R75/5 Parts & wheel mystery

Realized a wheel spacer of some sort was missing yesterday when we partially assembled the R75 for transport. I found a spacer...which I thought was a wheel spacer & tried t install it this AM. Couldn't get things to fit and messed around for over an hour attempting to fit the wheel properly. Finally looked at one of the extra wheels I received and realized that the spacer was actually internal and was in the other wheel....once I figured that out the wheel lined up and installed with no issue...duh....

 Rolled the bike into the cargo trailer as time won't allow any work on it until probably January.

 Laid out all the  parts / spare parts for the bike to figure out what is there and what isn't. Appears that all necessary parts are present and accounted for....plus a lot of extra stuff....luggage, solo seat, hubs, wheels, cables, gaskets, seals, a headlight guard, extra electrical switches, bulbs, a small luggage rear rack, and a bags full of small new OEM parts which I haven't looked at. Plus nearly every BMW manual ever made and a factory parts book with parts numbers.

After stowing all the parts and the bike away my next task was to tear into the sidecar rig to replace the engine push rod tube seals. I've taken this machine apart so many times that it only took me about an hour to dissect it down to the bare bones.

 We rode through some muddy conditions over the past year so a lot of parts need to be cleaned up before assembly.....plus the oil leaks I've been nursing for the past season made a mess of things.

 I found that with the "Brielle" oil cooler I installed last year, I cannot deploy the center stand as it hits the (now lower) oil pan. No big deal as I've never used the center stand other than when the bike is pulled apart. I removed the center stand and will just put it away for now.
The R100RT I have has an oil cooler on it which could likely be used on this engine. Problem is that the thermostat control unit is large and will probably interfere with the side car sub frame.
When installing a oil cooler, I believe the center tube for the filter has to be changed....don't really want to attempt that. 

By the time I was ready to begin the actual engine work it was 2:30 pm so I decided to go for it early tomorrow. Should be able to accomplish the work in 4 hours or less I figure.
Cleaning things up and reassembling the bike / side car will take a few more hours. Might be able to get it all done tomorrow....we'll see. If not tomorrow I'll be able to easily finish it on Monday.
We leave for MT. on Wednesday so have to have it all done and ready to roll on Tuesday. We plan on running the side car to the Airheads "Last Chance Rendezvous" on the 27th.

A Yuma friend needed some help removing a Gold Wing ignition switch so I ran over and removed the switch for him and liberated one of his "Modelo Negras" for my efforts. 

SUNDAY 12-15-13:

Got a fairly early start and set up a work area in the cargo trailer. The wind was gusting about so didn't want to work on the engine out in the open.
The push rod tube seal replacement only took a couple of hours. I pulled the cylinders / head out as a "unit" and did not remove the pistons. This gave plenty of room to access the push rod tube seals. A problem was found in that the left side  ( the ones that were leaking), the push rod tube collars which contact the seals were loose on one side, therefore not applying the required pressure to seal the tube seal. The only fix for this, as far as I know, is to replace the push rod tubes....since my time line doesn't allow that, I simply placed a small hose clamp on each tube to keep the collar in place. Not the proper fix, but will likely get me through the Winter...or until I get new tubes.
Upon completion of the tube seal replacement, I rolled the bike out and affixed it to the sidecar. The attachment went well and only took a little while.
I cleaned up the headers / mufflers before installation. I have the assembly process down to a pattern as i have dissassembled the machine many times. It looks like a major "tear down" but in reality it is a very simple process.
I pulled the side car wheel hub cap to check the bearings / axle nut.....the axle nut had actually "unscrewed" itseld a small amount.....maybe an 1/8 of a turn.  When we ran the "Hannigan Meadows" highway  last Labor Day, the rig handled 115 miles of twisties. A lot of load on the axle....I will keep closer tabs on it in the future. This is the first time this has occured in over 5 years of riding.
I ran a couple miles on the bike to make sure all was well....no leaks yet....I'll change the oil tomorrow and rack up a few more miles on the rig.