How to Anneal Copper Washers

Annealing copper washers makes them soft again so they can do their job.  Some people even recommend annealing copper washers before the first time they are used, as storage can cause oxidation hardening.

Annealing makes copper washers seal properly.  Copper washers can be reused virtually forever when they are annealed before each tightening. Copper washers get hard over time so simply putting them back in after a rebuild can lead to leaks.  It is a drag to have a fresh engine leak from the head nuts.

The process is simple, heat until it glows red, then let it cool slowly in the air.  Some confused people advocate "quenching" the washer.  Quenching, immersing in liquid, is a way to make hot metal harder.  We want our copper washers to be soft so they can form a good seal.  That's why we let them cool gradually in the air.

Here's a YouTube showing how it's done.

RG500 Transmission Oil Philosophy

The RG500 is the only 2Smoke motorcycle I know of which uses gear oil to lube some of its crank bearings.  The four center main bearings are lubed with oil from the gearbox.  The mains are all ball bearings, as are the transmission shaft bearings.  So oil which works for the tranny bearings will also work for the crank bearings.

The tranny also has lubrication requirements for the gear teeth.  After all, wherever there are moving metal surfaces lubrication is required.  Millions of 4Stroke motorcycles which share engine and transmission oil have demonstrated that engine oil can also work for transmissions.

Suzuki recommends using 4Stroke engine oil in RG500 transmissions.

The problem with using engine oil in trannys is the meshing action of the gear teeth shears the engine oil molecules into little pieces.  Think of oil molecules as being strands of spaghetti which get between the gears so they never directly touch each other.  Cut the "spaghetti" into short bits and the gears have more likelihood of direct contact with each other.  That is why gear oil was invented.  Gear oil has stuff in which allows the long molecules to survive the gear teeth shearing action.

As far as Gammas go the problem with gear oil is the stuff which prevents molecular shearing of the gear oil also limits the oil's lubricity with respect to the ball type bearings in the crankshaft.  Oil which is really good for gear teeth is not so good for the ball type bearings used in the RG500 crankshaft.

RG500 crankshaft bearings are expensive to replace.  Also lots of work splitting the cases just to get to them.

I used to think only of the tranny's requirements.  Especially with respect to the dreaded 2nd gear clunk Gammas are famous for.  Putting really heavy gear oil into a Gamma can make the clunk go away.  However, the crank bearings pay the price by being under-lubricated.  Heavy gear oil just cannot flow around ball bearings in a crank spinning 10,000 RPM.

Meanwhile, oil which is really good for the crank can also be really good for the tranny.  For a while.  Using engine oil in an RG500's tranny means the gears will merrily shear the long molecules in fairly short order.  The solution to that is to change the oil frequently.

Changing tranny oil frequently is less work than replacing crank main bearings.  My experience with using heavy gear oil is I have to replace my center crank bearings every time I have to replace pistons.  I know of  other Gammas which have had frequent tranny oil changes which have the crank bearings last through multiple sets of pistons.

So here's what I've come to about Gamma tranny oil: use straight 40wt engine oil and change it every 800 miles.

Lance Gamma RG500 Big Bore Kit First Impression

5th gear jumps off a wave in the pavement!  Same wave that used to make the front end light when I was getting it on caused both ends to skip off the ground for an instant.  It was accelerating so hard it didn't have time to lift the front before the back hit it so the whole bike got a little air.  No matter how hard I ride my Speed Triple it just soaks up this pavement wave and progresses forward.  The Lance Gamma Big Bore Kit has moved my Gamma into another realm of performance.

It also starts easier.  I've started this bike many times since I got it on 1985.  It has been through three sets of heads in the search for more performance.  Four sets of heads total, as the Big Bore Kit comes with o-ring heads having reshaped combustion chambers.  The bike now starts with less effort and more gusto than it ever has.   Here's a video of starting it after installing the Big Bore Kit. It is easy to see the engine is happy and wants to run with this setup.

It is more mellow when riding around imitating a normal bike with the Big Bore Kit than before.  The exhaust note isn't quite as abrasive.  The throttle isn't as picky at low around-town revs as it used to be.  It's almost 4Stroke-like now at legal speeds.

So, it starts easier, putt-putts in a more relaxed manner, while feeding steroids to the beast when given the stick.  When I get on it the Big Bore Kit it takes off with more gusto than anything I've ever ridden.  This is the most satisfying engine upgrade I've ever done.

There will be a whole series of posts detailing various assembly steps.  Closeup images of parts will be included, as in the RG500 Crankcase Splitting post I made a while ago.  For today I'm just going to post the bottom line: Lance Gamma Big Bore Kit Rocks!!!

Advice To A Young Man

Advice as you Head Out

As Samuel Clemens said “Take good care of your teeth”.

Every person you meet has something to teach you.  Seek the lesson they bring.  Sometimes the lesson is to get far away as soon as possible.  Sometimes the lesson is opening a door to a new and enjoyable aspect of life.  Hope each person is opening a door, while being cautious they aren’t trying to take your wallet.

As Pink Floyd sings, you must learn how to tell “a smile from a veil”

Look for women to bring the light side of living to you.  They are in the same ballpark and they are playing a _different_ game than men. 

Women live in a world of emotions.  Talking about emotions is a major activity for women.  Expecting women to talk about cool inventions and things that move civilization forward is like expecting ice to form in the desert sun.

Talk with men about what things do.  Talk with women about how they feel when things happen.

Never do with a woman that which you enjoy doing with a man.

Men solve problems and then leave them behind.  That is, men stop thinking about a problem once it has been resolved.

Women love problems because they stir their emotions and women live for emotions.  Women love problems, which is why they bring them back up years later.

Don’t let other people put their context into you.  They may be upset and you can let them have the emotion while you remain calm and reasonable.

Show respect for each person at all times.

Look people in the eye when you speak to them.

Honor is expensive by definition.  The only way honor can be demonstrated is by making a choice based on honor that has a personal cost.

Chick flicks never have the words Honor, Commitment, or Sacrifice in them.  Those words are absent from their vocabularies, other than as something that men do which they can take advantage of.

The story of the Woolly Mammoth and the Taber-toothed Tiger:  One day, the men of the village went hunting.  No single man with a spear can bring down a Mammoth.  The way to hunt a Mammoth is to have some men chase one into a trap where other men can ambush the Mammoth.  The Chase Men have to trust the Ambush Men to step out and fight at the right moment.  The Ambush Men have to trust the Chase Men to make the Mammoth run into the trap.  The Ambush Men trust the Chase Men to come in from behind and attack the Mammoth once it has been stopped in the trap. Without co-operation all the men will be hungry and some of them will be dead.   The men co-operate, get the food, and take it home to the women and children.  While the men are away the women head out to pick berries.  One of the women sees a saber-toothed tiger approaching.  She quietly gathers HER children and slips back to the safety of her home.  She leaves the other women and children to fend for themselves, as she waits for her man to bring home more food.

While in school take Intro to Everything, then make a career from the classes you ENJOYED and did well at.  If you can’t maintain a B average in your major you need a different major.

Work like you don’t need the money (do what you like and never work a day in your life)

Dance like nobody is watching

Love like you’ve never been hurt

AvGas is for Airplanes

AvGas is for airplanes.  Airplanes fly at altitudes with lower air pressure than is common at ground level.  The lower air pressure makes it easier for fuel to evaporate.  Having all the fuel evaporate through the tank vents before an airplane reaches the next gas station can be kind of a drag.

AvGas was tits after WWII when it was higher octane than street level gas.  That was a long time ago.  Back then AvGas had significantly higher octane than otherwise available.  This made it work well with high compression engines, which racers liked.  The gas companies have since developed higher octane fuel for surface level use, including developing race gas.

They make AvGas with what is called Low Vapor Pressure.  That makes it work fine at airplane altitude and not so fine at ground level.  As in, hard to start.  Also making less power since more gas is passing through the system as unevaporated droplets.

My personal experience which led me to this truth involved a Triumph TSS (stock 8 valve head, last model the old Triumph ever released) that I raced a couple of times in the AMA Battle Of The Twins Class.  I was stepping up to the National level so did everything I could think of for that bike.  Including pre-race pilgramages to the local airport.

That bike used to wear out three pushers (removed the kick start mechanism) before starting in the morning.  Finding a fourth pusher after people had seen three of them wear out was kinda difficult.  Then one day I got behind schedule and couldn’t make it to the airport.

So I bought the race gas for sale at the track.  The bike started the _first_ time I dumped the clutch.  I never bought AvGas again.

AvGas is for airplanes.

Adjusting Shock Absorber Settings

 Low speed settings are all that most shocks have.  High end models also have a high speed adjuster.

In general, I have found I like minimal compression damping and maximal rebound damping.

The compression affects how hard the jolts coming into the chassis feel to me.  Less compression makes for softer bumps.

Rebound affects how high I get bounced out of the seat after a big hit.  More rebound means less bouncing.

I go for a compression setting that is as soft as possible with only occasional bottoming out.

I go for a rebound setting that keeps me in the seat.

Point and Shoot is the only way to ride pavement

I am talking releasing the brakes as soon as full lean is achieved.  The apex is hit on the gas, rather than trail braking to the apex then opening the throttle after the apex has been passed.

Trail Braking is when the front brake is used to hold the front end down all the way to the apex.  Holding the nose down reduces the steering head angle, supposedly making for quicker steering.  Classic trail braking is done all the way to the apex, at which time the gentle brake release you describe happens.

Back in the days when drum brakes were all that was available trail braking had some validity simply because drums never deliver the same brake performance two corners in a row.  They would fade during a single hard stop from top speed.  Engine braking was very important back then, something the big singles of the day provided.

Tires used to break loose suddenly before radials were developed.

Frames used to flex strangely.

All of which makes hard braking-> flicking it in–> gassing it hard out pretty sketchy.  Much more likely to make it all the way to the end of the race if corner entries are gentle and drawn out affairs.

All the components are better now, much more predictable and consistent. Which is why trail braking is no longer relevant.

Point and Shoot extends the front end back to the middle of its travel, so it can respond to surface irregularities.  It also shifts some weight to the back tire, so front end deflections have less effect on the whole machine.

I started riding a long time ago, when trail braking was still winning GPs.  I used to load my front heavily going into corners.  The whole idea of getting on the gas before the apex was alien to me.  I argued with Keith Code about it.  He finally said "You paid me hundreds of dollars to be here and hear this, how about yo go out and try it and see what happens?"

What happened was someone laid Velcro(tm) down under my front tire.

RG500 Air Filter Comparison Overview

I did a dyno shoot out of sorts with my gamma and a long hill.  Wound three filters and open carbs up that hill WFO in 3^rd, comparing acceleration and how far it would rev.  I experimented with various sizes of mains and three different pilot jet sizes.

It was two long afternoons.  I am really good at changing Gamma jets now.

Big jets that made the rg500.com filters unrideable, and made the original Lance Gamma filters stumble a bit, made the bike very perky and strong with the TriPods. 

There was no difference between the jets I could get the TriPods to take and what I could get open carbs to take.

If the filters allow richer jetting without four-stroking then they have demonstrated they are flowing more air. 

My results are that the TriPods allow as rich jetting as open carbs.  Including going up two sizes on the pilot, which is really good for getting a corner exit drive started.

As Kenny Roberts said “Burn more gasoline, make more power.”

Epilog:  While doing this filter test I spent two afternoons running up the same hill three or four times every forty-five minutes or so.  Skaggs Springs Road just West of "The Bridge".  The mufflers on my expansion chambers hadn't been repacked in several years, so they were very loud.  When I was done the second day I headed back to town.  I was feeling rowdy and riding at Full Speed.

Came around a corner with a good 3rd gear drive going only to see two CHP bikes headed the opposite direction.  The second was about forty yards behind the other one.  It was way to late for me to slow down for them, so I decided this was a Good Time to split the scene.

I kept it WFO, shifted to 4th and zipped past them.  The first made no visible reaction.  The second weaved visibly in shock at my approach.  Stopping would force them to give me a very expensive ticket.  Continuing on about my business would allow them to show the citizens they flushed the noise maker away, while saving me a ton of money.

So that's what I did.  

Splitting RG500 Crankcases

It's never good when oil is on the OUTside

Never wrap exhaust pipes with high heat cloth.  Then your pipes will never rust through and have an exhaust leak.  Exhaust leaks can make a perfectly healthy engine seize.  The paste around the bent rod used to be a piston.  As can be seen by the fine condition of the other piston this engine could have gone a lot more miles if it weren't for the cloth tape caused exhaust leak.

Before RG500 cases can be split the inner disc covers have to be removed.  This is difficult as they become one with the strange gasket Suzuki puts behind them.  The gasket also becomes one with the cases, so it is stuck on both sides.  Removing the inner disc cover basically means delaminating the gasket.  First I sprayed some penetrating oil (stronger than WD-40) around the openings in the covers.  I figured to make the gasket soft.  It worked a bit.  

I used vice grips to lever the cover off.  Vice grips are made by riviting a piece of folded sheet metal to the top jaw.  I put the shoulder of the folded-to-jaw meeting point to the case while hooking the tip of the jaw on the edge of the inner cover's opening.  I slid a piece of newspaper back and forth behind the vice grips to assure myself the force was going into the top case, rather than just the other side of the inner cover.  I pushed on the end of the vice grips with one hand to push the jaw into the work.  While doing that I did an isometric exercise on the side of the vice grip handle to lever the cover off.  I pushed towards the engine, which pivoted the force so it was prying the cover out from its inside edge.  After about ten seconds of steady presure the cover began to move.

As a result of this posting I have received a comment that a heat gun can be used to soften the gasket so the cover can be removed.  I haven't tried it.  It seems-ta-me that it would take longer to put heat into the cover than the ten seconds of gently prying it took with vice grips.  Even with a soft gasket the cover still has to be pried off, which leads right back to the vice grips.

After the gasket delaminated the cover moved out.  It could only be pulled so far before the angle was wrong.  Then I used a prydriver (large screwdriver with rounded off tip used only for prying things since the rounded tip can't catch in a screw's groove) to coax the inner cover the rest of the way off.

A little more coaxing and the cover came completely off

Then it was on to the next inner cover.  All four have to be removed before the cases can be split

A bit of levering, a bit of coaxing, and another inner cover is removed.

Go to the other side of the engine and remove final the two inner covers .  No pictures as they are the same as already depicted above.
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After removing all the inner covers it is time to remove all the bolts holding the cases together.  Remove them in reverse order from the torque down sequence. That is, start at the outer bolts and work towards the center, criss-crossing the engine.  Normal torque stuff.  The trick with Gammas is to make sure to get ALL the bolts out.  There are a lot of them.

Just for grins, there are two little ones with black heads which help them hide in the shadows.  Even better, they are placed in the shadows underneath the rear cylinder's base gasket.  The cases will NOT separate until those little 8mm head bolts are removed.  Look under the cylinder base gasket (if it stayed on the case like mine always do) to find them.

Also, the case bolts are different lengths.  Lay the bolts out on the bench in a spacially correct manner as they are removed so you can tell which bolt goes where.  A n empty cereal box can laid down on the bench then stick the bolts in the big flat side as they are removed from the engine.  You wind up with a cereal box lying on its side with all the bolts in their relative positions.

After removing all the bolts the next step is actual separation of the cases.  Suzuki shows a fancy splitter tool in the factory manual.  There are two pry places built into the cases.  I didn't want to get the factory splitter tool, so I came up with an alternative.  I used a tap to hand thread the hole, then put a bolt into it.  I applied force to the same pry place as the factory tool for a lot less ca$h.  Got a little clearance at the back pry point as shown below:

The reason there was only a little clearance and only near the pry point is because I had failed to remove those pesky little bolts hiding under the base gasket.  All I was doing was warping the case.

Flush with success I moved to the front pry point, which I had also tapped by hand.  Inserted a bolt and turned it to apply a bit of pry pressure on the designed-in pry point.  It broke :-(

Faced with total disaster, unable to imagine how to go any farther given I had just broken the factory designed pry points, I was a bit upset.  There is nothing the factory can do about a mechanic who fails to remove all the fasteners before attempting to force things apart.

At this point I called the Gamma Guru, Rick Lance.  He soothingly said the top case would be off in less than a minute.

First thing Rick asked me to do was look under the very back of the cylinder base gasket.  I had left the base gasket on as it looked like all the bolts were out and I wanted to split the cases.  I figured to scrape all the base gasket bits off later.  Turns out there are two little bolts with black 8mm heads which are "hidden" under the back of the base gasket.  The cases cannot come apart until these little bolts are removed.  Once those little bolts were removed the rest of the job went lickety-split.

Rick then told me to put a half inch breaker bar through the top case opening and lever on the crankshaft.  I lifted up on the bar, which pushed the end down onto the crank which held it in place.  The bar lifted the top case up and all was well with my world once more.

It took less time to lever the case off than it did to retrieve the set of taps, let alone all the time tapping the two holes.  Next time I'm going to call Rick before I start taking anything apart.

Mission accomplished.  Top case removed.  Next step is sending the cranks to Lance Gamma for refurbishment.