Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)

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hudson29

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Feb 3, 2011
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I bought this premium Venhill rocker arm oil line recently to upgrade from the plastic line and have to say that I'm not at all happy with it. It is well made but waaaaaaaaay too long and has cheap looking plated hardware. If I had not already installed it on the motor, I would return it to the vender. Right now I'm so unhappy with this that I'm thinking of delaying the project yet again while the plastic unit goes out to a local hydraulic specialist to be replicated in braided material covered with a plastic sheath. This project has already cost nearly as much as a moon shot and has taken twice as long . . .

The least awful routing we could come up with:
Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)


Inelegant double banjo:
Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)


It will probably work, but looks awful and is in danger of snagging something:
Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)


Here is the other side, still long and awkward:
Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)


Surely good suppliers & venders can do better than this? This was not a cheap set, I paid something like $180.00 US for it just a few weeks ago.

Vintage Paul, fuming a bit about this . . .
 
Hudson
Try attaching the long line to the other side of the head. Left side. I believe that’s the way they were attached originally. I place the short section in front of the head steady. this may work better for you. Cheers.
CNN
 
You can take the ends off and shorten the lines. i did this with mine to tidy things up.

Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)
 
hudson29 said:
The least awful routing we could come up with:
Venhill-Oil-Line-1.jpg
Click to expand...

That isn't the way I would have routed the lower line, personally (or with the banjo fitting angled outwards).
The banjo fitting at the timing cover can be angled downwards so the line forms a U shape which will reduce any excess length.
Most, if not all of the braided kit crossover hoses tend to be rather too long but it can be shortened easily if required.

Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)
 
there's an alternative to the braided stainless rocker lines. 1/4 inch od truck airbrake line. the truck airbrake line i installed 16 years ago still holds pressure, does not leak. i heat the fitings with a propane torch and push the nylon airbrake line on. works real good. i have an ss rocker line for sale
if anyone's interested. >OK
 
Paul you have it backwards. While like you I don't like the double banjo you can run the lines in a MUCH cleaner way. And yes you can shorten the line, also Old Britts sells all the banjos and bolts in stainless or chrome so you can get ones that look great. I use the stainless ones as I think the chroming weakens the bolts. I have broken a couple even though I was careful to torque them to spec. I have not broken one of the stainless kind.
 
ramsay_banks said:
there's an alternative to the braided stainless rocker lines. 1/4 inch od truck airbrake line. the truck airbrake line i installed 16 years ago still holds pressure, does not leak. i heat the fitings with a propane torch and push the nylon airbrake line on. works real good. i have an ss rocker line for sale
if anyone's interested. >OK
Click to expand...

Yes, Nylon 11 is the original style, however I wouldn't heat anything with a torch When that line melts, it doesn't reform. I just hold the line in a clamp (drill a block of wood and cut it in half, put in vice, or I use a flaring tool) and beat the banjos on with a rubber mallet. Takes 1 good whack placed correctly. Oil on the banjo spigot and in the line helps it go on too. A couple of practice shots and you're an expert. Costs about $5 if you can find the line locally. No bling though.

Dave
69S
 
hudson29 said:
I bought this premium Venhill rocker arm oil line recently to upgrade from the plastic line and have to say that I'm not at all happy with it. It is well made but waaaaaaaaay too long and has cheap looking plated hardware. If I had not already installed it on the motor, I would return it to the vender. Right now I'm so unhappy with this that I'm thinking of delaying the project yet again while the plastic unit goes out to a local hydraulic specialist to be replicated in braided material covered with a plastic sheath. This project has already cost nearly as much as a moon shot and has taken twice as long . . .

Surely good suppliers & venders can do better than this? This was not a cheap set, I paid something like $180.00 US for it just a few weeks ago.

Vintage Paul, fuming a bit about this . . .
Click to expand...

Fuming because you don't know how to route it? :roll:

Seriously?
 
+ 1 on the ""now now" be nice, your getting a little cocky now that you put a few hundred miles on that bike of yours. I don't remember people insulting you when you didn't get something correct the first time. Post some pictures of how you did yours, your good at that & it would be helpful.
 
I made mine up years ago using parts ordered direct from Aeroquip, I think.

It's much neater using a 90° union as original than with a double stacked banjo.

Venhill Stainless Rocker Oil Line Too Long (2011)


That said, it's always going to be a bit of a pigs-ear job with that big lump of a single Mikuni stuck in the way of where the line is supposed to run. Presumably line suppliers feel the need to cater for all possible carb fitments.

It's worth getting hold of a few spare brass olives if intending to shorten as they're not always easy to extract if they've been tightened fully.
 
Routing is wrong, but any braided line that isnt crimped can easily be shortened using simple hand tools.............maybe not by someone who cant route the lines properly in the first place though.
 
Paul,
Please post a picture of how you've routed the line off the timing cover. My bike has it running horizontally going inward then running up between the cradle plates. There is a gap in the cradle where it meets the crankcase. The diagram in the shop manual has the line running horizontally pointing outward, which would be 180deg to the way it is routed on my bike. BTW, you can make up a little bracket running off the rightside screw on the carb adapter on the Mikuni to keep the line from flopping around.
 
rpatton said:
The diagram in the shop manual has the line running horizontally pointing outward, which would be 180deg to the way it is routed on my bike.
Click to expand...

Which diagram exactly?

Do you mean Fig. C41?

That diagram shows the crankshaft being primed with an oil syringe attached to a short length of tube and banjo. Apart from that diagram I can't think which one you could mean?
 
gtsun said:
+ 1 on the ""now now" be nice, your getting a little cocky now that you put a few hundred miles on that bike of yours. I don't remember people insulting you when you didn't get something correct the first time. Post some pictures of how you did yours, your good at that & it would be helpful.
Click to expand...

The point is that I never blamed the vendor first. I took responsibility for my mistakes (all of them).

The attitude I always take is that if something doesn't fit it's my ignorance about the correct assembly. Only when someone who is smarter than me (most people) is convinced that the part is defective would I take issue with the vendor.
 
I agree with you on that Swoosh but I know the guy personaly, he came here for help & advice. There is no requirment that you know everything to join and a few of the coments have been insulting & not helpful. Not just yours. I guess it takes all kinds.
 
L.A.B. said:
rpatton said:
The diagram in the shop manual has the line running horizontally pointing outward, which would be 180deg to the way it is routed on my bike.
Click to expand...

Which diagram exactly?

Do you mean Fig. C41?

That diagram shows the crankshaft being primed with an oil syringe attached to a short length of tube and banjo. Apart from that diagram I can't think which one you could mean?
Click to expand...

Hi Les, The one I'm talking about is C29.
 
I have the same SS lines on mine from Old Britts, You should route the line from the timing cover to the head between your carbs. As for the side to side line on the head you can put in front of or behind the head. I went behind the head since it was easier to hook it up that way. Works good but if you have Amals with ticklers expect to get fuel on the SS plastic cover and it will discolor it. The new ticklers with the larger tops stop the fuel from leaking over everything!
 
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