VL over oiling

[markreehl]

Just finished a total engine rebuild on my 35 VL, Two problems

1 Front plug is burning good and the rear cylinder is carbon filed.

2 Over oiling, blow by through the front chain oilier

Everything else seems fine 275 miles since rebuild.

Thanks, Mark

[downunder vl]

Mark. To start with my two cents worth.

Plugs. This is typical to me. My burn is similar with the best result being from NGK AB 6 both front and rear. I have tried AB 6 rear and AB 7 front and Champion D 16 rear and D 16, D 14 front without much improvement. See attached photos. There has been local discussion here about a manifold spacer being an aid to this problem by moving the throttle disc further away from the junction of the Y manifold and also further away from the cylinders allowing the carb to remain cooler. I am planning on giving that a try when I locate a "W" spacer. I know I will get the manifold leak thrown at me but I have checked and also had more knowledgeable mechanics check my nuts and nipples. Didn't hurt a bit either.

Re the over oiling. Block off the outlet from the oil pump to the chain oiler passage. A gasket for the pump with no hole in that position sorts that.

I'm sure that you will get more knowledgeable heads than mine adding to the discussion.

NGK AB 6 Burn.jpg

[downunder vl]

Champion D 16 D 14 Burn.jpg The other photo.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Mark, the front cylinder on a VL runs hotter than the rear, so the plugs run grey/brown at the front and brown/black at the rear, so you're probably OK there. On the oiling, the bikes were designed for unpaved roads so seem oily on modern blacktop. They were probably also not fitted with oil rings on the pistons, so always burnt a little oil. With a recon motor with modern pistons your bike is using no oil, so it all comes out through the breather pipe onto the chains. First thing is to close off the chain oiler by bottoming the tapered screw on the side of your oil pump. Then drain the crankcases to see how much oil is in them, which should be 5-6 ounces. Pump in 3 strokes from the hand pump and drain cases and measure again to see the hand pump is working. Ride 20 miles, drain cases, blah blah, repeat with 50 mile run etc. You'll find you need to trim the low and high speed oil pump adjustment away from the factory settings, always remembering oil is cheap and engine rebuilds are expensive. You'll probably end up with the engine cases filling very slowly. Once you have more than about 8-10 ounces in the cases it starts coming out of the valve covers or generator. This is typical running-in for a VL, along with dialling in the carb and checking the timing after a few hundred miles, as the heel of the points settles down on the cam. Have fun, you've got a good riding bike now.

[downunder vl]

Regards Steve. I told Mark he get someone more knowledgeable than me.

Phill

[Jim]

Very good advice from Steve... I've done the Drain/Measure/3 pumps/Drain/3 pumps/Ride/Drain technique myself. ;^) It's a great way to figure out what is going on with oil in your primary chain cover and also exactly what you have in your engine. I would put the bike up on the rear stand and drain it into an oil bottle that has been cut in half. This still has those "OZ" measurements on the side that allows you to see how much you're draining out and also this bottle that has been cut in half FITS under the engine too.