1981 1200 in Spain

Dellortoman said:
Blimey, I'd forgotten about felt seals. They were little better than cave-man technology. I used to have an old Vauxhall car that had a felt seal in the timing cover behind the fan belt pulley. It leaked so I replaced it. The new one actually leaked more than the old one  ::)
Click to expand...

Cam,

Sorry I'm a bit late!
It is best to soak felt seals in oil for a while before fitting them, they tend to shrink rather than grow when soaked.
This comes from bitter experience.
 
Carlos,

As Grant has stated, the float is sticking.  Quite common when filling a carb  from new.  Float dangle is at an extreme angle without fuel in the bowls.  A couple of sharp taps with a screwdriver handle frees the float off and all is well.

piet
 
What an idiot I am. After adjusting the float for the 27th time, I decided to check something else.
Turns out that I had not tightened up th float needle jet completely, it was loose, and inaddition, I had forgotten to put a new seal under it, and for some really strange reason an old gasket was still there.

No leaks now, so it should be fine for reassembly tonight, and perhaps a test ride tomorrow.

Let?s see how it goes.

Cheers
 
A little update on how things are, after deep carb surgery. Once realized the previous mistake, I did a good go over all bolts, jets and the like, and proceeded to install the carbs again. Have now run the bike for 4-5 miles, and the results are pretty good.

I have a decent idle, and there seems to be no hesitation from a stand still. Besides, and most important, the engine runs nice on all 3 cylinders, and seems to be a lot better "rounded". Even more important, the "knocking" I had before under acceleration, has disappeared. It accelerates cleanly and with good power.

I still have what I understand to be noise from the primary chain. I?ve tried to tighten it (Wolfgang method) but the noise remains there. I was planning to build a new gasket for the primary case, as it "sweats" a bit of oil. I?ll take the cover off, and inspect the tensioner condition...
A chain change was always part of the plan (I already spoke with Andychain for a Merc chain). I still need to check out Clem?s suggestion for a correctly tightened nut.

I found one of the original (the double one) coil cables almost loose from the coil, so I decided to jump in and move on to modern Japanese coils. I still don?t really know if black cables should go on the green or the black connectors (in the green right now), but they are working fine!

Last but not least... a new thing appears. I seem to have a brake fluid leak from the hydraulic clutch. It?s leaking from behind the gear change "lid". I guess I?ll have to take it off, and adjust the neutral as well.

All in all... I believe it?s good progress  :D
 
Piranha Brother 2 said:
Do you know if the clutch cush rubbers have ever been replaced? A common cause of rattly knocking at idle if they harden.
Click to expand...

No. Cush rubbers have never been changed, as far as I know. They?ll be replaced with the chain, as it seems to be the easy way to change it. Thanks for the tip!
 
Well... yes;  :P it is clutch fluid...

I have a leak, and also, the fluid at the reservoir has gone dark gray. It used to be amber (new). I guess there must be a seal gone south somewhere...

Investigation starts... any pointer is very welcome.

Cheers
 
SimonR501 said:
The obvious place is the clutch slave cylinder 'O' ring, check the condition of the slave piston and bore.
Click to expand...

Thank you Simon. I found this thread (http://www.laverdaforum.com/forum/index.php/topic,80736.msg135620.html#msg135620). Can someone confirm this is the right size for the o?ring?

30 + 4.5 + 39 EPDM

Thanks again!
 
Ok... starting to look into finding the hydraulic clutch o?ring. Can someone give me a hand on where to find said o?ring?

I assumed the gear pedal (right side of course) engine cover would be a good starting point, however, all I got was a nice amount of engine oil coming out (reminded me of Paul Leclair?s thread on adjusting for neutral), and the sight of the gear changing "gear"....

Is there an easy way to get to the o?ring (via the rubber grommet hole- I can see the "rubber doughnut" through the hole)? Or do I have to take the gear changing mechanism our of the way to be able to get the large cover out?

Cheers!

Carlos
 
its not hard to get at it
begin with the bike in neutral and a drain tray under beneath the right side of the bike, start by removing gear lever and then the triangular cover, be sure that the shaft spline passes through and remains with the inner cover, not that it matters, it is so that you can look at the set up and maybe take a picture, next remove the gear change from the inner case, noting the position of the open legged spring and shims /washers, and then withdraw the circular, gear change device, it just slides out, note also shims/washers. then remove all the bolts holding the inner cover to the crankcase, note the positions of the different lengths, again it is easy to sort if you don't, there is one "internal" one, at the bottom usually hiding in the oil, all the others are external, remove the cover and the spindly (easily broken) gasket, it will now hang on the hydraulic pipe, remove the rubber dust cover (be careful only pattern ones available and they are nothing like as good as original Brembo) now you can see the piston itself, over a tray or absorbent cloth, "pump" the  clutch lever a few times and it will be out, and so will a quantity of fluid. There may be a spring under the piston, this is an unnecessary device, up to you if you bin it or re-install it.

Measure the piston it will be 30mm or 31mm diameter (very unlikely to be 35mm) obtain new "O" ring (I have all sizes) and the two gaskets, pick out the old "O" ring and replace with new, insert the lubed with fluid piston, replace the dust cover, refit the inner cover, then you have to re-insert the tubular gear change device, this is "timed", get down to eye lever with the hole and you will see a mark on the gear inside the crankcase, insert the device (remember shims) in such a way as that the mark(s) on the device lines up with the mark inside the cases, its easy, it is quite a course set of gears, so if you are out it is very obvious, re-install the gear change shaft and spring, replace outer cover, add oil to engine and your done. Except for bleeding the clutch fluid, do this by filling the master cylinder with fluid, then loosen the handlebar bolts and turn the master cylinder so that the pipe work is running down hill, tie the clutch lever against the handlebar and walk away, the following day, when you release the tie the clutch will be bled.
CLEM
 
carlitox33 said:
Ok... starting to look into finding the hydraulic clutch o?ring. Can someone give me a hand on where to find said o?ring? <snip>
Click to expand...

Hope this helps:

1200.jpg
 
CLEMTOG said:
its not hard to get at it
begin with the bike in neutral and a drain tray under beneath the right side of the bike, start by removing gear lever and then the triangular cover, be sure that the shaft spline passes through and remains with the inner cover, not that it matters, it is so that you can look at the set up and maybe take a picture, next remove the gear change from the inner case, noting the position of the open legged spring and shims /washers, and then withdraw the circular, gear change device, it just slides out, note also shims/washers. then remove all the bolts holding the inner cover to the crankcase, note the positions of the different lengths, again it is easy to sort if you don't, there is one "internal" one, at the bottom usually hiding in the oil, all the others are external, remove the cover and the spindly (easily broken) gasket, it will now hang on the hydraulic pipe, remove the rubber dust cover (be careful only pattern ones available and they are nothing like as good as original Brembo) now you can see the piston itself, over a tray or absorbent cloth, "pump" the  clutch lever a few times and it will be out, and so will a quantity of fluid.

Measure the piston it will be 30mm or 31mm diameter (very unlikely to be 35mm) obtain new "O" ring (I have all sizes) and the two gaskets, pick out the old "O" ring and replace with new, insert the lubed with fluid piston, replace the dust cover, refit the inner cover, then you have to re-insert the tubular gear change device, this is "timed", get down to eye lever with the hole and you will see a mark on the gear inside the crankcase, insert the device (remember shims) in such a way as that the mark(s) on the device lines up with the mark inside the cases, its easy, it is quite a course set of gears, so if you are out it is very obvious, re-install the gear change shaft and spring, replace outer cover, add oil to engine and your done. Except for bleeding the clutch fluid, do this by filling the master cylinder with fluid, then loosen the handlebar bolts and turn the master cylinder so that the pipe work is running down hill, tie the clutch lever against the handlebar and walk away, the following day, when you release the tie the clutch will be bled.
CLEM
Click to expand...

Wow! Amazing explanation. I feel well "armed" to go for it now. Thanks a lot, Clem.

Regards.

Carlos
 
CLEMTOG said:
tie the clutch lever against the handlebar and walk away, the following day, when you release the tie the clutch will be bled.
Click to expand...

I've heard this mentioned before but it seems to me like it can't possibly work if your hydraulic system is in good condition.

Pulling the lever in obviously pushes the MC piston into its bore, closing off the reservoir feed hole and pressurising the system. You now have a closed system with nowhere for air to escape. 

The only way air can get out in the above scenario is via leaks in the system. For it to work at all as a bleeding method, the only leak that's going to be useful is leakage past the MC piston seals. You're relying on air rising to the top of the hydraulic line, entering the MC and leaking past the piston. All a bit haphazard if you ask me. If your MC rubbers are good and there's no leakage back past the piston, you'll achieve nothing.

Why not just bleed the system properly and have it done in a couple of minutes? From Carlos' description of the fluid ("fluid at the reservoir has gone dark grey") it needs replacing anyway.
 
Is it necessary to use brake fluid in a hydraulic clutch system? The fluid does not need to withstand the heat generated by braking. It may of course be best to use brake fluid to prevent confusion.

Cheers,

bazzee
 
I thought KTM used mineral oil in there clutch systems, desperate types have used Baby oil. There is some product called Magera Blood, red-dyed mineral oil that gets expensive.
 
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