Ed80 Recommissioning blog

[Rockburner]

Found some time for workshopping yesterday...

The new parts had turned up last week, but we had guests over the weekend so I didn't get into the workshop.

New hoses fed through, coloured to mark which is which, then the filler-neck and pump-plate were removed to do the rest of the job.





Old drain/breather hoses and checking the rest of the drain/breather tubes for any more issues


The old hoses were rotten as anything. I'm thinking I'm going to do this job to my current bike next time I go in to change the fuel filter (possibly over this winter).


Admittedly this was after I had to use a pair of pliers to pull the old hoses off the metal connections
Interestingly the old drain/breather hoses were braided internally, the new ones are not.

This was the hose between the fuel filter and the mounting plate


Square bladed Awl for the win!
No idea where I got that tool from, but it's invaluable. Much stronger than a round-rod awl or any screwdriver small enough to get into the tiny spaces.



Old v new. This particular hose part is supplied ready-bent, try to use a normal piece of hose and it'll just kink.




The original filter......



All back together before remounting into the tank.



It all came together reasonably well, however the filler-cap drain tube has rusted up solid, so I've dribbled some ACF-50 down it to see if it might be able to dissolve some of the rust and open up the tube.


I'll have to leave this going for a few days to try to clear that tube, (it's the tube with the little black grommet on it). Unfortunately the metal tube is kinked slightly where it bends to go into the filler-neck-surround-plate, so the internal passage is very small. Bit of a dumb design if you ask me, it's just asking for it to block up. This particular bike has simply been standing for so long that it's rusted (I think). Hopefully it's just a bit of surface rust and the ACF-50 will eat through it and open up the tube again.

The pump-plate is back in the tank and all I have to do is re-fit the drain/breather hoses and refit the filler-neck, then put some fuel in and have another go at starting it up!

[Rockburner]

Yay! We have achieved moistness!





Another 20 minutes of poking with a bit of 1.5mm copper core and we have flow!


Leaving it now for a couple of days with more ACF50 squirted in at both ends.

[mangocrazy]

When I was recommissioning my Ducati 888 I came across similar unpleasantness in the fuel hose/fuel pump area. I can only assume ethanol had attacked rubber parts that were manufactured in pre-ethanol times, and the result was suitably gross and squidgy. And sticky. Touch the stuff and you wore it for days.

As a precaution, no fuel of any type has been allowed to get anywhere near the refurbished parts. The bike is quite a way off being a runner...

[Rockburner]

When I was recommissioning my Ducati 888 I came across similar unpleasantness in the fuel hose/fuel pump area. I can only assume ethanol had attacked rubber parts that were manufactured in pre-ethanol times, and the result was suitably gross and squidgy. And sticky. Touch the stuff and you wore it for days.

As a precaution, no fuel of any type has been allowed to get anywhere near the refurbished parts. The bike is quite a way off being a runner...

To be fair, these hoses have been sitting in petrol for 21 years....

[Rockburner]

Obviously it still needs a few things....
Namely at least one new injector (i borrowed one from Rock4 again), but it's getting closer to being roadworthy.

The ABS even seems to be making all the right noises, and seems to be working! I span up the rear wheel in first and both brake levers stop it spinning, easily. (Yes the front operates the rear on these, iirc)

Next job is to get it road legal so i can test the brakes, gears etc properly on the move.

[ChrisW]

The tickover's so quiet I was quite confused when you revved it up without turning it on first!

[Rockburner]

The tickover's so quiet I was quite confused when you revved it up without turning it on first!

Yeah, when it fired up on both the first time i was amazed how balanced it sounded. (It isn't, but it's very close)

[Rockburner]

More fettling yesterday.

Swapped the LHS Cam-chain tensioner. It's a hydraulic design, so the main pressure comes from the engine oil pressure, with a subsidiary spring to keep it in place. THe old design tends to let the oil trickle out over time, so , on start up, the tension isn't there. The new design holds the oil pressure for far longer, and has a stronger internal spring to boot.

The original article is a 3 part assembly, identified by it's 17mm bolt head:


The new one is a 2-parter, the spring is enclosed within the piston:


Comparison:


Replacing the assembly is a bit of a git.... because the main front swingarm runs almost directly overhead, and when new users ask about this job, there's always a lot of discussion about how to get at the damned thing, what needs to come off etc etc....

However - I figured out a method, a long time ago, that makes the job doable without taking off anything.

Tools needed: A smallish socket set with a decent UJ and short extension, plus obviously decent 17mm and 15mm sockets*:


The trick is to get at the bolt-head OVER the swingarm and drop the socket onto the bolt-head:



This is the extension just poking up behind the swingarm:



View from below (of the new assembly going in)



the bigger picture:



When you pull out the old assembly, the spring and piston tend to get left behind: so a magnet on a stick is very handy....



When fitting the new assembly, the piston does tend to fall out, but it can't go anywhere so the cylinder just screws down into place and you can feel the spring pressure from the piston when you push the cylinder down to the start of the threads.

And a screwdriver is very useful for persuading the socket off the bolt-head when done! (they're not quite in alignment, so the socket tends to stick)



I've done this job about 4 times now, over the years, and it only took me about 20 minutes (mainly due to taking photos and a bit of swearing at the tight access, my hands are medium sized, not tiny!)

Note: the RHS cam-chain tensioner doesn't need upgrading: it sits "upside-down" on the other cylinder, so it doesn't drain out it's oil like the LHS one does. I guess BMW put the tensioners in the correct places relative to the driving and driven cogs, regardless of how that meant they were oriented on the engine "overall".

I'm building up to getting the Ed80 insured, so I can get it MOT'd and taxed, then riding it to see what it's like: but this month is car-insurance, and next month will be car roof-service time, then it's december... so not really expecting to do anything much more until the spring tbh (my bike insurance comes up at the beginning of the year, so if I add the Ed80 then... I can save a little bit by not changing the policy half-way through... well - in theory! I "believe" I can get a multi-bike policy through the Devitts-BMW scheme I'm with.)


* This socket set is a Draper Silver set that I've had for what must be 40 years now, I can even remember the day I bought it from the motor-factors in Henley. It's never let me down, and I've never lost a part of it, (not even the 10mm!)