Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all,

First run out of the year on the Bullet and it was running lovely and then it rattled for about 2 seconds and then started clunking alarmingly. Got it home and it looks like there has been some kind of lubrication failure. I disconnected the oil feed to the rockers, kicked it over and no oil. I squirted some into the feed union and kicked again and it did some out then but only what I had squirted in. The bike had wet sumped when I first started it but I checked the oil level once it was running and it was fine. It did chuck a lot of oil out of the breather at the base of the barrel and when i undid the sump drain there was about 150ml of oil which was obviously contaminated with metallic particles. I am assuming the big end is gone as are the mains but am curious as to what has failed with the lubrication system in the first place

Hello Zitman, I was sorry to read of your problem. It is possible that your oil pump drive spindle has failed. Edward

Zitman, sorry to hear this at the start of your season, doesn't help much as to what failed but if the rocker blocks are full of whitemetal and I mean the oil slot packed solid it proves that AFTER the big end started failing the pump was still working because the only way metal can get up there is by the pump

Norm, The oil with the metallic particles was in the sump when I drained it. The fact that there was so much oil left in the sump makes me wonder if the scavenge side of the pump was at fault? Also I cannot get my mind around the fact that when I squirted oil into the union which feeds the rockers and kicked it over the oil I had just was pumped out but no more oil came though. This seems to indicate that the pump is doing something. All very confusing!

Zitman, I think what has probably happened the rockers started blocking, the scavenge pump can't clear the sump because the rockers are blocked so you end up with oil left in the sump. Often what happens is once the rockers block completely and because there is no relief in the scavenge pump it eventually stalls and strips the spindle. Spindle often gets the blame but I don't think they are the cause of the problems

Norm, right understand that now but why when I disconnected the rocket feed at the crankcase end did nothing then flow when the bike was kicked over or was the damage to the oil pump spindle already done by then?

hi zitman if you think the oil pump was working when you got home by pumping oil out you put in with a oil can the pump could have had a air lock ie somethink stopping the oil going to the pump or air getting in when it wet sumped its like a cental heating system the system can be full of water but if there is air in the pump it will not work

Harry,

The only oil that came out was what I had squirted in (a couple of spurts so to speak) then nothing again. I thought the oil pumps were self priming on the Bullet. If it was an airlock then how would you know and clear it in normal circumstances? I had traveled about 8 miles when the big end started knocking. The other thing that has me flummoxed is the amount of oil I had left in the sump I would have expected that to have been scavenged out. I know the there are effectively two pumps but the evidence would suggest that both have failed. BUT the big end failing would seem to indicate the pumping side had failed BUT the presence of oil in the sump indicates it must have been pumped there somehow and that the scavenge side must have therefore failed. The evidence seems to pull in different directions!! Z

hi z man strip the motor down and then you,ll know for sure, computors don,t diagnose problems time to roll your sleeves up and get dirty hands good luck atb paul.

Hi again. Git the engine out yesterday and onto the bench to start stripping it. Found the oil pump shaft was done for with about a quarter of the teeth gone. Haven't split the cases yet but got the head and barrel off and tested the play on the big end. I expected some but found a huge amount somewhere in the region of 1/4" (will clock it more accurately next weekend). Am now starting to think about the rebuild and was wondering what those here thought about replacement oil pump shafts. I can get a standard (Indian) one cheaply or go down the route of our hosts replacement kit at £135 + VAT. Also wondering whether to upgrade to the high flow oil pump at the same time. Any thoughts on the shaft and pump? Z