[thumpingheart]

I had a problem with my Thunderbird, thought I will resurrect this post!

The problem - I noticed for last 3 to 4 months that my Thunderbird Twinspark (30,000+ on odo) has been loosing oil in 2-3 months after servicing. I topped up about 250 - 300 ml twice after last service. Of course my bike is a bit overdue now for service.

And there is no leak from the bike at all. All seals are clean and no leaks from any piping as well. Plus I park the bike in the same place ever since i bought it, so if there was any leak I would have seen a small puddle or mark. None! The bike and the tiles under my bike are speck clean. So the bike itself is consuming the oil.

I read on another forum about a guy who had to replace the piston, cam shaft and valves of his Unicorn (some 14,000 km on the odo) due to the same problem. So I'm a bit scared! Can there be such a problem with my bike too? Is this that serious? I first thought that for RE, slightly high oil consumption is acceptable.

Please do help!

[bj96]

Originally Posted by thumpingheart

...been loosing oil in 2-3 months after servicing. I topped up about 250 - 300 ml twice after last service...

How many kms did you ride in between oil top-ups? Loosing oil apparently without leakage is not a good sign. Do you see dark smoke when kick starting the bike or raising the accelerator? Do you feel loss of compression (resistance) while kicking?

-BJ

[thumpingheart]

Originally Posted by bj96

How many kms did you ride in between oil top-ups? Loosing oil apparently without leakage is not a good sign. Do you see dark smoke when kick starting the bike or raising the accelerator? Do you feel loss of compression (resistance) while kicking?

-BJ

Well I don't think there is black smoke. And also I don't feel loss of compression.

I have done not many but 300 - 400 km between oil top ups.

The bike is running very well actually. Very smooth as well.

[ArizonaJim]

Oil smoke is gray or gray/white in color.
A cold engine/exhaust will also emit a gray/white "smoke" that is actually water vapor (steam) from water that has condensed inside the silencer/exhaust pipe.
This can be mistaken for oil smoke.

The difference between these emissions is water vapor will evaporate, disappearing totally within a short period of time.
Oil smoke on the other hand will disappear slowly with time because its mixing with the surrounding air is the only way it can appear to be reduced.
It also has a very 'oily' smell to it.

An engine that is "burning oil" and emitting an oily smoke cloud may be doing this for several different reasons.
* The oil may be getting past the piston rings. This is usually because of worn out piston rings or a scratched or scored cylinder wall.

* The seals on the valve stems may be worn out or damaged allowing the oil to seep down the valve stem. If this happens on the intake valve the oil will be burned in the combustion chamber.
If this happens on an exhaust valve the piston and spark plug will show no signs of oil burning because the oil is entering the exhaust pipe and is being burned there by the hot metal.

* The oil may be blowing out of the crankcase breather.
On older motorcycles this oil is often is captured in a 'catch can' or some people direct the breather tube onto their chain so the vapor lubricates it.
On the newer motorcycles with pollution devices the breather often vents into the air filter compartment. Once there, the filtered but contaminated air will be sucked into the carburetor or fuel injection throttle body. After fuel is added it is all burned in the engines combustion chamber.

Oil burned in the engine almost always leaves a tell-tale oily residue on the spark plugs center electrode insulator. Removing the spark plug will allow examination to see if any oily residue is there. The deposit looks oily and wet, not like a soft black carbon deposit left by a overly rich air/fuel mixture or a sparkplug that is too "cold" for the duty the engine is preforming.

Black smoke, emitted from the exhaust is a sign that the fuel/air mixture has too much fuel in it. People describe this condition as being "too rich".
The limited amount of air cannot totally burn the fuel so the remaining, unburned carbon is blown out of the exhaust.
Usually there is not a lot of black smoke because if the fuel/air mixture was rich enough to create a large cloud, the engine would run poorly or not at all.

[rrahul_2778]

Hi all,

I have a 2005 Electra 5s.
Where is the fuse on the bike? I think my bike fuse has gone. It refuses to start after innumerable kicks.

[Leepower]

Hi guys,
I own a 1978 Bull, it's leaking gear oil pretty badly... the oil drips down through the main stand. How do I fix this issue???

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by rrahul_2778

Hi all,

I have a 2005 Electra 5s.
Where is the fuse on the bike? I think my bike fuse has gone. It refuses to start after innumerable kicks.

The Electra may have changed in the 6 years between your 2005 and my 2011 G5 (Electra) so this may help or not.

The fuses on my G5 are located under the left side cover. I need to use a key to open this box.

Inside are several black plastic fuse holders, each with a wire connected to the top and to the bottom. These snap open to expose the fuse which is the standard tubular glass type used on many older automobiles.

A visual inspection is usually all that is needed to see if one of the fuses has 'blown out' but over the years I've learned that occasionally the metal connectors that the fuse snaps into can become corroded.
If this happens, continuity thru the fuse will be interrupted so it sometimes pays to remove each fuse and examine the metal contacts.

If they are corroded, a light scraping with a knife blade will usually clean them up so that when the fuse is reinstalled everything works like it should.

Fuses are usually marked with the amperage rating on one of the metal end caps and it's a good idea to look for this value.
Replace the fuse with a similar amp rated fuse.
Installing a fuse with a higher rating can result in the wiring harness going up in a cloud of smoke.

[vishwasvr]

Hello!

I have a 2000 model Bullet which I picked up from a friend's friend last May. I'm not entirely happy with its condition at the moment.

The problems that I am facing right now are:

-Zero idling. No matter what I do, the bike stalls and refuses to start! Only after dozens of kicks will it start!
-Smoke emanating from air filter box: Just yesterday I changed the air filter myself and ever since there is white/grayish smoke coming out of the air filter box. Wondering if I screwed something up!
-Mild metallic rattling noise from the engine.

I love my Bullet to bits but I'm fed up at the same time!

I live in Bangalore and I'd really appreciate useful tips/help!

Thanks!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by vishwasvr

Hello!


-Zero idling. No matter what I do, the bike stalls and refuses to start! Only after dozens of kicks will it start!
-Smoke emanating from air filter box: Just yesterday I changed the air filter myself and ever since there is white/grayish smoke coming out of the air filter box. Wondering if I screwed something up!
-Mild metallic rattling noise from the engine.

Thanks!

I am guessing this is a Std 350 or 500.

From the symptoms, it seems to me a bad timing issue. The smoke from the air box should happen after a kick back from the kicker which means timing is off.
The metallic sound, I am not sure. Could be the valves, cams.

I would suggest visiting a good mech and getting a good tuning done and enjoy the bike.

[vishwasvr]

Originally Posted by tharian

I am guessing this is a Std 350 or 500.

From the symptoms, it seems to me a bad timing issue. The smoke from the air box should happen after a kick back from the kicker which means timing is off.
The metallic sound, I am not sure. Could be the valves, cams.

I would suggest visiting a good mech and getting a good tuning done and enjoy the bike.

Sorry I forgot to mention that mine is a 350. Yes I am planning to visit a mechanic this Saturday. My friend also suggested it could be because of bad timing.

Thank you for your advice!

I really hope I can get her fixed right away as I am planning on riding long distances soon.

[wanderernomad]

Guys, I am looking for an original cdi unit (5pin) for my 2000 model machismo. The local ones are no good. Can somebody help me source it, please? I need the original one.

[(Alok)]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Guys, I am looking for an original cdi unit (5pin) for my 2000 model machismo. The local ones are no good. Can somebody help me source it, please? I need the original one.

Found this parts catalog on internet many years ago. Part number mentioned in it is “500910”.

[wanderernomad]

Is there a way to source it from the RE guys online?

[white-rabbit]

Hi,I recently replaced the meter console of my thunderbird 500.now after running 100km the service reminder is blinking.Any pointers to make this go?I tried hard reset by removing battery teminal.It didnt help.only clock is reset to 5am now.

Originally Posted by white-rabbit

now after running 100km the service reminder is blinking.

Press both 'select' and 'set' buttons on the instrument cluster simultaneously, switch on the ignition, keep pressing them for a few seconds, switch off the ignition and release the buttons. If you switch on the ignition now, the icon would have vanished. Nowhere in the owner's manual, this trouble-shooting is mentioned.