Saturday, May 10, 2014

Bike finally working, wrapped pipes too!

Finally got the last layer of paint on the bike, I ended up using a unique rattle can that is a two part clear coat including a hardener. It was made by USD Spray MAX, and worked wonders. I experimented with different clear coats and it seamed like all of the other ones dissolved with even small amounts of gas on them. This stuff is bullet proof though and gave my tank a bright shiny gloss. I wrapped the pipes up and even covered the H-pipe, this really accents the rest of my paint job and keeps me from burning myself too.  
So, with the bike done I took it out for it's maiden voyage. I cruised casually around the streets, then decided it was time to open it up. I dropped down onto the highway and just as I switched into the left lane and throttled down, the bike lost all power. I looked down to see if oil was spilling out or if there was something obvious. It all looked clean. Flagging my way through the traffic to the shoulder, I nervously came to a stop on the side of the road. This bike really was aptly named. 
As I sat and waited for triple A to come get me, I remembered that when doing the wire up this last time, I had run out of 30 amp fuses and had used a 10 amp one instead. Apparently at 65 mph, my new stator puts out over 10 amps. Lesson learned, once home, I replaced the fuse and it started right back up. I guess I should start carrying a few extras.
Still grabbed a nice shot from the day thought:

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Mysterious Oil Leak and Even More Mysterious Parts

During my last round of modifications, something went wrong. The first time I fired up the engine, oil began dripping out of what I thought to be the coolant pump, not good.  After all, the oil and the antifreeze are not, in any circumstances, supposed to mix.  How then was oil coming from just below the pump cover?
I decided this was likely an engine-out fix, and since I already had to redo a fair bit of wiring, and there's plenty of snow on the ground, there was no time like the present.  With the rear cover off, I began inspecting the the seals and holes to try and figure out where the oil was coming from.
To my astonishment, there was actually an open hole below the pump cover.  After visiting the CX500 forum, I discovered this is the weep hole, and it is designed to release pressure if one of the pumps fails so coolant doesn't flood areas it's not intended to.  Tracing this passage back to it's origins, I found the source of my leak to be a blown out oil seal, as pictured below.

What was more concerning during this repair, was the small pile of mystery parts in the bottom of the bikes rear compartment.  Amongst the oil that didn't drain, was a small pile of metallic engine jetsam.  One, a long tightly wound spring, reminded me of the spring occasionally on a mountain bike fork seal, that has a purpose but is not wholly necessary.
The other parts, appeared to be more substantial and had me quite concerned.