Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Replacing Fuel Lines on Brigitta and a look at past and present cousins....

 Today the weather had finally warmed enough to allow me an easy and almost iceless exit out of the neighborhood while riding Brigitta, my '87 R80 Beemer.

I rode her the nine miles to the RV Storage Yard and as I parked her next to the URRV, noted the smell of gas.  Oh Oh.

A quick look showed drops of gas emanating from the vicinity of the right tank petcock!  I had recently installed a couple of worm gear clamps  (none had been there before Fiona's immolation); and apparently the clamp's pressure caused an existing split in the rubber to leak gas.

See the split in the rubber fuel line, it's
on side closest to my thumb

Needless to say, visions of another engine fire pop into my head and I hurriedly shut off the right side petcock.  The leaking stopped of course and after retrieving what I had gone to retrieve from the URRV; I rode the few miles to the BMW Motorcycle Dealership.

Got me 3 feet of braided fuel line, borrowed a scissor from the parts clerk, and within five minutes had replaced the leaker with new fuel line.  Leak resolved!

While at the dealership, I saw this R60 /2 in very good condition sitting in the showroom.  I didn't ask if it was for sale so no need to ask me the price.



Now, with the above R60's 600cc engine representing one end of the spectrum....I present to you what is probably a new R18 that was sitting in the parking lot...with its 1800cc engine:



Those are some huge jugs eh?  Not being misogynistic here, that's what the engine's cylinders are called by some riders.

I believe the R18 is BMW's attempt to get some buyers away from the Cruiser crowd of motorcycles such as Harley-Davidson.  It doesn't hold any appeal to me but having 1800cc on tap would be so nice on those long trips involving interstate highways.

Asked to make a choice, I would go for the R60 /2.

Once I got home I also replaced the left side petcock's feed line even though it wasn't leaking, just so they're both same age you see.  I kept the old one as a "get me home" spare and will store it in the toolbox under the seat.

As a test ride, I rode to the Home Depot to get a wire brush Dremel bit and once I was back home I spent a couple of hours cleaning the burn stains on most of the moto tools, my hand started cramping up so will finish the rest tomorrow.  

1 comment:

CCjon said...

Dom, we're getting too particular in our grey years. The R18 is a fabulous example of german engineering and production. Unfortunately it doesn't check any of my motorcycle/sidecar needs boxes. Definitely not for where you like to ride. Even the new African Twin 1000 is not right for your rides. Your TW200 is a perfect solution for what you do most. Based on your postings of the TW, have recommended it to many riders as a solution to what they were looking for.

Now don't get me started on the 2020 Ural Gear Up.... that would satisfy most all of your riding needs. Checks off all the right boxes too... EXCEPT affordability.

Too bad we weren't born rich instead of handsome... lol.

Happy Holidays