Reed valve installation

850cmndo said:

slimslowslider said:

OK 850cmdo, so in fact you got yourself a pretty simple cure in dealing with a cracked head.

Click to expand...

Don't think so.

Click to expand...

Should have said a leaking head.

slimslowslider said:

850cmndo said:

slimslowslider said:

OK 850cmdo, so in fact you got yourself a pretty simple cure in dealing with a cracked head.

Click to expand...

Don't think so.

Click to expand...

Should have said a leaking head.

Click to expand...

Never say "cracked" around a man with a RH4 head. Seriously...I'm guessing oil is getting by the front two studs in the barrels, given where I'm finding oil. I'm not sure what a crack in the rod tunnels will do but I don't have smoke or adverse oil consumption. Got any ideas?

MS850 Check your rocker spindle covers also. If at all loose it can allow the hi pressure rocker feed to appear at the front head fins. I used my first MotorMite brake valve in the late 80's and it lasted up until a few years ago. I put in another one and then went to the CNW Jim Comstock version for my '72. The Mike's valve is hard to hide (and it needs to be well hidden because it's so ugly).

batrider said:

MS850 Check your rocker spindle covers also. If at all loose it can allow the hi pressure rocker feed to appear at the front head fins. I used my first MotorMite brake valve in the late 80's and it lasted up until a few years ago. I put in another one and then went to the CNW Jim Comstock version for my '72. The Mike's valve is hard to hide (and it needs to be well hidden because it's so ugly).

Click to expand...

Spindle covers are secure and dry. I keep a pretty close eye on the head fittings in general. How in the world did you get that much life out of one of these valves? Amazing. As for the "Mikes valve".....heavy on the ugly. I might yet try to bury one in and around the battery area.

rdleeart said:

So to update, yes the valve I purchased from Mikes is the new type with a 45 degree hose fittings. Holland norton works has photos showing the valve installed near the top of the oil tank. It looks pretty tight in there to me.

I'm contemplating trying to mount it on the battery tray since I no longer use it for the air filter box. Of course one of the problems now with the new style is that the hose fittings are 3/8 inch instead of half inch so I'll have to noodle about that for a while. Also thinking about mounting it vertically in the battery compartment but I still have to deal with the different hose sizes.

At least these bikes keep our troubleshooting skills finely honed.

Click to expand...

I mounted mine up high. It is tight up there. If I had room near the battery tray, I would have done it there, but I have my ignition and a Fiamm horn previously relocated thereabouts so there isnt much room.



Interesting discussion in the thread I posed about it. No issues yet.

mounting-mike-reed-breather-t22629.html

I guess if I went this route I'd try to mount it to the back of the ham can. It's tight either way.

I can offer my findings using a Krank Vent on a 750 Norton and a BMW R60/2. In both cases it cured some big problems. Both were fresh motors and it acted like the rings were refusing to seat. I was venting either to the air or into the oil tank. There was oil on the plugs and sometimes oil on top of the pistons, plus the usual leaks. After trying various things I installed a Krank Vent. This too, was a learning curve. For one thing if the vent gets saturated with oil it stops working and can stick either open or closed. So I built a very good oil separation device from an aluminum box from the Hammond organ people. Then I discovered another factor...one would think that to vent crankcases, the bigger the hole the better. Not so! Using 1/2 inch tubing (maddeningly the Brits like to use 7/16 and 9/16 tubing, very difficult to find) it pumped a lot of oil and swamped my oil separator and Krank Vent. I found that it produced too small a signal for the vent to work. So I reduced it to 3/8" tubing and the Krank Vent is working beautifully throughout the RPM range. Since I am using clear tubing I can check whether it is pumping oil or not. The tubing shows almost no oil right out of the motor and after the oil separator the tubing is clear. The Krank Vent is klicking back and forth all the time and doing its job. With the BMW I could then concentrate on tuning the dual Mikunis since I was no longer fighting the strange oil problems. The pistons are now dry on top. Its turned into a great running bike.
As for the Norton it is a motor with all the Steve Maney and Jim Schmidt parts and still acted as if the oil ring was not seating well. Surprise...the problem went away immediately. The plugs now burn cleanly and no oil on the pistons. I can also feel a power increase.
This has happened to me twice. It makes me wonder how many people are fighting motor headaches that could be cured with a good breather?