Forum

[Perorec]

Hello, breather pipe on my Bullet had a lot of mayonnaise, which I cleaned. I understand that happens because of condensation, my motorcycle was on a rest because of winter months. What bothers me is amount of mayonnaise in breather pipe. There was a lot of it. Does it mean that in breather pipe had to be a lot of oil too? (a lot of oil + a lot of water = a lot of mayonnaise)?. This thing keeps me hounting that for such amount of mayonnaise had to be a lot of oil there. And I don't like that. During winter I started motorcycle for a short time (10 mintes, but didn't ride it). Any explanations for load of mayonnaise?

[Gwilly]

During the winter layup leave the motor with the piston at TDC comp stroke and don't touch it again till the spring..

Starting the engine without riding will never warm the oil enough and combustion gasses will condense in the cold casings..

Leave the bike connected to an electronic battery charger, and change the oil before serious riding to get rid of the water..

Other opinions are available..

[PeteF]

Gwilly is quite right, why people start their engines during a winter lay-up defeats me. Unless you are going to ride it and get the oil up to a decent temperature you gain nothing and just encourage emulsion and engine wear. Just getting the engine warm is not enough, the oil needs to get hot too which in winter takes a good few miles. Ten minutes running in the shed is worse than useless.

[papasmurf]

Well I have been starting every motorcycle we have owned over the last 30 years once a week or fortnight and have never had any problems because of that. .......................
(I always run the engines until no vapour is showing at the exhaust, I also free the clutch as well.)
...........................................................................................
It was a topic of conversation yesterday with the mechanic who services our motorcycles. He services a large number of motorcycles for sailors at a nearby navy base who are often away from home for many months at a time, and the motorcycles not being started during that time causes no end of problems, except with Hondas, and forms a large part of his income.
Why Hondas don't have any problems is a mystery.

[Leon Novello]

Gwilly and Pete are right. As I have often said before, Bullets seldom get the oil really hot. My Bullet can run all day in ambient temperatures of 35C, yet the engine oil can be only 60C, which a dishwasher runs at on the wash cycle. Put a thermometer down the fill pipe after a long run in Summer.

[nigelphoto]

The mayo is water - emulsifies in oil and comes out of the breather. During the winter either spray the whole bike with ACF50 and leave well alone, or spray the whole bike with ACF50 and run for at least 40-50 miles once a month. A ten minute warm up blipping the throttle is tantamount to inviting Mr Con Densation to come and stay in your engine and eat all the steel bits like the piston rings and bores. IMHO you should change the oil and cartridge filter (and clean out the magnetic trap filter at the bottom of the pickup) and then thrash it within an inch of its life and it will spit out the rest of the mayo together with any lettuce and cucumber still in there!

[papasmurf]

I don't blip the throttle when starting and running the engines, especially with the Enfield, given the high pressures that would subject the oil pump to until the oil is warm.
(Try blipping the throttle from cold on my wife's VS800 Intruder and it would cause a fire in my garage from the flames out of the exhaust.)

[Leon Novello]

Any water in the oil which gets into the bearings will push the oil out, leaving metal to metal contact.

[Perorec]

Do you guys think it will be ok if I go for a longer ride, so the water will vapor out or should I first change all the engine oil?

[nigelphoto]

Perorec, like Leon Novello says, if there is emulsified oil the molecules break down and you will get metal-metal contact at high pressure points (bearings, cylinder wall to piston etc) So don't be lazy, change the oil and filter and THEN go for a decent long fast blast . . . Its your choice!