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More sight glass

TIGINBNA

TIGINBNA

Coming to your area soon
Hey folks, nice day today here out on Long Island, get Mygo (95 1100gs) fired up and out. Look down to check the oil on the sight glass.....crap no oil can be seen, or so I thought. Turns out at a second glance the plastic has turned milky white and I can no longer see through it at all. Any ideas? There is no oil on the ground, so I dont have a leak, but cant see the oil. Simple replacement or bigger deal?

Thanks

Tig
 
Buy a new one and replace it. Some have used a heated screw inserted through the plastic lense and then pulled it out. The new one just snaps in IIRC.
 
kurt1305 said:
Buy a new one and replace it. Some have used a heated screw inserted through the plastic lense and then pulled it out. The new one just snaps in IIRC.
Click to expand...


Yep. Make sure you clean all the old goo out of the hole before you put the new one in. You want a tight, oil free friction fit.

I think there's an article on the tech pages at IBMWR.org

It might be hiding in the Kbike section, since both oilheads and Kbikes use the same sort of setup. I think a replacement glass is only $14 or so.
 
You also don't have to drain the oil. Just lean the bike against something VERY solid and the oil will tilt away from the sightglass, unless you have to change the oil anyway...
The usual disclaimers etc etc :blah :blah
 
Water???

Is it possible that you have some condensation type water in your oil that is causing it to be milky? It may be that a good run will get the oil hot enough to get rid of the water. The oil will stop being milky, and the sight glass might be clear, with an oil level.
 
OK I got it, change out the glass. And apparently you dont have to drain all the oil? Have you tried this? I hate the idea of changing it right now, It only has 165 miles on it. Any one have any good places to order the sight glass. My local will be 32 dollars. I like to keep my place in business, but I'll get caught for an oil change etc.
Thanks
Tig
 
I did 30 or so city miles today. Made sure to get it up to good temp. Still milky when I got home.
Tig
 
I have done the 'lean to' procedure without a hitch. Just make very sure that you can lean the bike over against a solid object. Have a friend help you with this. The glass pops right out as discribed and pops right in too. Try Chicago BMW with their 20% of it may be a way to go unless someone else :buds has a better idea :D
 
Explosive window exit

Hey, with all this discussion about oil windows becoming impossible to see through, I thought that I should mention another problem with oil windows on older Oilheads: they explode off of your bike while riding down the road! That is what happened to me with my '96 R1100RT this Spring. I was heading down the road, tried to put my foot down at a stop and discovered my boot covered with engine oil and the oil was all over the inside of my fairing, my exhaust pipe, and my real tire! Fortunately, my engine didn't seize, catch fire, or drop me. I found out that a significant number of older Oilhead owners had suffered the same problem. You need to check out your oil window and look for leakage around the window--a bit hard to do with the bodywork all around the engine. It was a learning experience and I came up with a name for my bike: "Valdiz":dunno
 
I have read of this problem of the oil window popping out. There was a whole thread about it, thank God its not my problem. I think Ill buy 2 of them just in case. Any opinions??? LOL(Snort)
 
I just finished doing this. I tapped a big screwdriver throough the sight glass, then pried it out. Make sure you notice how far the old one sat in the recess. We had a little difficulty knowing when the new one was seated.

After we finished, it occurred to me that it might have been a good idea to put the new one in the freezer for a few hours to shrink it a little bit. I may try that next time.
 
This is another argument for periodically cleaning the window so you can detect any seepage.

I recall some discussion of a modification in later oilheads (2000?) to reduce the intenal pressures on the window. Does anybody recall that?
 
MrFrank said:
This is another argument for periodically cleaning the window so you can detect any seepage.

I recall some discussion of a modification in later oilheads (2000?) to reduce the intenal pressures on the window. Does anybody recall that?
Click to expand...


Not to mention seeing accurate oil level.

One of our local club members, the president of the club, let a seap cause the window to look black with dirt covered oil, and eventually ran it so low he ruined his engine.

Expensive mistake.

Juim :brow
 
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