Hi all,
I am about to fit one of Bob Newby's superb belt drive kits.
That means I will be running a dry clutch, so no longer want to route the breather into the primary cover.
Currently both the breather and timing chain exhaust/overflow are routed to dribble oil onto the primary chain.
I was thinking about tee'ing these together, then routing into a catch can hidden under the bike somewhere (rather than drip dripping all over my garage floor!)
Does anyone have any opinions about this, should everything be okay? Are there any gotchas to look out for?
Are there any better ideas, or pics to give me inspiration?
Thanks!
Hi. Neither of the breathe…
- Log in to post comments
Brilliant info - thanks Ia…
Brilliant info - thanks Ian!
The bike is in Cafe trim (http://flic.kr/p/d6CN1A) although I have since fitted some decent handlebars instead of the clip-ons, making it infinitely more rideable!!!
The previous owner opened up the primary case for the look, but with a belt drive, there is actually a genuine reason to keep it open.
The bike is pretty new to me - I have only been fettling for a few months.
I think the previous owner fed the timing chain breather to the primary on the basis that every little bit helps. You can see here what I have currentlyhttp://flic.kr/p/d6CNcA
It seems pretty dry though, so no worries, with venting to air via a short length of tube.
Great idea to block up the timed breather, and enlarge the other one - may well be something I will do - after 34 years of ownership, you know your bike inside out. I still have a lot to learn about mine, and really appreciate your help.
Cheers!
- Log in to post comments
Hi Ian - just wanted to ch…
Hi Ian - just wanted to check something with you.I am looking at the breathers, since the weather is so bad, I figured I may as well strip the bike.
Am I correct in saying that the 'timed' breather that you have blocked up is the tiny hole that I have photographed and labelled B here http://flic.kr/p/dekGZZI assume you blocked it by tapping out the hole and screwing a blanking plug in there?
Then you enlarged the other breather labelled A here http://flic.kr/p/dekHtLby screwing in a much larger hose tail.Since I am going up the belt drive route, and thereforebe running a dry primary and clutch, I will probably go the same way as you!Thanks!
- Log in to post comments
Hi Grant. Yes, that's the…
Hi Grant.
Yes, that's the one. I tapped it and used an allen screw + fibre washer. I also ran a bit of sealant around the inside of thealloy plate that carries the alternator in case it decided to 'breath' through the joint. It was breather 'A' that I enlarged. At least with this method it's possible to go back to 'standard' if required.
Cheers.
Ian.
- Log in to post comments
Hi.
Neither of the breathers you mention should be routed to the primary chaincase - or is your bike non-standard with open primary?. Doing this to a primary chaincasewill only serve to aggravate any oil leaks.
Oil from the timing chain breather should be minimal - the standard short lenth of metal tubing projecting just below the frame tube should suffice. Hardly any oil comes out of mine, (1960 ES2 owned for 34 yrs) if at all, if your's does put out a lot then it might be an idea to look at the inlet cam &bush.
There are two mainengine breathers on these engines. One exits at ~2 'o' clock (looking at the drive side crank-case) and should have a ball-valve in it. The breather is normally routed to the final drive chain at the gearbox sprocket. The other, a 'timed' breather in the crank'sdrive shaft,exits at 6 'o' clock just behind the engine sprokect between the crankcase and primary chaincase. Any oil getting past the d/s main bearings comes out of this - regardless of the crankshaft oil seal -and it gives the appearanceof a primary chaincase leak as it drips onto the lower frame rail.(This is why you can put a chaincase together and have no 'leaks' until you run the bike).
If these bikes are used hard - and mine is - then enough oil comes out of both engine breathers to make a bit of amess. What I have done is to blank off the 'timed breather' completely and enlarge the other breather's unionto approximately twice its original diameter (discardingthe ball valve)and fit it with a short length of 10mm copper pipe. From this a length of plastic pipe runs up to the bottom ofa ~250ml catch tank (I figured that if my bike breaths out more than 250ml of oil then I have got a problem). This islocated in the tool-tray under the seat. Exiting from the top of the tank is another piece of tubing ending in a rubber 'duckbill' valve from a Royal Enfield which hangs behind the gearbox. Any oil making its way to the catch tank returns the way it came either when the bike is at a standstill or when vacuum builds up in the crankcases when the bike is running. I have had no problem with oil escaping via the duckbill valve. This whole mod is virtually invisible.
Regards.
Ian.
Attachments 1ES2-3.jpg