New Insurance Policy - Oil Level Warning Light

[steptoe]

I,ve finally got around to fitting my insurance policy,,

and very pleased to see the inside of a 70,000klm engine

all the black stuff is hardened plastic from the back of the chain followers and such,, not bits of metal


got to hook up the little wire and install the gauge on it,s job done

[Eveready1100]

I managed to get the light to trigger while riding to work this morning.
Henceforth, it shall be known as my I.C.I. (Imminent Crash Indicator)
Had a cane hauling semi pull out from a sideroad in the 100k zone on Goodwood road about 50 metres ahead of me. Hit the picks hard and just managed to get it pulled up before going into the nether regions of the bastards trailer. Nearly dropped it when the front locked slightly a few times during the event but managed to keep it upright, just. At some stage during the stopping process, I noticed that the light was on, but it went out again as soon as I'd stopped stopping. This was the first time it had shown up after a fair bit of test riding, up hill, down dale type stuff. Now I had an idea what type of force it took to set it off, I tried to exploit the symptom with a few drag style starts from the lights (that was fun) but couldn't get it to show up. I did manage to get it lit twice more under brakes, but that was using XSive braking force to light it up. Much, much harder than if you were only braking for a bend etc. Real crashstop type braking, so I don't think it's going to be an ongoing worry with it behaving like that.
I rechecked my oil level when I got home and it was about 1/8th" below the top mark, so that may also have contributed to things slightly as well.

[Eveready1100]

Yes, Paul. I think that inspection of the screen should be put in the maintenance schedule after seeing what a couple of them have looked like. Not a regular thing but something that has to be looked at say, every 2 or 3 years. My motor seems to be mechanically quieter since before the clean, but that might just be me, or do you think it might be getting an extra bit of oil fed through it?

A platform is definitely on the short list now. It's one thing to reach in under the bike to undo bolts etc, but when it comes to doing something intricate, that's when you need the space to get right in there under it and still have room to move your arms around freely. I'm envisaging something portable so it doesn't clutter up the garage all the time, but anchorable so it can't move when being used but be in two sections - front wheel support and the back bit supporting the centrestand, with a removable centre section under the motor and maybe the rear section under the rear wheel to be able to be removed if need be.

[Jonesy]

Hey Errol
That oil pump screen made me do a double take......thought I was looking at the pic I put up. Be interesting to see how many others are like that?
As for the bike platform........youll find it real easy to do the work your doing at the moment. combined with a stool on castors to work off it'll be a breeze........you'll be thinking up jobs that need to be done
By the way....a very worthwhile job your doing too.

Jonesy.

[Eveready1100]

Just found a seller on Ebay offering 5 of those relays for $9.99 with free postage - CLICKY


That's value for money

[Eveready1100]

Ok, the last bit - COST

I managed to get the install done a bit cheaper bu using some bits I had around the garage. For those without any access to wire, connectors etc, Here's what it would cost in total.

1/ The sump w/ sensor : Cost US $100 shipped to my door ( I have since been told I paid a lot for the shipping so probably could be had cheaper in the first place)

2/ Always open relay:  $15 at local Autobarn store

3/ Warning light : $5.50 via Ebay - Click If required

4/ 12v wire : a few bucks for some wiring from an auto wreckers will do the trick

So the total install could cost up to $125 but that's pretty cheap for absolute peace of mind

[steptoe]

old sir Joh,, that's how he used to talk to the medjia

[excess.11]

Surely.... "All" ....Queensland politicians can t be dead!!!
Because they... 'All' ....sound confused to me!!!

[Eveready1100]

To quote an infamous (now deceased) QLD politician, "now don't you, you don't just, just you don't, don't you worry about that.........................................for now

[steptoe]

 hey Ev,,on the pic with the 2 sumps side by side,, there is a small {what looks like} brass piece protruding at the rear edge of one of them, what,s the go?

[excess.11]

Sitting nicely on the shelf at the moment.
As we are considering a ride  here in Melbourne i m going to leave well enough alone until after the event.....if you know what i mean.

Two things i have down to do are......replace the valve seals.....as well as the sump/oil level switch.

Will probably do them both at the same time and still need to chase up a few parts in anticipation of both jobs.

Not to mention a few jobs around the house.......that will then allow me to go for a day ride and  carry out the work on the bike........

[Eveready1100]

I just thought that it would take a bit more than that from the measurements I took before assembling the beast. You're right Jeff. You probably would get false readings if it was set too high.
Actually, I did forget one thing in my other wrap up post.
The pro's of fitting one.
In the event of a holed crankcase or the sump plug falling out, this will give you a bit of warning prior to the oil pump starving and destroying the main bearing etc, so it could in fact be an engine saver.

BTW, How's your sump doing?

[excess.11]

On the subject of where the light shows level remaining....i guess they can t go too low with the setting as it would come on and off cornering the bike.
Were you expecting it to come on  later than 2 litres as you filled it ?

[Eveready1100]

Got into the bike nice 'n early this morning. Had a bit of a delay due to a stubborn piece of the old gasket stuck to the cases just behind the oil filter bowl mount and had a dickens of a time trying to get in a position to scrape it off. Next time, I'm gonna build me a work platform like Jonesey's so I can comfortably get under the bike and work on its nether regions without any contortions required.
Bolted the sump in place, then primed the filter housing and up it went too. The exhausts which had caused so much drama the last time simply swung back up into position and I slipped the muffler bolts through the holes in the mounts. Went up front and did the flange nuts then tightened the muffler mounts up. Took about ten minutes compared to the 3 hours for the last effort.
Then came the interesting bit. I turned on the ignition to watch the lights as I started to fill the sump. Surprised me somewhat when the light blinked off with around 2 litres in there. The funnel still had oil running through it so I couldn't get an exact measurement. OK, that works then, I thought, so continued on till the window showed the full level.
Pulled the plug leads and wound the motor over till the oil pressure light went out, then checked the window and topped it up to the full mark on the window.

So that's it. Took the bike for a hop over to Geoffs place to show him my new additions & had a wee conference on the pros and cons of the device. Frankly, I can see no cons in the modification other than the slight amount of power consumed by the relay coil and the bit of mucking about with the wiring to set it up, By the way, I haven't touched the bikes' main  harness with this mod. I just modified an add on bit that could be reverted back to stock if required.

This might seem like a lot of trouble to basically idiotproof the bike ( We're all keeping a closer eye on the oil level window since the rally anyway) but I just wanted to see if it could be done...........................................................and it can!
                                                                                               Errol

Oh, I'll take a final pic of the dash when my super bright red LED comes in just to finish off.

[Eveready1100]

Didn't get as much done today as I would've liked due to domestic duties, but I'm ready to fit up the sump tomorrow. Here's what happened today......


 ^ loosened  off the flange bolts and removed the rear exhaust mounts and let the system hang down just enough to be able to get to all the sump bolts. Didn't want to go through the dramas of trying to totally refit the whole system on my own again. Since the last effort, Neriel is calling the garage "the Chamber of Obcenities"


 ^ Then drained it of its lifeblood. I wasn't even going to drop off the filter but it looked like it might hang up on the front of the sump so off it came too.


 ^ was expecting anything after the reports from Rhodie and Jonesey about bits laying in the bottom of the sump. I was quite relieved that after over 280,000 klms under my butt, all it had to show for it was 2 small pieces of gasket material and a couple of small metal bits, mayve off the 2nd gear dogs as I have some issues there.


 ^ Gave it a good wash and then sat the old and the new down side by side to compare bits.  Notice the small windage tray on the old one that sits where the sensor sits in the XJ sump.


 ^ Did the good 'ol fill er up with liquid to compare capacity. The XJ sump holds exactly 140ml less oil than the XS one.


 ^ Then I went exploring and saw this. The pickup screen was nearly totally blocked with muck. Remind you of anything, Jonesey??


 ^ Shows up much better in the light against a white background. Dunno how much oil was getting through that little clear bit of screen, but it must have been enough!


 ^ Wasn't just on the outside of the screen, either. Scraped off the excess muck (tarlike and very sticky) and went out to degrease it and the hose wouldn't blast through it till I hit it with a stiff brush!


 ^ There was this much of it!


 ^ I felt it was worth another shot.


 ^ The screen after cleaning.

I jinned around between motogp races cleaning off the last of the old gasket and am set to fit the new sump first thing AM. Will fill till the sensor triggers, then measure how much I have put in, which should give a good idea where it will go off if I start to lose oil.
Will keep you all posted.