Hi,
My first visit here and I have a dilemma for some more experienced members. I'm the new owner of a 63 Dream (CA77) that needs some work. It's last licensed in '78, has about 10k on it and has been stored indoors for many years, and is physically in decent shape, a little surface rust here and there. My son and I got it running pretty easily, a carb kit and external gas supply. It actually ran pretty well, but the right cylinder was a bit smoky. Since then we have pulled the motor, thoroughly cleaned and derusted it, and started restoration of the body and other parts. My question is, given that the right cylinder was burning some oil on it's first operation in some time can I expect that this will persist, or is there a chance that things will bed back down and the oil burning will diminish? We only ran the motor for a few minutes, but if the consensus is that the oil burning will continue, should I try and so something now that the motor is out (rings, valve stem seals?). Any other experiences with this situation would be greatly helpful!
Thanks in advance,
Jack
Smokin' cylinder
Smoking engineYour question indicates limited experience with engine rebuilding. There are different ways that people will approach the answer. Some will say, "If you are going to so much trouble on the rest of the bike, why not completely rebuild the engine while you are at it?" With that approach you will end up with a "new" motor and no worries about riding it for a good long while. My approach is a little different. I think you should make sure things are within wear limits so that the engine runs well enough that you can keep riding once it is finished. With my approach, doing the engine work yourself is part of the experience.
With the other approach you will either send the motor to a shop (and prepare to spend some money). With my approach you will tackle the job yourself and prepare to learn a lot along the way - which might be an extraordinary father-son experience. As my kids were growing up I used to tell them, "Education is always expensive." In this case that means that if you build the motor yourself and you screw something up, it will at least take more of your time and could cost some money to replace something that leaks or breaks. The bright side is that even if that happens, it will be a good life experience for both you and your son. If you are careful and get everything right, that will also be a great experience for you and your son as well. With either approach, I think there will be agreement that there is no sense putting it back together and expecting that the right cylinder will not smoke. With my approach you need start with measuring your pistons and cylinders. That should tell you much of what you need to know. Even if they measure within standard, get some new rings. You can check your valves by putting kerosene in the combustion chamber with the valves closed. Let it sit and then look for leaking around the valve surface. There are several threads on this site the discuss that process. You didn't say whether your transmission made funny noises or any other sounds that sounded out of normal. One man's opinion regarding the above. Best wishes for success no matter what path you choose. Search this site for methods to avoid oil leaks around your head and how to seal your cases.
Thanks for the detailed response, I will be searching the site for more details on the engine evaluation that you mention. Any more details you can point me too would be appreciated. As far as the bike, some more details; it has just over 10k showing on the odometer, with no indication that this might be wrong (chain and sprocket both showing no wear, what appears to be original brakes with no wear, drums not worn, etc.) It has been sitting awhile (all in garages), but turned freely and as I mentioned, started right up. My initial thought was that the oil control ring may be gummed and sticking and with use might let go, but I realize that this is wishful thinking. Fortunately, the motor is not hard to remove, so I thought it was worth a try to see if there was any other experience with a long sleeping motor like this.
As far as your observations, I haven't rebuilt any motorcycle engines, but I have done a few older V-8s from the 50' and 60's, so not a complete mechanical clutz, and have acquired a pretty complete set of tools over the years. My son and I restored a 50s DeSoto when he was in high school, he's now out of college and waiting to hear from a grad school and working. I've been riding a bike since I was his age and he wanted to try (much to his mother's chagrin). We had been looking for a SuperHawk project, but ran across this and took the plunge since it seemed like it was solid and was a decent deal. We certainly won't be sending the motor out! I have experienced the disappointments (and periodic triumphs) you mention having worked on all my old cars and old motorcycles over the years (again, to my wife's chagrin), and appear to have instilled some of that in my son, since he has been driving older cars since he was able to drive (might be a curse rather than a blessing). Thanks again for the thoughtful response, and again, any more pointing to the engine approach you mention would be a great help. Best Regards, Jack My 66 had 12000 miles and had been sitting since 1979.
Fired right up after new gas and plugs, battery etc and smoked a little. After a few miles smoking stopped and compression checked at 150. My theory is if it ain't broke don't fix it. Its a lot easier to remove and replace the engine than rebuild the engine.....unless you just want to be 100% sure. Should replace the rectifier though. JMHO 66 dream, 78 cb750k, 02fz1, 09 wing
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