sight glass '98 RT

[bp@sr9]

well, my spline lube project is almost done. feels good to have that under my belt. spent an inordinate amount of time extricating gravel from all those nooks and crannies-gotta be 5 lbs lighter! The area around the sight glass is moist, i assume it's seeping. i have a spare so i'll change it out. any hidden issues or tricks to watch for, or is it as simple as it looks? b

 

[20774]

Might be some info in one or more of the threads in the Similar Threads pane below.

 

[179212]

Sight glass

Installing mine I found socket that fit snug into case and used socket and small hammer to tap sight glass in, get started straight keep it straight. As far has removing, mine removed itself at same time depositing nice coat of oil on part of garage floor and rear quarter panel of new car.

 

[happy wanderer]

Installing mine I found socket that fit snug into case and used socket and small hammer to tap sight glass in, get started straight keep it straight. As far has removing, mine removed itself at same time depositing nice coat of oil on part of garage floor and rear quarter panel of new car.

Oh no! Sounds like a big mess. But lucky it happened at home and not riding down a crowded highway at 70MPH. That hot warm wet feeling on your leg and the sudden WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA... sound is NOT a good thing!

 

[GTRider]

well, my spline lube project is almost done. feels good to have that under my belt. spent an inordinate amount of time extricating gravel from all those nooks and crannies-gotta be 5 lbs lighter! The area around the sight glass is moist, i assume it's seeping. i have a spare so i'll change it out. any hidden issues or tricks to watch for, or is it as simple as it looks? b

An easy way to remove the old is to use a soldering pencil to melt a hole in the clear plastic near one edge. With that, you can use a tee-shaped seal puller to pop out the sight glass unit. For installation, use a piece of crocus cloth to lightly radius the edge of the recess, clean the area thoroughly—I use alcohol—then use a suitably-sized socket to drive in the new sight glass. Some folks like to wipe a light film of oil on the outer perimeter of the sight glass before inserting but I’ve never found that necessary so long as the edge of the recess has first been radiused lightly.

Best,
DG

 

[179212]

Whumpa

Whumpa I was trying come up with a word to describe the sound after the sight glass blew out, and you hit it on the head also about the right number of whumpa's .
I was in the garage so I found the old sight glass, I thought about replacing it than I don't want to take a chance of it happening again so went to dealer got new one after install have put 20,000 or 30,000 miles on bike. The question why do I still have the old one that blew out?

 

[snookers]

Before inserting the new sightglass be sure to have a clean dry recess for it to go in. Inserting the new unit dry will aid in its ability to adhere to the inside diameter of the hole. Some of us RT owners who own bikes without a retaining clip for the sightglass have made a retaining clip which is attached on the outside of the clip itself, there is a thread somewhere about the procedure. This is a picture of the retainer I made, this was done so that I wouldn't get stranded somewhere with a missing sightglass.

 

[snookers]

The question why do I still have the old one that blew out?

Garage Art ?

 

[bp@sr9]

Thanks all. b

 

[happy wanderer]

Whumpa I was trying come up with a word to describe the sound after the sight glass blew out, and you hit it on the head also about the right number of whumpa's .
I was in the garage so I found the old sight glass, I thought about replacing it than I don't want to take a chance of it happening again so went to dealer got new one after install have put 20,000 or 30,000 miles on bike. The question why do I still have the old one that blew out?

If you stopped the motor after just 3 WHUMPAs you need to take up banjo or any other fast fingered pursuit because you got some flying fingers there! Seriously though, recognizing the sound and acting fast is the key when this happens. Oilheads with reduced or no oil pressure blow motors rather effectively.

Old and broken parts are badges of honour and physical manifestations of our love of fine machinery and the great journeys and experiences and people that brings us. Nail that sucker to a wall in your garage or wherever suits and every time you see it that will remind you of the time you narrowly escaped a big nasty repair with those fast fingers of yours. I think we keep all that crap because of the stories behind them, not the items themselves which are just "stuff" to everyone else. And until you've ridden alone on a remote road somewhere and realized what a great thing it is to be alive and on two wheels, you just don't get it and no one can explain it sufficiently. The "stuff" we gather along the way is just a part of that.

PS: For a real live reproduction of what the whumpa whumpa whumpa sounds like without risking catastrophic damage, just ask any airhead to pull the dipstick out and fire up the bike for a few seconds. That sound coming from the big opening as the large pistons displace and replace air sounds pretty close to the sound of an oilhead sight glass coming out on the fly minus the warm wet oil all over your pant leg and boots... It's pretty darn loud and alarming!

 

[179212]

Fast Fingers

Fencing, at one time I was a very good e’pe’e fencer. My college coach during a lesson with me stopped practice for all of the other fencers and coaches so they could also listen and had long discourse with me saying I had the fastest hands of any fencer he had ever seen and at the same time had the slowest feet of any fencer he had ever seen, it was a one way conversation I knew better than to say anything and everyone else knew better than to laugh their ass until later.
Left handed key right on top in middle guessing I switched off ignition, may not have been 3 but not many more.

 

[dieselyoda]

I seem to have been in a situation last year year where I changed a bunch of these sight glasses on a broad variety of BMW bikes. Every last one didn't come out without some good 'ole in-politically correct language.

Every one I changed wasn't because they were leaking, about to leak, were gonna blow but because they were too discolored.

They all went in the same way with a bit of cursive language and beer in a lawn chair after wondering why a simple seal needed such a specific, right on square big smack. Every seal is the same.

These damn things cost me, with expedited shipping, $80.00 CDN. Yeah, the dealer doesn't carry in stock 'cause the dealer has never changed any.

To digress a second or ten, in my experience, most engines have about 3-6 minutes of running without oil pressure before catastrophic failure. Most engines, the first sign of lack of oil pressure is not the gauge but a rather "ticky" sound from the valve train.

I start big engines at the temps that make most penis's shrivel back into the chest cavity. I've seen oil pressure gauges not move for a couple of days. When I can count to ten, the CDN ten, not the US SAE ten and I hear the "ticky" I wait a little longer.

Heard stories, seen oil pans blow off, had engines start with no to little oil pressure, if the sight glass is in place properly, it is the exact same way as the front and rear crankshaft seals. You loose oil pressure, the light comes on, you got a minute to three.

If, I mean IF, you can blow the sight glass out, you can also blow out the rear/front crankshaft seals and the seal itself, is not your problem.

 

[happy wanderer]

Fencing, at one time I was a very good e’pe’e fencer. My college coach during a lesson with me stopped practice for all of the other fencers and coaches so they could also listen and had long discourse with me saying I had the fastest hands of any fencer he had ever seen and at the same time had the slowest feet of any fencer he had ever seen, it was a one way conversation I knew better than to say anything and everyone else knew better than to laugh their ass until later.
Left handed key right on top in middle guessing I switched off ignition, may not have been 3 but not many more.

Who needs fast feet if you have fast hands? With quick hands there's no need to wheel and deal, you can just stand your ground and slice all comers to ribbons.