Unpacking the New to Me 1125cr - Winter Project

[pdksh]

Started poking around my CR and just finished verifying the PO was a little relaxed with the upkeep of this bike. The motorcycle is charging fine but it has the HD wire harness installed. I'm not too worried about it right now but overhauling the charging system is going on the short-short list of to dos. Couple of questions:

1) Is EBR or ericbuellracing.com still accepting orders? The website is up and functional.
2) The deanadams crank locking tool is out of stock on his website. Does he build them to order? Probably better to ask him directly?
3) The bike has 22,000KMS so it's due for a valve adjustment. Do you require the cam locking tool? or is that tool only needed when reassembling the heads?
4) When doing the valve adjustment, who is the right person to order shims from? I have a not-so-local HD dealer that is Buell friendly. With my Ducati, typically the valves work them selves tight so I all do is sand down the shims with fine grain sandpaper, if they need adjustment at all.
5) I have a StreetRod with the REVO motor. Valve adjustment is NEVER required, typically needs to be inspected and confirmed. Do the Rotax valves often come out of adjustment?
6) Drilling the ROTOR!!! Has anyone drilled their own rotor? I have a drill press and lots of patience. I have drilled stainless steel tubes that were about 5 inches in diameter without issue. I have seen the EBR method online and the method of drilling holes around the outer rotor parameter. Any suggestions? Ideas? Comments? Experience?
7) Last but not least... The Crank Locking Tool - $100 bucks from St. Paul - YIKES!!! I'm not crazy about plowing my crank with a 3/4" impact gun. I have seen pics of Ducati cranks that shattered because of the impact/force of the impact gun. Does anyone have any other suggestions. I'm sure a 1/4 thick nail wouldn't be a good idea.

OK, maybe I should have posted 7 posts but I'm lazy...

Thank you in advance!

 

[d_adams]

1, yes
2, having some made currently
3, no
4, hot cams shim kit
5, some do, some don't
6, no. unless you have an edm machine and know what you're doing, don't.
7, mine's a little cheaper cost, do NOT, and i'll repeat this part, do NOT use a damn impact on it. yes, it's 300 ft/lbs, rent or borrow a torque wrench that will go that high. the crank lock tool is a hardened piece, plain steel stock will not work.

 

[pdksh]

Thank You for your response

 

[pdksh]

I hate being told NO! The more people tell me I can't do something, the more I need to prove them WRONG! This is probably why I ride Buells. When someone questions why I have one, I go out and buy another one. The girlfriend has finally stopped asking

I have being doing some simple tests to see if I can drill my charging rotor... I spent $100 bucks for a crank tool because I refuse to hammer my crank with an impact gun BUT I'm willing to drill a $500.00 assembly on a 45 degree angle. I'm NOT a machinist, I'm a backyard hack! I have purchased #69 drill bits and 1/4" drill bits and attempted to drill a couple pieces of metal on a 45 degree angle. I have found that with a hand drill and a soft touch, I can drill almost anything. BUT! BUT! my accuracy is in question. Since I'm holding the drill its impossible to keep it steady. I'm easily drilling a size or two bigger. I used a drill press with a flat piece of steel and it took me almost an hour to setup a crude jig. As soon as the drill bit touched the steel it moved at least an 1/8 of an inch. Not good since there is only a 1/4 inch channel to drill.

A couple of years ago I took a 6 foot piece of rounded SS stock (sailboat rudder) to a machinist to drill and after a month he still hadn't done the work. I was able to drill the piece with a hand drill. This has giving me great confidence BUT I think I'm beat on this one. I have seen posts on badweather about a blown top end that could possibly be traced back to an improperly drilled charging rotor from a local machine shop. Not only is a $500.00 rotor in jeopardy but my entire bike motor is.

SO I'm going to bite the bullet and contact EBR and Lance (St. Paul HD). Right now Canada post is in a labor dispute and I've been waiting almost a month for parts but its NOVEMBER so I'm not missing too much saddle time. I would love to drill my own rotor and flaunt my work on buellxb.com but I also like my bike. I read a post a little while ago about a backyard mechanic like my self that has approximately a 90% success rate with doing his own work. I feel the same about my own work, after all it's not exactly ROCKET SCIENCE ;-) but frying my top end would drop me down to at least a 47.3% success rate. There isn't anything wrong with admitting I can't do something.

Who knows, when my crank tool does eventually decide to show up I may discover I already have the rotor mod performed on my bike.

 

[Chicknstripn]

Making a very small, and not very deep, pilot hole in the steel prior to using the drill press should do the trick.
Use some cutting oil/lube and take your time.
I’m curious as to why this “hole” is so difficult to drill.

I have no 1125 experience.
Just throwing and idea out there

 

[pdksh]

EXACTLY, Right! Unfortunately the 2009/2010 1125 motor had a known stator charging issue. The only permanent fix is a 0.30” hole drilled through the flywheel’s hub. The hole is an orfice to spray oil to cool the stator. That’s a small ass hole drilled at a 45 degree angle in the center of a hub. No small feet for a backyard hack.

Google “oil cooling” and a pic of an 1125cr will be your first hit

 

[Silverrider]

Just in case , no worries
https://www.ebay.com/itm/buell-1125...h=item3d786e477a:g:0fkAAOSwmoBZa7Xz:rk:8:pf:0

 

[wickedchop]

Making a very small, and not very deep, pilot hole in the steel prior to using the drill press should do the trick.
Use some cutting oil/lube and take your time.
I’m curious as to why this “hole” is so difficult to drill.

I have no 1125 experience.
Just throwing and idea out there

I'd use a center punch even before drilling a pilot hole in any metal, just my two cents......

 

[Chicknstripn]

Total agree- Center punch is a given when drilling metal.

 

[pdksh]

Just in case , no worries
https://www.ebay.com/itm/buell-1125...h=item3d786e477a:g:0fkAAOSwmoBZa7Xz:rk:8:pf:0

Yes! Save 200 to spend 2000. Lol thank You

 

[pdksh]

Ugh! The clutch slave cylinder was “dry” when I checked the bike out and remained dry for a month. Found a little puddle of DOT4 on the floor.

Question! Oberton slave kit or EBR slave kit? Opinions? I’m only interested in fixing the problem.

 

[Silverrider]

Oberton slave kit , Is the best, I installed on my EBR

Great thread by Cooter :up:

https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?53018-Well-Bye/page36&highlight=oberon+slave+cooter

 

[Silverrider]

 

[pdksh]

Excellent pics, working right now with EBR to order a modified rotor

 

[pdksh]

poking away at the girl, unfortunately I'm not the first hack on this bike. Little things like the starter solenoid cover and other little wire tie down bits are missing. Can anyone tell me if the wiring harness and starter cable power wire (thick bugger) run across the top of the throttle bodies or bellow. I suspect below because it looks like the wiring harness is causing a little resistance on the throttle linkage. If someone has a clear pic of the top of the motor with the airbox cover completely removed, I'd be very grateful.

EBR clutch actuator cylinder and EBR modified charging rotor are ordered. There is no current issues with my charging system, and it has the HD wiring harness addition. I'm replacing on spec, I don't want to have a charging issue that knocks my bike down for a season waiting for parts.

The engine rotation procedure is pretty straight forward, similar to the XB. My next step is to pull the valve covers and check the valve clearance. Bike has 20,000 KMS and now is as good of time as any to check. Oh and Spark Plugs, WHAT A PITA!!! I imagine with some lube and the fingers of a toddler, changing the front plug is possible without rotating the engine, but not with my tree stump fingers.

 

[Cooter]

The trick is to use a short piece of 3/8" fuel line pushed on the plug. It works as a flexible extension to install it. Works well for everything! Motorhomes, headers, big blocks in old mustangs, big blocks in anything lol

 

[pdksh]

Thx for the tip

I have a “snake” of extensions and universals that I use for the spark plugs on the XB. I’ll try the hose trick.

Question about shims. I can’t see any number, stamp or color code on the value shims. I suspect the ink has been beaten off.

Is the only way to determine shim size is with a micrometer?

 

[Cooter]

Yes.

 

[rb70383]

The trick is to use a short piece of 3/8" fuel line pushed on the plug. It works as a flexible extension to install it. Works well for everything! Motorhomes, headers, big blocks in old mustangs, big blocks in anything lol

LOL I have to add we use a clear tube to install indicator lights on the our machines.
Congrats on the bike. I'm starting the winter mods as well finally.

 

[pdksh]

I ordered a hotcams shim kit, should be delivered any day. All my measurements were on the tight end of the spec. The two rear cylinder exhaust were too tight. I called the local HD stealer with the VROD shim part numbers and they didn't have any in stock. I have a street rod (redheaded step child of the vrod) and the shims are compatible between the 1125 motor and the vrod motor - WOOPIE! From what I read the vrod motor rarely needs shims replaced unless you do motor work, but it did justify my purchase. kit was cheap enough.

I plan on replacing all 8 shims and adjusting the valve lash to the loose end of the spec. I want to get this thing back together, its really amazing how much oil will continue to drip out of the motor, its making a real mess of my floor!