Aircooled Boxer-isti

I got to thinking that the exhaust clamps on the R80RS have probably never
been moved since being clamped up at the factory, and I thought of popping
them off and copaslipping them etc. Now (thanks to Fr Jack & I think Platy)
I have a finned spanner clamp doofrey but they don't seem to want to move.
Any "hints" of "tips" for getting them off without busting anything?

--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, 03 BMW R1100S Boxercup, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
BMW 330Ci
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

I think "don't" is usually a good tip. If they're not blowing or
damaged, leave them on there until the exhaust needs changing.

 

Several points:

1. They are (or were) surprisingly cheap from the likes of Sherlocks,
Motobins and Motorwerks: should be only a few quid. If horribly stuck
it's not worth risking the pot threads for the sake of the finned nuts:
a hacksaw is the answer - with care you can get down to the tops of the
thread without damage and then split the nut with a cold chisel
carefully applied (I've done this and it works well). Otherwise Plus Gas
and time do work (but it takes ages.

Final cheat: start with a stone cold bike, a MAPP gas blowlamp, hammer,
your special spanner and welding gauntlets. Pre-warm the business end of
the spanner a bit. Cook the fins of the nuts but keep the heat off the
cylinder heads and the downpipes. If you do this fast enough the nuts
should expand and loosen on the threads, and a sharp tap should do it.
Don't forget a heatproof cloth for the fairing! Also keep the spanner in
tight on the fins ere you risk snapping them off or bending them.

2. Copper grease is supposed to be a bad idea because it reacts with the
aluminium, making matters worse rather than better if it gets cooked. I
put lithium grease on mine, and have had no problems since I started
doing so.

3. I loosen and re-tighten them occasionally now, so that they don't
seize up again. They only get one healthy tap-up-tight with the copper
mallet on the spanner though, to avoid overdoing it. I decided long ago
I preferred loose (and noisy) to jammed.

HTH,

S. (R80RT '86)

Stop Press: just looked at Sherlock's price list:

<http://www.james-sherlock.co.uk/pdf/Old-R-series-airhead.pdf>

Page 14:
Exhaust Nuts
110270 Nut, /5, /6 16.10
110721 Nut, ’76 on, retro fit above 10.35
110595 Nut, R45/65 10.35

That's not exactly cheap any more! You might want to try WD40/Plus Gas
and patience - it does sometimes work.

 

Ta for that, I think I'll just keep dribbling penetrating fluid into the for
a while

They're all ok at present. On the Motorbins site they advised carefully
drilling a row of 2mm holes in them and splitting them off.

At some point I want to put stainless headers on it so it can wait until
then



--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, 03 BMW R1100S Boxercup, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
BMW 330Ci
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

This is what I'm now going to do. I'll live in hope and keep squirting
penetrating fluid on them just in case. Motorbins suggest drilling a row of
2mm holes in them and splitting them as an easier safer option rather that
risk the threads
--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, 03 BMW R1100S Boxercup, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
BMW 330Ci
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

Oops. Well, the others have given you their two-pennorth. I'd have
suggested getting the bastard things red-hot, but they'll do that
anyway, won't they?

Um, perhaps not. Get a blowlamp on the bastards, with a cold engine. The
clamps should expand, while the barrels won't.

As you've learned by now, far better to write off the clamps than have
to get the barrels re-threaded.

 

Mine has too, except for the headers
--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, 03 BMW R1100S Boxercup, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
BMW 330Ci
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

First thing in the morning with a cold engine, pour water from a
freshly-boiled kettle over the clamp nut, then quickly slip the spanner on
and give it a couple of sharp taps with a hammer. This has always worked
for me (you may notice a bit of hammer-flatting on the handle of the
spanner). Repeat for the other side. If it doesn't shift them, hit harder
with a bigger hammer. If that doesn't work, drill and split the fuckers,
after ordering replacements from the usual suspects.

If Fr Jack has also passed you a funny-looking bolt, that's for removing the
alternator rotor.

 

Don't think I had a funny looking bolt.

I've managed to snap a chunk off the fin spanner. So I think I'm going to
resort to drilling and replacing them when I need to get the system off

--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, 03 BMW R1100S Boxercup, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
BMW 330Ci
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

He's probably lost it.

You've snapped a bit off? When I said hammer, I meant lump, not Kango.

Seriously, try the hot water thing. It does work.

 

Doubt it, everything was kept in a nice bag, all together and all
passed to Steve... but without the nice bag.

 

I certainly lost it with those exhaust nuts when I first tried to get
them off.

Admittedly not as badly as with the Allen bolts into the silencers. Some
moron had used a mild steel one into a stainless pipe: the bolt had
exploded and had to be spark-eroded out.

Mine Yew, those are the worst things about that bike - I still live it
really

Cheers*,

S.

*it's late and the above is probably the brandy talking. I hate the
thing when it's giving me gip.

 

The threads get so corroded nothing will unscrew the wing nuts. Cut a
line with a hacksaw blade and a cold chisel will split it. Drilling
risks fucking the thread. One can have the thread on the head replaced
with a phosphor bronze one in extremis.