| Author | Message | ||
     Hangetsu |
Hey Doc, This is a little off topic, but can you tell me which rear rack you're using there? I've got Touratech side cases and the only rear carrier I've been able to find that can (easily) be made to fit with the Touratech brackets and still keep the grab rails and triple tail is the Fehlen. However,I like the fact that yours has that forward vertical bar, which the Fehlen doesn't. Care to share? Thanks. A- | ||
| Hughlysses |
A- IIRC he's running the stock Hepco Becker bags (all 3). | ||
| Hangetsu |
Aha, I can see that now. His rack sits almost 2" above the hand rails and that's one reason I didn't go with the stock bags. I just don't like the way that rear case sits so high and extended out past the rear wheel. I'm looking to achieve a location for the top case that's a little snugger to the bike. Looks like the Fehlen may still be the way to go. Thanks for the reply. Cheers. A- | ||
| Dr_greg |
Got a good night's sleep, loaded up the cases, and pushed the Uly out on the drive way into the 32-degree morning. Switched ignition on, paused, and hit the starter button. He fired right up!! "Tickety-tick" for a couple seconds while the valvetrain got fully lubricated, then he settled into a nice idle. All riiight! Wonderful five-mile commute to my "research" office (I work there on TTh) where I parked in the lower level of the parking structure. Look under the bike...NO LEAKS!! So the story was half-over. Had a pretty good day of work (revising the M.S. thesis of a student who's not a very good writer, starting on a homework problem for my mechanisms course in which they have to find the bearing forces and crankshaft torque (both static and dynamic) for a hypothetical engine, looking over a draft of a big proposal to the U.S. Army we're working on), and posting a few more Uly pictures. Then, time to go home...the real test. Walk out to the parking structure; try to see under the bike as I'm walking out... ...hey, looks pretty clear. Could it be?... Finally, get around to get a clear look:  IT STILL LEAKS!!! There was also a small puddle underneath the rear cylinder. Well, fellas, I gotta tell ya...I am flat tired of working on this bike. I spent almost my entire Thanksgiving Break; I don't wanna spent my week-long Christmas Break as well. But...I guess I made progress: 1. I'm SURE the leak is not from any gasket. All gaskets are new, and the mating surfaces were immaculate. 2. In rotating the engine down the first time, I must have "disturbed" an oil fitting/oil line somehow. On both the front and rear. 3. The front oil lines are pretty easy to see, but the rear...well, I guess the oil lines to/from the swingarm are visible w/o rotating the engine, but the rear is generally harder to see. Finally, my oldest son (the one who helped with the velocity stack) said "hey, you need to invoke the Dr. Greg maxim"... He's right. It is: "If everything is right and it still doesn't work; one of the things you think is right is wrong" I'm open to suggestions. | ||
| Froggy |
 I hope it is something stupid, like all along it was a loose nut. They drive you nuts, but then when you figure it out you want to shoot yourself for something so obvious. | ||
| Bertotti |
I haven't tried this but I think a old VW Bug window install trick would work on that double flap for the lower piece of the air box. On Bugs you would put a small rope in the rubber window grommet of the front window. Hold the window in place then pull the end of the rope through which would pull the flap through the window frame. Same for this double flap on the velocity stack. a small piece of clothes line and a little pull and your there. | ||
| Wheelybueller |
Dr Greg,I noticed you don't have the separator on your oil cooler lines,They can chafe. AS that is as high as I can see that's my guess. | ||
| Bosh |
"I'm open to suggestions." Hmmmm... my suggestion. First off. preparation is key to success. Get an appropriate sized ice chest, fill with ice and your favorite recreational beverage. Set it in the Garage. Obtain a flashlight with fresh batteries and put it next to the ice chest. Put a nice low beach chair by above flashlight and ice chest. Now take the bike for a nice ride, 30 miles or so should do it. Bring bike home and park it in a well lit garage. Sit in chair with flashlight in one hand, recreational beverage in the other. Wait for an oil drip, trace it back to its source. Sounds obvious but that's what ya gotta do.  | ||
| Natron |
Now I guess I should confess that I've been sneaking up to Dr Greg's bike with one of these every time he walks away.  | ||
| F_skinner |
Dr Greg, I have enjoyed the way you documented your repairs. +1 on what Bosh said and I just went through the same thing on my 95 S2 rebuild. I was sure the primary gasket was leaking when it turned out to be only a clutch cover gasket. It does not look like a head gasket leak and looks to be a oil nile leak. Those damn things rub against each other pretty easy. It looks to be right here from the picture.  | ||
| F_skinner |
Of course it is impossible to tell from the picture but from the way your surfaces were cleaned I highly doubt it is a gasket. Those braided lines are a double edged sword sometimes. They hold pressure well but can saw through plastic and other oil lines with ease. Frank | ||
| Dr_greg |
I noticed you don't have the separator on your oil cooler lines Bingo! Look what I found!  I assume the only fix is to get new oil lines? Well, I can certainly do that. Umm, what is "The Separator?" So---if that was the front leak---it was simply coincident with all the other stuff that's happened to me? Well, I may have to change my religion...clearly my Gods (er, God) are not watching out for me. Now there's the "rear" leak. I just thoroughly cleaned the rear "oil feed" line at the swingarm. Perhaps (just perhaps) the rear leak was "old" oil that---having gotten nice and warm from my 5-mile commute---decided to do one last drip. Just perhaps. But y'know, an oil leak is something I can deal with. Get out the Tinactin, track it down, etc. Thank goodness it's not an intermittent electrical problem. You can see oil, but you can't see electrons. That's why I'm an ME, not an EE. I'm rotating the oil cooler feed line (the rear one) so it doesn't interfere. Of course the damage is done, but maybe I can diagnose it this way. Boy, if all I have to do is replace oil lines I'll take it! Might even have it running by Christmas! Then I can do that 530-mile Silver City (NM) ride I've been looking forward to... | ||
| Froggy |
Seperator!  | ||
| Froggy |
Its like a bazootie for your oil lines, came on my 06 SS. | ||
| Dr_greg |
"The Separator"... Aha! Well, nothing like locking the barn door after all the cows have run off... Anyone had to replace those oil lines? Guess I'll be the first?! Boy, I sure hope that rear "leak" isn't for real...I don't wanna drop that engine yet again. This problem has been ongoing since October 9!! I'm tired of it. Stupid bike. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Hey, I did one thing right...I got the clutch adjusted the very first time without trying it (I like the engagement point much closer to the bar than the "manual" setting). However, in all other respects the factory Uly shop manual is THE BEST that I've ever encountered. Required for every Uly owner. | ||
| Wheelybueller |
The oil lines are easy,word of warning. The 90deg.fitting on the engine side is SOFT. Personal experience. | ||
| Ourdee |
Doc, Thanks for the velocity stack pics. | ||
| Froggy |
Doc! C0056.1AA CLAMP, OIL LINE, 1/2 DIA Retail Price:$4.70 You need 2 of those, and: AN1006.14FZB SCREW, PPMS, 10-32X3/4, BRIGHT ZINC Retail Price:$0.20 and DN1000.10FZB NUT, FLEXLOCK, 10-32, ZINC JS ULTRASEAL Retail Price:$1.95 Here are the two oil lines assuming you can't fix them: HS0008.1AD OIL LINE, COOLER, INPUT Retail Price:$66.75 HS0009.1AD HOSE, OIL COOLER, RETURN Retail Price:$58.00 Ouch!  | ||
| Krassh |
Didn't the stock lines have the separator on them? I can't remember how my '06 Uly looked before I sold it. I know my '03 XB9S did not and if someone had not piped up I was going to as that is exactly what happened to my '03. Subsequent years came with the separator stock. Of course that was back in the 12 month 12,000 mile warranty days and mine had run out. Also when I ordered the new lines they came as a kit with the separator already installed. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
An oil leak in the front of the engine is very capable of looking like multiple leaks due to the wind wlowing it all back. My X1 has a pretty good leak on the front base gasket and it looks like the whole engine is leaking. I'll bet that this hose issue is probably the last thing you need to fix for the next 70,000 miles. | ||
| Road_thing |
Doc: You can rig a pretty good separator with a couple of zip-ties. Run one tie around both lines, leave it a little loose, then cinch the other tie around the first one, between the oil lines, so it holds them apart.  rt | ||
| Xbimmer |
Mental Note to Self: If something like this happens to me, stand the bike up in the garage, grab a flashlight and a beer and a stool, fire it up and see what happens. All this work for a busted oil line would have me PISSED... | ||
| Dr_greg |
The 90deg.fitting on the engine side is SOFT. Yes; I had to tighten my 90-degree fitting where it enters the crankcase to stop an oil leak a year ago. It was only hand-tight. Didn't the stock lines have the separator on them? So that's what that thing was for! Yes, mine had one. But I removed it when I tightened aforementioned 90-degree fitting. Didn't seem like something I needed and it was hard to reinstall. So I left it out. Here are the two oil lines assuming you can't fix them: Hmm, patching an oil line sounds risky. However, the Uly oil pressure is low (<20 psi, right?) so maybe so. Since the oil pressure is so low, why the braided lines? Aha, looks cool.  An oil leak in the front of the engine is very capable of looking like multiple leaks due to the wind wlowing it all back. Mine definitely had a LOT of oil out back. I think the gaskets were leaking.  I'll bet that this hose issue is probably the last thing you need to fix for the next 70,000 miles. I may take that bet. Anyway, here are my thoughts: 0. Rear spark plug blew out and I installed some top end gaskets. 1. I really did have gasket leaks after that; bike was covered in oil. 2. Meticulous preparation and installing complete top end gasket kit stopped those leaks. 3. Leaving out the separator over a year ago (I still have it in my shop) caused the oil cooler lines to abrade and develop a leak which was largely hidden. 4. Rotating the engine (three times) tweaked the lines slightly and exposed the leak. I thought it was gaskets again, but apparently (thankfully) not. 5. Any leakage at the rear (none this morning) is residual; I can't clean the rear of the engine very well. It will eventually go away. So...next step is to remove the oil cooler lines and take a look. Any tips on patching an oil line? | ||
| Xbimmer |
Any tips on patching an oil line? Try a local hydraulics/hose supply, our local Hose Man chain can build hoses up on the spot. | ||
| Road_thing |
Any tips on patching an oil line? I'd advise against patching--it'll still leak. Just replace it/them. rt | ||
| Dr_greg |
I'd advise against patching--it'll still leak. Just replace it/them. I tend to agree, but...there is a great hydraulic jobber near my house...I'll see what they say. Y'know, I feel even worse since it's a problem of my own making. That "separator" doesn't need to be there! Sigh. | ||
| Dr_greg |
All this work for a busted oil line would have me PISSED... Now, now...don't forget the blown-out spark plug and subsequent gasket-based oil leakage. It wasn't just the abraded oil line...not at all. I'm not upset at all; just glad that I may have tracked down the last of the issues. And I hope I was able to give everyone some pretty pictures and a tip or two (and learn a few myself). | ||
| Ourdee |
Pics were great, and very much appreciated. If I may put my 2 cents in?, I would buy the two lines from the dealer. I've seen my share of hydraulic leaks and would trust the original equipment hoses over a set of lines for a back hoe. Just my thought. | ||
| Skinstains |
If you just cut the torn up piece of line out and stuck a male/male barb in it's place with a couple of worn clamps you'd be good to go. It might keep you busy checking the clamps tension for peace of mind though. I would splurge for the new lines. Take the old ones to a hydraulic/rubber/hose joint and they will make then for you while you wait (usually) it would probably be quite a bit cheaper than the dealer ones. |
