Page 9 – Airheads Beemer Club

Bing Carburetor Floats and Float Needles

Bing carburetors FLOAT NEEDLES, whether the pure slide type carburetor, or the CV type carburetor, both as used on BMW Airhead motorcycles, come in several varieties. In general, TWO present-day available versions will fit all the Airheads carburetors. Very early carburetors had a solid metal needle. That needle was available in more than one ‘style’, but for all, there was NO rubber tip nor a Viton tip, tip was simply part of the float needle. The later type of needle, that most of Airhead owners have, is similar to the photograph below. The needle shown in this photograph has a spring loaded plunger with a hole in it, with the easy-to-lose wire clip, and RED tip material. GRAY-BLACK tipped material will also be seen. I suggest purchasing the stock type needles from your BMW parts supplier, and not Bing themselves.

The all-metal needle used on early models is a different size, and will not properly fit later carburetors, and, vice-versa. Be sure to get the correct needle. If you want to install a Viton-tipped needle in a carburetor that used the Bing all-metal needle, you can, per Bud Provin (TheNickwackettGarage.com), who says to use the very common float needle used on many old Amal carburetors, as used on old British bikes. The part can be found on a simple internet search, for float needle 622/197; or, as 013, 622/197.

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Poor Fuel Mileage, horsepower, etc.

Why do motorcycles get such poor fuel mileage compared
to many cars, which are vastly bigger and heavier?
How much horsepower and/or torque increase does it take
to improve performance? What about RAM AIR?
What is the best cruising RPM?
Premium fuels versus mileage and combustion temperatures.

All objects …..cars, motorcycles, bicycles …..and you! …..when moving through air …..create friction and drag. On Earth, the weight of the atmosphere, held to the Earth by gravity, causes a higher pressure at sea level, than it does on a mountain top. The higher you go with your motorcycle, the faster you should be able to go, theoretically, due to less friction with the air ….or; conversely, the less power from your engine you would need for the same speed as at sea level; due to the reduced air drag. While friction and drag are not the same, you can regard them as the same for this particular bit of reasoning, which, other things not considered, is true about the speed, etc. If your motorcycle (and you!) are not moving, but if you are exposed to the wind, that creates friction and drag. Of course, if the wind is moving towards you while you are riding, that effectively also creates drag.

As you ride higher in altitude, the oxygen content of the air is less (by weight), and your engine will have less power as you go up in altitude, which will reduce performance increases from less air drag and less friction. In some instances, fuel mileage will increase with an altitude increase, especially so on fuel mixture compensating engines, such as those with fuel-injection. Mileage may decrease or increase, especially in hilly or mountainous riding. Sometimes supercharging or turbocharging can improve fuel mileage, particularly with small engines with smaller combustion areas (cylinders and heads). Mileage can also go down, if you use more and more throttle. Many factors enter into fuel mileage.

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Petcocks, Fuel Filters, Choke, etc.

Each petcock is fastened to the tank by both right hand and left hand threads. As you rotate the large “nut” CW (facing from below), that tightens the nut to the tank while at the same time it brings up the petcock. The petcock large nut has to be FIRST engaged the proper amount onto the petcock BEFORE screwing it upwards to begin to engage the proper amount of tank threads. If you have never done this before you will have to fiddle with this until you get the right amount of petcock and nut threads assembled …to start …and finish…the petcock-to-tank fastening process. Once you learn, it is easy. You want approximately the same number of threads engaged on both the petcock and the tank after fully tightening.

BMW has used numerous petcocks over the Airhead production years. There are five types of petcocks normally seen on our Airhead motorcycles. All except the /5 bullet types are easily re-buildable. Usually this means that you unscrew some knurled or slot “nut” at the handle area (after removing a black trim cup, if it is there on your version), and you can replace a gasket that might be bad, or clean and very-faintly-lightly silicon grease the moving parts. You then have a much smoother operating petcock. On some there are one or two dimpled discs, which can be repaired with a shaped punch, lightly hit, for a better detent action; I usually don’t bother. These discs have a locating tab. They can confuse, so take notice of how they were assembled as you take things apart. You cam figure it out, if you forgot to take notice.

Our petcocks have a Reserve function. Except for the bullet type, photo below, the handle long portion upwards towards the tank is the reserve position. Horizontal (either way) is always off. German “AUF” printed on the body/cap means on, not off. Handle lever downwards means on for the main part of the tank.

Early /5 Bullet Style Everbest Petcocks were different in how the handle indicated fuel flow, & the rotating handle affecting gas flow from was in the opposite way from standard piping flow.

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Fuel Caps

Removing/replacing/rekeying other locks in the later Airhead (and Classic K bike), luggage, etc., will be found in Snowbum’s article 75A on his website, http://bmwmotorcycletech.info.

WARNING! ….BMW SCREW CAPS SHOULD NOT BE OPERATED LIKE AUTOMOTIVE CAPS! AVOID spinning these motorcycle fuel caps to the ratcheting point when tightening them! The ratcheting parts WILL eventually wear out, and WILL eventually cause you problems in trying to remove the cap. BMW Airhead fuel caps are not constructed like car caps. On most modern car fuel caps, the cap is designed to be rotated to the ratcheting point. That is done because the car caps must fully seal a complicated fuel fumes venting system; if a car cap is not rotated enough, the cap can leak fumes, which will likely be detected by the car’s computer monitoring system, and a “Check Engine” light will illuminate on the car’s dashboard. On our Airhead BMW’s, the cap for the earliest Airheads is simply designed to keep liquid fuel from sloshing out. Later models had cap vents and even later ones had simple venting to direct fumes to the crankcase. These last versions had a more complicated fuel cap, called a SHED cap, but it is best not to rotate them to the ratcheting position; even though that is often done by those locking their caps. If you do tighten to the ratcheting point, try to ratchet only one notch. Much more on these various caps with the ratcheting mechanisms further down this article!

Fuel caps and venting methods for the BMW fuel tanks vary by year & model. For information on the Pulse-Air system, the fuel tank venting system, & other associated items, please read: http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/pulseair.htm

It is common to hear about an Airhead “running out of fuel”….stumbling, loses power, etc. The problem will often be the tank vent …or the fuel cap. Both problems can be identified by loosening the fuel cap and usually hearing a whoosh of air entering. Within 15 seconds, the engine will then run OK. Engine stumbling from this venting problem usually happens much more quickly with a more-filled tank and also from high speeds. While this fuel delivery problem can occur on the models with the fuel solenoid mounted on the underside of the starter motor cover, that is less likely.

There can be other types of problems, such as fuel leaks at the caps, etc.

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Why Diode Boards Fail

At 51,000 miles, I noticed the alternator light on my ‘92 ‘GS glowing at idle. Time for a new diode
board (again), I thought. When I removed the board, I found that both of the upper rubber mounting posts were broken–the stud end bolted to the board had come unbonded from the rubber. It was clear from the discoloration of the metal that those studs had gotten very hot. This occurrence is not uncommon as many Airhead owners know, but others who have written on the subject seem not to have noticed what I have.
The problem has been discussed extensively, but my observation suggests that solid mounts and a
bunch of ground wires with soldered lugs are not really going to fix it.

In the world of electricity, current times resistance equals power. If the resistance is in a bad
connection, power is wasted there as heat. Power from the alternator is supposed to replace the
power supplied to the bike and therefore keep the battery charged. But the bad connection I refer
to is at the point where the diode board is bolted to the studs.The voltage drop there causes the
the regulator to flog the alternator more to maintain the desired voltage at the battery. And that makes even more heat at the bad connection.

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Wherle Electronic Voltage Regulator

This modification is for the plastic case electronic voltage regulator that Wherle made, with its name on the case. I have only modified a few of these. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT YOURS MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT INSIDE, as other versions could have been made.

This modification will increase the charge voltage to better charge the battery and give longer life. This will be useful in instances where the voltage at the battery terminals is found to be at or below 13.9, at approximately 70°F at the regulator. This modification will ensure better battery charging, and longer battery life, especially for in-town commuters. This modification essentially turns your voltage regulator into the pricier BMW-sold high voltage Authorities (Police) regulator, very cheaply. TWO methods are described, so that at least one of the parts needed will be available locally. All Wehrle regulators are not the same. Be sure yours is the same as the one described here, before modifying it.

Cost: I will assume you have the tools, and will do the labor yourself. The parts cost will be from 10 cents to $3.00, depending on what part(s) you purchase.

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Testing Voltage Regulators

If you have a charging problem, you may want to find out if the VR (Voltage Regulator) is the problem. A faulty VR can cause various problems, the most common are no charging or too high a voltage during charging. NOTE that the stock factory VR internal setting is such that the battery terminal voltage is typically 13.8 volts during cruising (the higher voltage Authorities…Police…regulators are about 14.2). The 13.8v is a reasonable compromise for water use on flooded fillable batteries, but really too low for best battery life, particularly on AGM/VRLA batteries.

There are TWO very easy ways to test a voltage regulator that do NOT involve the technical methods in the rest of this article. These two methods are:

1. Substituting a known good voltage regulator (any 1970+ BMW airhead regulator, or any three terminal automotive regulator that fits the airhead plug). If whatever the problem was now disappears, then the VR was faulty.

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Starter Removal Instructions

BMW starters are not too difficult to remove and install, but some care in fitting, and some hints are helpful

Disconnect any and all battery negative (-) cables. Make sure they are well out of the way and won’t make contact with the battery (-) terminal.
Remove fuel tank.
Remove top engine cover.
Remove front engine cover.
Remove all feed wires to the starter solenoid unit.
Remove the two (2) main starter mounting bolts. You may need a 1/4″ drive to get a skinny enough socket onto the nuts/bolts. Some starters do not fit all that well, and interchanging Valeo and Bosch or Denso starters CAN BE particular problems. Very little work is needed to make for a good safe installation, however.
An article that covers some overhaul work, but near the end has photos of what the fit problems are, and how to fix it, is here:
http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/boschvaleostarter.htm The heads are 13mm and sometimes difficult to get a box end or ratchet wrench on. Some replace these bolts with Allen head bolts because it is easier to insert an Allen wrench between the engine case and the starter to hold the head of the bolt.

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Starting & Starter Problems

Functioning,starter circuits & associated parts:

The starter motor is a powerful electrically operated motor. The starter motor may have to provide upwards of 1/2 to 1 horsepower. In cold weather more power from the starter motor will required. The starter motors in our Airheads, like all vehicle starters, are not very efficient motors. The Valeo is more efficient than the Bosch. Quite a lot of amperes might be needed under some rather common conditions. Starter motors are, at best, 60% efficient due to magnetic field losses, friction losses, etc.

745.7 watts is DEFINED as ONE horsepower. If the system is a nominal 12 volts during cranking (typical, with good battery, wires, and connections, voltage as read at the starter terminals), then 745.7 divided by 12 equals 62 amperes. Due to the efficiency losses, & the need for many more amperes to BEGIN engine rotation, it is NOT uncommon to require twice that number of amperes. The power rating of the most powerful of the three Bosch units used on the Airheads was 0.7 KW. 0.7Kw is 700 watts; divided by 12 volts is 58 amperes. Notice that the starter is also rated at 320 amperes. That is the supposed maximum drain under a severe load. That is equivalent to 3,840 watts….and is equivalent to a bit over FIVE horsepower. The battery, cold day, thick oil, so-so starter, ETC., may need to provide a LOT of power! If the battery is marginal, it may not have enough power to cause the starter motor to rotate the engine properly for starting ….possibly not rotate it at all.

There must be a means of switching on and off the large amount of electrical current to the starter. A heavy-duty solenoid-operated switch is physically located on the starter motor itself. It is a fairly large round cylinder with two electric terminals of the bolt/threads type and one small spade type which supplies a modest amount of electricity to the solenoid from the starter relay, located along the backbone of the motorcycle.

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Spark Plugs – Reading Them

Numerous problems can occur if your engine’s spark plugs are not correct or not working properly; or, there are problems such as tight valve clearances, improper carburetor mixture adjustments or jetting, needle settings, worn engine items creating excessive oil burning, ETC. Spark plugs are ‘read’ by looking at the combustion chamber end of the plug. You can look at the color and deposits from combustion and determine a fair amount…with some practice. It is not just the condition of the normally near white or light tan or orange color of the central electrode insulator, but the condition of the outer and central electrode and the color and look to the metal on the flat end portion of the spark plug, which is about 1/8th inch wide. Once you gain experience [it doesn’t hurt to ask SEVERAL supposedly experienced mechanics to confirm your analysis], you will find that much can be learned from a look-see. Spark plugs are looked at to determine if they are worn to needing replacement; to see if the engine seems to be operating correctly; and to get some idea of specific problems. Reading spark plugs is somewhat of an art, requiring experience. Experience is especially needed with modern unleaded fuels, most of which contains alcohol and other ingredients that makes reading spark plugs even more difficult, as the ‘old colors’ do not always apply. SOME things never change, however, so, read on. You should have a working knowledge of spark plug heat ranges, proper torque setttings, whether or not to use an antiseize compound on the spark plug threads; and what the proper spark plug caps are for YOUR motorcycle.

An in-depth article on spark plugs, problems with newer Bosch Spark Plugs; and chart of all three Bosch spark plug numbering systems; chart of Bosch versus NGK; and a listing of NGK spark plug caps, and much more, such as use of antiseize compound, etc., is here:

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/sparkplugs.htm

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