Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

Sooo, I've riding the r9 on some short shake down rides...no problems. Ran like a sewing machine . So I took it on a 20 mile ride to have it inspected. About 1/2 way there I started loosing a cylinder. (I never replaced those coils.. stupid me.) Rather than stopping , I tried to make it to the shop on one cylinder.It finally died on the highway. Stupid me. It runs but makes some expensive noises. I have to go pick it up Monday. I needed a winter project anyways. I'm thinking (hoping) the right rocker bearing came apart bc of the overheated motor and oil. I was fun while it lasted.....

Sorry to hear that. What bike is this? R9? R90/6? Anyway, I wouldn't run all the negative things through my mind just yet. Maybe begin thinking of a plan of attack, doing the easy and obvious things first. Then when you get the bike back, you're ready to go!

Thank your schrader. You are correct in your advice, I slept on it and have calmed my thoughts! I’ll be picking up Monday am and rip into it.

Don't panic! My old dealer once blew a valve on the dragon, pulled the spark plug out and rode his R90S home from there to Niagara County NY.

Like Kurt says, think small things first. A loose valve can make a racket but not mean something expensive is wrong.

So, check the valve adjustment and parts of the valve train. Check for spark. Check your connections in the electrical system. Spark plug leads do die with age and miles.

Check your float bowls for gunk or water.

The airhead coils on your bike are pretty darn good, I have never had a friend or myself have one fail on us. Leads yes, coils no.

If you are near Rochester, NY and are interested, I might be able to help or I know an airhead shop nearby. Good luck. St.

Okay, I exaggerated the dealer story, he did ride home on one cylinder but it took a bit more roadside work then pulling the spark plug to do it. Point is, the airheads are robust. St.

So I pulled the valve covers, everything seems ok . I pulled the oil pan and found a pile of shreds of a ferrous metal.see attached pic. Also a sprinkling of bronze flakes. Dang!
Heads and jugs tomorrow…
Anyone recognize those shreds?

Sorry, I can't identify the stuff. What is the size of it? Without scale to compare, I am confused. The picture looks like something really big and I am trying to think what is made like that inside an R90/6 engine?

So, is the pile bigger than six inches, less, size of a dime, or bigger? Sorry, maybe someone will pick up and recognize right off the bat what I am missing and guessing at? I just can't picture that in the engine.

Maybe you shaved off a piston or the cylinder wall? Not a bad idea to start looking deeper unless someone knows what it is. Sorry to be no help. St.

Darn! Will be interesting to see what else you find. Bronze or light colored metal suggests to me the babbitt material associated with the crankshaft main bearings. The shredded metal looks unfamiliar but as mentioned, looks like something has peeled away.

That’s about a handful of shavings. Probably about 3/4 of an inch across. It seems like it was shaved off something (expensive).

When the jugs and pistons went bad on my RT, the piston skirts started slapping the inside of the cylinder walls. I never had peeling but it sure peened the heck out of the jugs inside.

I almost can imagine oil failure to a cylinder accompanied by shaving done by the rings. Sorry, that is a VERY bad thing to scare you with or to suggest.

Like Kurt says, the bronze could be bearing material. I can't imagine anything being shaved off of the crank as it is so hard?

Maybe a main bearing went bad and the shaving is coming from the assembly? The block itself is not ferrous?

This is like reading a mystery story, it is keeping me glued to the post. Sorry it is a possible disaster for you. Good luck and maybe it will be something simple. St.