Winter Project - My New to Me Sad Neglected LeMans

[gstallons]

6 minutes ago, audiomick said:

Since no-one has published a list,or at least I haven't noticed it, here is a list of the things I have read about (mostly here) that one should look for:

The front bolt of the torque arm is prone to being unlubricated and accordingly in poor condition.

The pinch bolts on the drive shaft are prone to having been abused.

There is a roller bearing on the outward side of the bevel drive that needs to be looked at and greased.

The spacer in the wheel between the bearings is apparently not always exactly the right length. If it is wrong, the bearings don't live long. The one in mine was completely wrong, maybe 5 mm too short, and had been spaced out with a hand cut bit of pipe. The bearings were shot, of course, but I think someone had buggered around with it and got it wrong. Anyway, it is something to have a look at.

The bottom mount on the shock has been mentioned.

Getting grease into the front grease nipple on the drive shaft is an art unto itself, and reams have been written on the way to solve the problem. The easiest way is to pull the shaft out and do it on the bench. A clever combination of grease gun and grease gun fitting and lots of practice can also achieve the goal in situ, allegedly.

While it is all apart, look at the battery minus connection to the back of the gear-box. Cleaning it can't hurt.

 

I think there was something else, but I can't think of it right now. Maybe someone else will chime in.

the first four points are good. The rear wheel bearings wear out from the wrong spacer because roller bearings cannot tolerate side loads . 

AFA greasing the front joint on a red frame still in the bike ? Post a Youtube video along w/the adapter .I wanna see it ! 

The battery ground to engine , you can use Caig De-oxit , Vaseline , grease or whatever you want along w/one or more shakeproof washers to verify a good ground . If this bike is gonna be down a little while , have someone make a larger diameter cable . These factory cables are Mickey Mouse as it is.

[docc]

18 minutes ago, gstallons said:

the first four points are good. The rear wheel bearings wear out from the wrong spacer because roller bearings cannot tolerate side loads . 

AFA greasing the front joint on a red frame still in the bike ? Post a Youtube video along w/the adapter .I wanna see it ! 

The battery ground to engine , you can use Caig De-oxit , Vaseline , grease or whatever you want along w/one or more shakeproof washers to verify a good ground . If this bike is gonna be down a little while , have someone make a larger diameter cable . These factory cables are Mickey Mouse as it is.

Not video, but here is the approach to the front U-joint Zerk from the front using an adjustable angle tip turned 90º (or less):

Your only other alternative:

[audiomick]

Moving away from the swing-arm, this just occured to me.

Whilst you have the tank off, apart from everything here

or perhaps particularly, look at the breather hose that goes from the frame just behind the steering head back to the top of the motor just before the gearbox. Part #18 here

https://www.stein-dinse.biz/etkataloge/etkataloge.php?l=de&m=220&t=5394&c=W

That hose needs to be replaced periodically, and it is a bit of a pain to get to it. When you have it all apart, particularly on a bike with a "difficult" past like yours, it is not a bad idea to just replace it on spec. Have a good look at it. If in doubt, replace it.

[gstallons]

Make sure you index the hose clamps so you can tighten them and loosen them w/o much trouble . It will make it easier the next time.

[Steve Swan]

Hello to All who are so genrously sharing your wealth of knowledge and experience. Saturday i got the front end back on and got the carcass blocked up to remove the swing arm. This morning (Sunday) when i put eyes on the LeMans, to my dismay, there was a tiny puddle of oil under the RH fork. So, pulled the fork and massive chunk of the seal's lip was torn, careful as i was, it happened. So, i should have seals, fuel filter by week's end. Once i have the front end back on, then i will block up again and move into the swing arm removal.  Thanks for mentioning those pins for setting up wheel alignment. One thing i don't have is a laser, is that something i can buy anywhere and then attach it to a magnetic base i use for holding a dial indicator? Another picture, this one portrays how this bike has been treated by whoever worked on it before my ownership. It's obvious somebody had their hamfists throughout the bike, a NAPA ff wrapped in tin foil.  No gaskets between exh.pipes and heads.  Are rubber parts generally available or are they nla?  There are a couple boots elsewhere on the bike that are cracked, torn, degraded. To be sure, i will be cleaninging all the electrical connectors, with a little emery paper on eyelets and DeoxIT D5S-6 for the connectors.

 

[gstallons]

I have been on the Pilot Debrief portion since the rotor/fixed wing kaboom learning all these abbreviations and you spring a new one on me . Just what is a NAPA ff or a NAPA ff wrapped in tinfoil ?

[guzzigary]

Fuel filter or a fuel filter believing in conspiracy theories?

[gstallons]

Ahhhh , you got me there ! That was too obvious. Cow magnets , clothes pins and tin foil ? I thought that was just hillbilly tune-up stuff .

 

Edited Monday at 05:25 PM by gstallons

[audiomick]

14 hours ago, Steve Swan said:

...Are rubber parts generally available or are they nla?  ...

A surprising number of the rubber bits are available. Stein-dinse has a number of them produced, I believe. If the part number on their site has a "z" on the end (xxxx-z), it indicates a part from a 3rd party supplier (the z is for "Zubehör", German for "accessory").

A word to the wise: rubber parts these days are often not as durable as the were back in the good old days. One plausible explanation I have seen for this is the some of the "good" plasticisers are no longer legal due do environmental protection and what have you.

Whatever, the good advice seems to be to, given a choice, pay for the more expensive option, or live with having to swap out the part again in 5 or 6 years.

[Scud]

14 hours ago, Steve Swan said:

 No gaskets between exh.pipes and heads.  Are rubber parts generally available or are they nla?  

The exhaust gaskets compress so much that they appear like a machined ridge. I once thought there were no gaskets on a bike of mine, then was able to remove them.

As for rubber bits, like the boot for the rear master cylinder, you might have to find out what other bikes used the same master in order to find a part. There are many documented examples in a thread called "Encyclopedia of Compatible Parts" and if you find something not previously documented, please share for the community.

[gstallons]

Rule of thumb . Japanese rubber: eternal . All other rubber: not eternal . 

[Steve Swan]

On 2/3/2025 at 11:09 AM, Scud said:

The exhaust gaskets compress so much that they appear like a machined ridge. I once thought there were no gaskets on a bike of mine, then was able to remove them.

As for rubber bits, like the boot for the rear master cylinder, you might have to find out what other bikes used the same master in order to find a part. There are many documented examples in a thread called "Encyclopedia of Compatible Parts" and if you find something not previously documented, please share for the community.

Thanks and Absolutely, will do.

[Steve Swan]

On 2/3/2025 at 10:57 AM, audiomick said:

A surprising number of the rubber bits are available. Stein-dinse has a number of them produced, I believe. If the part number on their site has a "z" on the end (xxxx-z), it indicates a part from a 3rd party supplier (the z is for "Zubehör", German for "accessory").

A word to the wise: rubber parts these days are often not as durable as the were back in the good old days. One plausible explanation I have seen for this is the some of the "good" plasticisers are no longer legal due do environmental protection and what have you.

Whatever, the good advice seems to be to, given a choice, pay for the more expensive option, or live with having to swap out the part again in 5 or 6 years.

Thanks for that tip.

[docc]

Thanks to @audiomick for posting the Tank Off Maintenance Checklist.

There is also this compendium of potential tasks to consider: