Riding to Patagonia

[1.21GW]

Well, enjoy and G and the 5 pets say hello  . . .

Thanks.  Hi back!






So I went to Colonia, Uruguay today to reset my visa, which was on the eve of expiring.  Terrible weather: windy, chilly, overcast, then rain.  No fun.  But the town is charming and would be nice under clear skies.  Lots of antique cars, but don't be fooled: none in the fotos below were in working condition.

[GregP]

Last photo is super creepy. I love it!

[1.21GW]

Need some advice, folks:

Yesterday was a pregnant dog of a day.  Bike overheated in the worst stop-and-go traffic I've ever been in.  I felt the heat building, then noticed light smoke in front of my light.  Pulled over and saw that there was oil build-up on the oil cooler (radiator), which was burning and making the smoke.   The oil level is fine so I'm not leaking or losing much.  I'm thinking that the high pressure busted an o-ring or gasket.  Not sure.

Question for the mechanics of the group:

Can I take off and inspect my oil cooler without draining the oil?  The bike has been sitting overnight so the engine is cool and oil settled.

[Speeddog]

I'm not up to date on DR650 anatomy.

Usually oil coolers are mounted higher than the hose fittings on the engine for the oil that goes to/from.
If that's the case, yes, you can remove and inspect the cooler.

Engine oil pressure goes lower as the engine gets hotter, because the oil gets thinner as it gets hotter.
So not likely at all that the overheating blew an o-ring or gasket.

I think you just got the motor hotter than you have before.

[1.21GW]

I'm not up to date on DR650 anatomy.

Usually oil coolers are mounted higher than the hose fittings on the engine for the oil that goes to/from.
If that's the case, yes, you can remove and inspect the cooler.

Engine oil pressure goes lower as the engine gets hotter, because the oil gets thinner as it gets hotter.
So not likely at all that the overheating blew an o-ring or gasket.

I think you just got the motor hotter than you have before.

Thanks.    I'll check the hose fittings vs mounted height to see if I can remove and inspect.  Worst case, I'll just have to drain it to be safe.

The oil is somehow leaking through to the outside of the cooler, so there must be a leak or gap or something.  That said, I guess it might be because the oil was so hot and thin that is could pass through previously impassable gaps.  

My plan is to clean all the oil off the cooler and the ride it carefully the next day or two and see if oil leaks on the cooler again.


[EDIT: After extensive searching on DR forums, it appears it is nearly impossible to overheat a DR without mechanical problems.  So either I have a mechanical problem, or I didn't technically overheat.  Regardless, I have some form of leak that I need to solve.]

[1.21GW]

Took it to mechanic today in Santiago.  They removed the radiator and found the leak.  I then took it to a welder to solder it and now all is good.  Bought some kind of JB Weld cousin that I will carry with me for future emergency needs as I head south.

I'm at a hostel for moto travelers and so I've been spending the night swapping travel stories.  One is Swiss guy that flew into Alaska, bought a KLR650, and rode up to Prudhoe Bay and then down here Ushuaia.  He's here done with Latin America now and is hanging out in Santiago deciding whether to go to Australia or to Africa to ride around another 6 months.  Tough decision.

Anyway, when he bought the KLR he did a standard check but didn't notice one teensy-weensy minor issue with the rear: there was a spacer missing.  So after riding for a few and getting to know the bike on the way north to Prudhoe Bay, the bike began handling rougher but he assumed it was the increasing poor quality of the roads.  Eventually he realized that the handling and noise were more than any road could cause so he stopped the check it out and that's when he saw this:





I don't have a picture of it but the inside of the hub (where the cush drive is) was beyond ugly: bent and smeared metal like some abstract artwork.  His solution to get him to the next town was simple and smart: he zip-tied the sprocket to the spokes to keep it from riding out towards the swing arm.  

[ducpainter]

Prudhoe Bay

[Monsterlover]

Zip ties

[Howie]

Zip ties

Might be as, if not more significant as the safety pin

[1.21GW]

Prudhoe Bay

Thanks.

[ducpainter]

Thanks.

I always thought it was Prudholm...

[1.21GW]

Ok.  So today was a dooooosie.

Checking valves.  Bike has 26k mile and I haven't done it since I got the bike at 3.5k.  Just a tiny bit overdue. 

On the DR650 access is pretty easy, but the valve gap itself is below the lip of the rocker head so you have to curve the gauge to check the gap.  But since it's entering from an angle, you get false friction.  So I decided to buy a set of gauges and physically bent the ones I need to get a clean reading.  It works and I get the exhaust valves to spec, tighten them lightly and do one check now that they're tight before I close the rocker head.

That's when I notice that the gauge tool feels weird.  I look at it, and the pivot screw is wobbly and on the other side there is no nut.

Oh.  Shit.

                
 

Seven stages of grief ensue, along with frantic searching for the bolt on the floor, in exterior corners of the engine, on my lap, in my coffee mug---really, anywhere but the nightmare of it being in the engine.  Eventually, I do find it indeed in the rocker head but thank Poseidon I'm able to fish it out with some hanger wire. 

But here's the thing: another guy here has the same shit chinese gauge but his has a washer on it.  So where is the washer?  Was there even a washer on mine in the first place?

These are the questions that will keep me up tonight while I decide to take it to a mechanic for a full tear down to find a possible non-existent washer or just put it together and press the ol' red button and hope my karma account is in the black.

[DarkMonster620]

You needed Enzo Max and Lunna to help you out

[ducpainter]

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Do you have any idea how many Ducati half rings are floating around in cases worldwide?

[1.21GW]

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Do you have any idea how many Ducati half rings are floating around in cases worldwide?

Is the answer six?  I'm guessing six.


Fired it up and no audible problems so I think I'm in the clear.