Noticed something funny on changing oil...

[MICRider]

Something kind of strange... Changed oil on my Beast today and my sons Mini Beast (love that thing!). Both machines have fairly nearly the same amount of time on the oil but my Beast's oil was black and my sons Mini Beast's oil looked like it had just came out of the can... It was still clear amber! My Beast's oil had a few nasty shavings in it too whereas my son's bike had nothing. I think I will chalk up the additional shavings in mine to the manual transmission and clutch (and one really really bad shift once!). Only thing I can think of for my oil being so black is that it was running way too rich with my stock carb no matter what I did with the mixture screw... Sound plausible?

Regards,
Stew

P.S. I really do suspect that the Mini Beast's 110 motor could virtually last forever... The 200 I'm not so sure :)

[TurboT]

Something kind of strange... Changed oil on my Beast today and my sons Mini Beast (love that thing!). Both machines have fairly nearly the same amount of time on the oil but my Beast's oil was black and my sons Mini Beast's oil looked like it had just came out of the can... It was still clear amber! My Beast's oil had a few nasty shavings in it too whereas my son's bike had nothing. I think I will chalk up the additional shavings in mine to the manual transmission and clutch (and one really really bad shift once!). Only thing I can think of for my oil being so black is that it was running way too rich with my stock carb no matter what I did with the mixture screw... Sound plausible?

Regards,
Stew

P.S. I really do suspect that the Mini Beast's 110 motor could virtually last forever... The 200 I'm not so sure :)

I'm assuming you are on the same interval oil change wise? Do the two quads have similar time on them?

I would say you may also be running your big Beast a little harder as well, since it'll rev higher in between shifts while your mini beast with the auto will gradually build RPM.

The fact you've been playing with carb settings and perhaps pouring more fuel in and through this would contribute to oil contamination as well.

The shavings are another matter. Were there a lot of them? I know I when I changed the oil on my mini beast the second time, I had some filings, but I attributed them to some ugly thread jobs around the oil drain bolt/thread area.

I'd keep an eye on that, but not be too worried yet.

[MICRider]

I'm not worried about it, just posting it as a funny observation as both machines have nearly the same amount of time on the oil change. Weren't many shavings on the Beast either, I even had a few on my Shadow when it was new. I think your right about the RPM thing though, the Beast revs like crazy and the power to the 110 is gradual. Plus, I do think that my goofed up carb was dumping lots of fuel into the cylinder and producing lots of carbon. Had a chance to tweak the Mikuni today too and it seems to be running much better, it was set a little too lean.

[PCD]

Friction disc material from the clutch plates may be the culprit as well. That stuff's gotta go somewhere. We have a nice little clutch in our beasts, 6 springs and 5 plates.

[MICRider]

Yup, probably some of that too. I did have one shift when I first got it running where it hit a false neutral and then slammed into gear... Hard! I was kind of surprised it even shifted after that, thought for sure it would have broken something. My ex wifes CB650 used to be famous for hitting false neutrals, but I think thats because her shift forks were really worn.

If I had it all to do again, I would have done the break in and then changed the oil right away... As it is, I think I ran it for a tank or a tank and a half before I changed it.

Think I got the carb set up pretty well now, just over two turns on the mixture screw seems to be the sweet spot. Fires right up now too, though still likes a lot of choke when its cold. I'm seriously thinking about disconnecting that goofy fan though... I don't think it moves enough air to make its current draw worth it. Plus in this cool weather the engine doesn't get very hot anyway. Lol, I have a chassis fan on my computer that is about the same size as that thing! :)

Regards,
Stew

[TurboT]

Yup, probably some of that too. I did have one shift when I first got it running where it hit a false neutral and then slammed into gear... Hard! I was kind of surprised it even shifted after that, thought for sure it would have broken something. My ex wifes CB650 used to be famous for hitting false neutrals, but I think thats because her shift forks were really worn.

If I had it all to do again, I would have done the break in and then changed the oil right away... As it is, I think I ran it for a tank or a tank and a half before I changed it.

Think I got the carb set up pretty well now, just over two turns on the mixture screw seems to be the sweet spot. Fires right up now too, though still likes a lot of choke when its cold. I'm seriously thinking about disconnecting that goofy fan though... I don't think it moves enough air to make its current draw worth it. Plus in this cool weather the engine doesn't get very hot anyway. Lol, I have a chassis fan on my computer that is about the same size as that thing! :)

Regards,
Stew

Funny about the fan! When W&G and I were first going over the CL score quad, we noticed the fan was shattered. Nothing there but a shell. We attempted a computer fan repair but for some reason it doesn't want to go, even with the same wiring. We just left it, as both he and I feel the fan is a luxury piece and not entirely worthwhile. Only helpful in my opinion if you're letting it sit and idle for long periods, and that is easily avoidable.

[MICRider]

Funny about the fan! When W&G and I were first going over the CL score quad, we noticed the fan was shattered. Nothing there but a shell. We attempted a computer fan repair but for some reason it doesn't want to go, even with the same wiring. We just left it, as both he and I feel the fan is a luxury piece and not entirely worthwhile. Only helpful in my opinion if you're letting it sit and idle for long periods, and that is easily avoidable.

Indeed, I had a 185S trike with an almost identical engine (except auto clutch) and it had no kind of cooling other than the cylinder fins. I don't think the little fan draws much current, but why tax the Beast's weak charging system any more than we have to? Lol, was cool enough here today that I had to run them for a long time just to get the oil warm enough to change! I can't wait to get it out for a rip to see how the carb tweaking panned out, it sure is running nice in the garage! :) I even winterized the Shadow while I was in there, but still have to pick up a battery tender for it... My local Canadian Tire was sold out of the one I want.

[PCD]

I have a few large 12v overgrown computer fans laying about. First one I looked at said 0.54amps.

Your computer fan probably didnt work due to current output at idle. If I idle my beast down really low then the fan stops spinning, rev it up and the fans goes fast. Almost like a rheostat.

Also I think it says "electronic rotor protection" and I dont know what the hell that is, but it probably has something to do with current.