Oil drain down

Oakland850 · Dec 20, 2015

Hello everyone! my Norton 850 has been sitting in my garage for about 6 months or so. Due to an illness, I drained the fuel and left it on a battery tender. The other day I decided to fire her up, battery was fine, put some gas it it, and checked the oil tank. Despite an anti-drainback valve, the tank is empty, nothing has leaked out. so I have to assume it is all in the crank case. I have an oil pressure gauge on the bike - so my question is, if I start it, will the oil pump cycle the oil and be fine or will it suck air? Do I have to drain the crankcase and re-fill the tank? \thanks in advance for you help! :?:

jaydee75 · Dec 20, 2015

I would play it safe and drain the oil into a pan and then if it looks good, pour it back into the oil tank where it can feed the oil pump as it should.
To be extra safe, I also would pour a little oil down the pushrod tunnels to wet the cam.
Jaydee

ewgoforth · Dec 20, 2015

jaydee75 said:
I would play it safe and drain the oil into a pan and then if it looks good, pour it back into the oil tank where it can feed the oil pump as it should.
To be extra safe, I also would pour a little oil down the pushrod tunnels to wet the cam.
Jaydee

The Commando Service Notes recommend pouring a little oil down the intake rocker box to lube the timing chain. It would probably be a good idea to do both.

tomspro · Dec 20, 2015

What kind of anti-drainback valve do you have?
Obviously it is not working properly.
If it is defective and malfunctions under operation you will have much bigger problems to deal with.
Agree with above advise, drain the crankcase and refill the oil tank before startup.

Oakland850 · Dec 20, 2015

thanks for the advise - I did not install the valve - I got the bike with it on, assumed it worked ( apparently not) . What valve do you you recommend , I think it should be replaced at this point. Thanks again!

tomspro · Dec 20, 2015

opening up a can-o-worms here with this topic.
If I were you I would find the valve, remove it, and replace with nothing.
if you draindown problem is not severe, you are done.
Otherwise... search the forum for solutions.
Personally, I use a simple check vale with a lever that touches my kickstarter, so when I go to start it I have to move to the open position to move the kicker arm.
I also have and oil pressure gauge that re-assures me all is well on the lubrication front.

MikeM · Dec 20, 2015

Living with the Norton.
Drain it out and pour it back in. I would get rid of the valve as well. Its not a big deal to drain the crankcase.
Have fun!

manx850 · Dec 20, 2015

The last anti sump valve on my MK3 ended up costing me $3500.00 dollars, throw it in the trash where they all belong........

concours · Dec 20, 2015

manx850 said:
The last anti sump valve on my MK3 ended up costing me $3500.00 dollars, throw it in the trash where they all belong........

Amen. :mrgreen:

texasSlick · Dec 20, 2015

Send your timing cover and oil pump to:

http://amr-of-tucson.com/

for $70 plus 2 way shipping, you can put the wet sump problem to rest, and get rid of your valve as others have said.

Slick

The Buckeye Rider · Dec 22, 2015

concours said:
manx850 said:

The last anti sump valve on my MK3 ended up costing me $3500.00 dollars, throw it in the trash where they all belong........

Click to expand...

Amen. :mrgreen:

Amen, Amen!! My LAST anti-sump valve cost me $2200.00 dollars and I did all the work myself.

I have a dedicated container and funnel to transfer oil from sump to tank, it only takes a few minutes. While the oil is draining I perform a pre-ride check or I just stand back and admire the best bike in the fleet.

Ride On
Dave

JimC · Dec 22, 2015

Before someone beats me to the punch here's a schematic of a never fail cutout switch for an oil shutoff valve.

Paddy_SP · Dec 22, 2015

'Hire someone to open and close switch real fast' - that reminds me of the time when I taught 'Electrical Theory' on the motorcycle engineering course at the local college. Most of the guys (and a couple of gals) were seasoned mature bikers who were there because they wanted to learn more about bikes, so they weren't necessarily particularly academic. A couple could barely read and write, but when I re-wrote the exam so that it was multiple choice instead of requiring answers in the conventional way, they confounded everyone who thought they were dim by coming 3rd and 4th out of 40! Anyway - I was trying to get the class to understand the basics of oscillator boxes in electronic ignition systems, without much success. So I came up with the concept of 'Shagger boxes' (I don't know if this will translate into American) - in essence, I said that these were circuits that moved back and forth like the headboard when you were shagging. I would bet that if you asked any of my students today, some 20 years later, they'd remember!

Deets55 · Dec 22, 2015

JimC said:
Before someone beats me to the punch here's a schematic of a never fail cutout switch for an oil shutoff valve.

Jim,
Will that work on a negative earth bike ?

kommando · Dec 22, 2015

Jim,
Will that work on a negative earth bike ?

Just needs the addition of the Lucas smoke outlet wire

toppy · Dec 22, 2015

kommando said:
Jim,
Will that work on a negative earth bike ?

Click to expand...

Just needs the addition of the Lucas smoke outlet wire

The earth I have is brown and very wet due to long periods of rain. Will Lucas smoke still work or should I try some modern environmentally friendly product ??
Also does it matter if it still has weeds growing in it ??

Paddy_SP · Dec 22, 2015

Deets55 said:
Jim,
Will that work on a negative earth bike ?

Yes, but you have to reverse the sandals first.

Nater_Potater · Dec 22, 2015

Did we get Oakland's question answered?

btw, I really enjoyed perusing that schematic. It takes me back to how I was taught to memorize resistor color codes, and the three Trig rules. PM me if you want the non-PC versions.

Nathan

ashman · Dec 22, 2015

Deets55 said:
JimC said:

Before someone beats me to the punch here's a schematic of a never fail cutout switch for an oil shutoff valve.

Click to expand...

Jim,
Will that work on a negative earth bike ?

Great stuff, keep up the good work Jim.

Ashley

JimC · Dec 22, 2015

Nater_Potater said:
Did we get Oakland's question answered?

btw, I really enjoyed perusing that schematic. It takes me back to how I was taught to memorize resistor color codes, and the three Trig rules. PM me if you want the non-PC versions.

Nathan

I recall it having to do with bad boys, chaste girls and a town pump named Violet.

Oil drain down

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