Lots to do....need some advice....

[Webbie]

So the day after I replaced my battery and voltage regulator, my fan went out. It does have oil residue in it, and after researching this, I realized that when the fan goes, it's gone. So I ordered and have a new fan. I also had been advised that when this happens, there's a high likelihood that the rear rocker gasket is leaking, getting oil in the fan. Also figured it would make sense to replace some other hard-to-access parts while I'm in there.

So I have the fan, new plugs and wires, rocker gaskets, and a new O2 sensor to install.

I started working on it today after work for a bit. I pulled the seat, chin fairing, and battery. I was also able to loosen both shock bolts, which some have said is really difficult....mine were not too bad.

My thought was to replace the fan, and then go after the rocker gaskets, plugs, wires, and O2 sensor later. I'd like to really be sure where the oil came from before tearing everything apart to do the rocker gaskets if that's not it. I'm not real sure HOW to tell where it's coming from. So I was going to do the fan replacement first. I have some questions.

1 - If I do the fan replacement now and the rocker gaskets later, are there redundant steps that I'll have to re-do when I rotate the engine forward for the rocker gaskets?

2 - My biggest challenge with removing the rear shock is getting the back wheel 8" off the ground by jacking up the bike on the muffler, because I'm not confident that it will STAY upright without falling over. How do you guys make it secure? I'm thinking about using some tie down straps and lifting it up using the rafters in my garage....but not sure what do hook up to on the bike.

I know that's a lengthy post, but wanted to get it all out there to get some feedback from you guys.

Thanks in advance,

Warner

 

[Silverrider]

If you do the fan first and not the rockers and then the rockers will oil out your new fan, not good. But when you take out your fan you will have a good eye sight to see if rocker is leaking.
I use a front pit bull for the front forks, then I made a wooden cradle to fit the bottom of a stock pipe then a floor jack under that to raise and lower the bike as needed.
Hope this helps.

 

[TPEHAK]

I made muffler stand for motorcycle jack from plywood

http://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?8711-Motorcycle-Jack/page3

I do not use straps with my stand because of my stand is pretty steady, but you can strap motorcycle to both sided from jack to footpegs.

 

[tokinbuller]

If you have a rear stand and a jack, thats all you need. with the bike on the rear stand, i only had to jack it up a few inches to get the rear bolt out of the back of the shock. If you are jacking it up, and its lifting off the stand, youve jacked it up too high. once you start jacking, pull gently on the long bolt at the same time to feel it in the free spot where it will slide out. Same procedure as putting it back in.

If your replacing your fan, DO the o2 while your there, cause you will need to do the SAME procedure to get to the o2 sensor.

But i agree with others, do the rear rocker first if you have oil on the fan.

*i have S suspension, so maybe this aspect plays a part in how far you need a jack/what type of stand you need.

Tokin

 

[Webbie]

Thanks guys....I'll look this all over in more detail when I get home. I DO have a rear stand, AND a floor jack. The rear stand seems rock solid, but when I started jacking the bike up from the muffler using the floor jack, it felt all kinds of squirrely, so I stopped before my bike fell over. My thought is to just loop some tie downs around the rafters (without screwing any hooks into the rafters) and then lifting up from the frame rails where the seat is. I just need to lift the back end up. Possibly put a strong zip tie on the front brake lever if that seems necessary. I can have the floor jack and/or rear stand left under there in case the straps or rafters break...highly unlikely in either case though.

It would be NICE if the oil is coming from the breather assembly and I didn't have to rotate the engine to replace the rocker gaskets. I'm not sure what's involved in the breather assembly "fix", but I DO plan on doing the breather mod so it's not dumping into the intake...that just seems stupid, frankly.

I'll replace the 02 sensor in any case. I'd like to do the plugs and wires if I can without doing the full engine rotation, too....since I bought them.

Warner

 

[Webbie]

If you have a rear stand and a jack, thats all you need. with the bike on the rear stand, i only had to jack it up a few inches to get the rear bolt out of the back of the shock. If you are jacking it up, and its lifting off the stand, youve jacked it up too high. once you start jacking, pull gently on the long bolt at the same time to feel it in the free spot where it will slide out. Same procedure as putting it back in.

If your replacing your fan, DO the o2 while your there, cause you will need to do the SAME procedure to get to the o2 sensor.

But i agree with others, do the rear rocker first if you have oil on the fan.

*i have S suspension, so maybe this aspect plays a part in how far you need a jack/what type of stand you need.

Tokin

I see what you're saying.....when it's on the rear stand, jack it up JUST enough to where it's maybe a piece of paper's thickness off of the rear stand.....but not more than that. So if it "falls", it's only "falling" a fraction of an inch back onto the rear stand. That sounds fairly safe....and less work than the whole "tie downs" drill.

Warner

 

[Silverrider]

If are not sure were the oil is coming from as of yet , Do a good job cleaning all the oil mess up, then go for a ride and look real good to see were it coming from. If I have to guess I would say rockers very common.

Nothing fancy,but it works.

 

[tokinbuller]

I see what you're saying.....when it's on the rear stand, jack it up JUST enough to where it's maybe a piece of paper's thickness off of the rear stand.....but not more than that. So if it "falls", it's only "falling" a fraction of an inch back onto the rear stand. That sounds fairly safe....and less work than the whole "tie downs" drill.

Warner

Yup. I remember the when i first did this, I thought it had to be a good distance off the ground as well, and it started to wobble on the rear stand when i cranked it up.. I was sitting on my ass on the floor at that moment, and was like oh-sh*t haha.. backed it back down and was thinking theres no way i can jack it up higher.. I thought i needed a different set up like those mentioned above. tried it again, this time pulling the bolt as i jacked it up, and it was like two pumps with my floor jack, and it slid out. Then you have to lower it back down toward the stand to let the swing arm fall to maximium length possible. i just had to remove one torx bolt holding a bracket that holds a part of the shock down. I dont know the actual name of this part, but the shock has a hose/connected to a smaller cylinder looking thing lol. Just remove the clamp holding that to the plastic part of the undertail and the shock comes right out. Do not disconnect the shock/hose to small cylinder thing. Ill try to find a pic for reference.

 

[tokinbuller]

Leave it in gear when you put her on the stand. Keeps her in place for the job. Zips aint a bad idea though lol

 

[Webbie]

Yup. I remember the when i first did this, I thought it had to be a good distance off the ground as well, and it started to wobble on the rear stand when i cranked it up.. I was sitting on my ass on the floor at that moment, and was like oh-sh*t haha.. backed it back down and was thinking theres no way i can jack it up higher.. I thought i needed a different set up like those mentioned above. tried it again, this time pulling the bolt as i jacked it up, and it was like two pumps with my floor jack, and it slid out. Then you have to lower it back down toward the stand to let the swing arm fall to maximium length possible. i just had to remove one torx bolt holding a bracket that holds a part of the shock down. I dont know the actual name of this part, but the shock has a hose/connected to a smaller cylinder looking thing lol. Just remove the clamp holding that to the plastic part of the undertail and the shock comes right out. Do not disconnect the shock/hose to small cylinder thing. Ill try to find a pic for reference.

I'm not sure I follow. When you jack it up JUST off the rear stand, which bolt are you pulling from the shock? The bottom one (rear most on the bike) or the top one that's up by the airbox?

You lost me with this part: " Then you have to lower it back down toward the stand to let the swing arm fall to maximium length possible. i just had to remove one torx bolt holding a bracket that holds a part of the shock down. I dont know the actual name of this part, but the shock has a hose/connected to a smaller cylinder looking thing lol. Just remove the clamp holding that to the plastic part of the undertail and the shock comes right out. Do not disconnect the shock/hose to small cylinder thing. Ill try to find a pic for reference."

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

Warner

 

[Webbie]

Leave it in gear when you put her on the stand. Keeps her in place for the job. Zips aint a bad idea though lol

The rear stand that I have jacks it up from the axle bolts on either side of the swingarm.....so the rear tire isn't in contact with anything. Leaving it in gear wouldn't do much.

Warner

 

[Webbie]

If are not sure were the oil is coming from as of yet , Do a good job cleaning all the oil mess up, then go for a ride and look real good to see were it coming from. If I have to guess I would say rockers very common.

Nothing fancy,but it works.

View attachment 8325

See, to me, that's fancy.

Warner

 

[Webbie]

Well, using my ghetto straps to the rafters method, I got the fan and O2 sensor replaced. That fan is a real bitch to get out, huh? Here's some photos. If anyone can look at the photos with the fan removed and tell where the oil is leaking from, let me know. I buttoned it all back up, mainly so it wasn't left hanging from the rafters...that was kind of a sketchy setup. After putting the battery back in, I ran a fan test from ecmdroid and the fuse didn't blow, so my original issue was definitely the fan.

Warner

 

[Silverrider]

Rear Rocker for sure!!!! Your first fan removal is always a PITA.

 

[Webbie]

Rear Rocker for sure!!!!

Figured. Thanks for the diagnosis. I have 5ea James rocker gaskets (how they are sold at Summit Racing), so I guess I'll do that and the plugs/wires. Not tomorrow though. Haha. How long do you think it takes for that oil film to build up in the fan bay?


Warner

 

[Silverrider]

Time to Rotate that motor, Once it starts its hard to say 400 miles , and the right air scoop helps spread it around. Once the rear gasket get a hot spot it starts , When you take the gaskets out you will see where it got hot an discolored a little and went bad. The norm is about 6K to 10K from what I understand HD upgraded the gaskets knowing they had issues.

 

[TPEHAK]

So it looks like the temperature there is more than 400 F (200 C) (maximal temperature of average silicone).

 

[Webbie]

Time to Rotate that motor, Once it starts its hard to say 400 miles , and the right air scoop helps spread it around. Once the rear gasket get a hot spot it starts , When you take the gaskets out you will see where it got hot an discolored a little and went bad. The norm is about 6K to 10K from what I understand HD upgraded the gaskets knowing they had issues.

Well, you're right on the money then. I have between 8-9k on it, and recently put the right side scoop on. Good call. From the research that I've done, it seems like most people recommend the James gaskets, so that's what I ordered. I'll get after the engine rotation soon. In looking at all the steps, it doesn't appear that there are too many redundant from what I did for the fan replacement, so that's good. I'm also going to do the breather mod while I'm doing this other work.

Warner

 

[rchuff]

In that last pic I see a screw sitting on the black hose don't forget to get it out of their. You are doing rocker box and rocker cover right?

 

[Webbie]

In that last pic I see a screw sitting on the black hose don't forget to get it out of their. You are doing rocker box and rocker cover right?

The screw was one of the fan screws...its back in holding the fan in.

I only have rocker cover gaskets...

Warner