The Rat Tug under the knife

I finally decided to address the oil leaks which have sprung up on the R100S engine. I've had a cylinder base leak for quite some time and recently the engine started losing oil from behind the transmission. Probably the rear main seal.(?) Started the "dissection" at around 10:00 AM and spent an hour or so just removing body pieces. The side car comes off pretty quickly due to the "pinned" connections. Fuel tank , seat, windscreen, saddle bags, exhaust system came off next.

I've removed parts from this bike enough times to have it down to a pretty quick scenario.

The transmission came off to reveal quite a clean area showing where the oil has been flowing out. On our last road trip the clutch slipped while pulling a long grade. A sure sign of oil on the clutch plate.

I ordered a set of bolts which facilitate the removal of the clutch assembly. The diaphragm spring must be released in stages to avoid warping things and also getting a face full of parts when it comes "springing" off.

I also wanted to address a cylinder base leak so pulled the top end off after removing the transmission. I found a "squished" head bolt o-ring which I botched when I assembled the engine a couple years ago. I will install a pair of metal base gaskets upon re assembly which will slightly reduce the compression ratio and assure cylinder base sealing.



My next surprise was finding a recessed exhaust valve on the right cylinder. This answers the problem I had with valve adjustment issues which were required too regularly.

The cylinders still look good but there is quite a bit of carbon build up on the pistons and cylinder heads.

I made a call to Mesa AZ. to an Airhead friendly repair shop. The heads will be shipped over to them for reworking. hopefully the rebuild won't break the bank.

I also placed an order for all the seals / gaskets needed and a new clutch plate since mine is likely oil soaked.

Todays progress took about 4 hours to completely tear the bike down. I'll likely remove the engine from the frame to allow easier acess to the clutch assembly. I'm fairly certain the engine will need a new timing chain but I'll address the oil leaks / clutch first.

The crankshaft must be blocked into place whill working on the clutch assembly. This requires blocking the crankshaft behind the timing/front engine cover to keep it from moving forward, which can allow a bearing to fall off it's locating pins which open a huge can of worms.

Any timing chain issues will be addressed after the rear engine seal issues are taken care of.

I've had some correspondance with a land owner an hour or so away who claims to have a WW2 German Sidecar rig which he may be willing to sell.

The story goes:

He bought this ranch property years back and there was some old Harley stuff and an old WW2 German sidecar rig in an out building. He sold the Harley parts to some Harley guys and they offered him $2000.00 for the sidecar rig at that time. He decided to keep the sidecar rig for a possible future project. He never got around to the project so it still sits.

I'm hoping to make arrangements to get over to the place in the next week or so to see what he has. He has never tried to sell the bike and has never researched it.

Maybe it will be an ultimate barn find? Who knows.....