes out, the level is correct. The color was clear and did not present metal filings, so I opted to leave what is there.
Finally I gave a new clean to the bike, checked that all the screws were tightened and passed some greasing point.

Some photo:

Engine oil drain screw. Note the presence of a glue-like compund



Oil Filter



Quill Seal



Valve cap ispection

https://we.tl/GxyrT0NzIp

After all I take a tour for checking all was ok. I drove my bike around the neighborhood for about 15 minutes. After I was checking the oil and it was at low level, so I did a refill of amo the 200 ml of oil for a total of 2.0 liters... is this normal, that the oil go down so soon?





heloego

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Reply #1 on: May 28, 2018, 01:33:16 pm
   From how you described your steps it appears you did a fine job changing your oil! I follow the same steps for every change on my AVL.
   That pic shows one very nasty looking oil filter. I can't help but wonder when the previous owner last changed the oil?   The drain plug didn't look too bad, though.  :)
'18 Bonneville T-100, Blue/White
'12 C5 Classic
'06 Electra X AVL w/32mm Mikuni and Gold Star system.


Noodlees

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Reply #2 on: May 28, 2018, 03:28:11 pm
The last oil change was 2000 km ago ... I personally brought the bike to service in an official garage ...

Mumble mumble...I start to think that there was no oil service that time...By the way, that garage is no more available, and near me there isn't a good soul that want to work on my bike, so I must do it myself...


Arizoni

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Reply #3 on: May 28, 2018, 07:19:53 pm
While your wrenching on your bike just remember.

When your done you know whatever task your doing actually got done.
 More than a few "motorcycle service" places skip doing all of the things that were asked for and then charge you like they did everything.

If you took your time and did everything carefully you know everything was done right.

If you weren't sure how to do something and you took the time to learn how to do it by reading books or asking questions on this forum you will be a long way ahead of most repair shops.

Many "shops" hire people who don't know what their doing and letting these guys loose on your bike is a "hit or miss" situation.
Over torquing nuts and bolts, cross-threading screws and bolts, forgetting to tighten things and more bad things are all possible when you give a monkey a wrench and then  can't see what they are doing.

Happy wrenching. :)
Jim
2011 G5 Deluxe
1999 Miata 10th Anniversary


heloego

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Reply #4 on: May 28, 2018, 07:45:47 pm
How true.Between the unscrupulous shops and a lazy previous owner... >:( At least the previous owner of my Electra was honest enough to admit he had no clue when the oil was last changed.But a year spent working on it, and another year later it has become my favorite mode of local transportation.  :)
Noodlees, invest in Snidal's Service Manual, and (if you haven't already) a set of tools, multitester, and a place to tinker. The payoff is sooo nice!   ;D
'18 Bonneville T-100, Blue/White
'12 C5 Classic
'06 Electra X AVL w/32mm Mikuni and Gold Star system.


Noodlees

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Reply #5 on: May 28, 2018, 09:48:28 pm
Hi there!

I totally agree with you...Before I did the service I spent a lot of time reading here and pete snidal’s book (that I bought the last version with 500 and Avl Engine). Also I wrote here and in some other places, when I was in doubt about something. I’m so really happy about to be here.

About tools. It’s some here ago when I start buying good quality tool for my garage. I buy something every 3-4 months. Last time I bought a set of Usag wrenches. I’ve a tester and some tool only for the bike (like the top dead center tool)...Now I wa t to buy a dinamometric wrench...