Re: Tank fit, turn signal switches

[Tbag <tbagtim@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have a '95 R1100GS w/110k miles.

I am experiencing a problem with my tank that sounds
similar to John's.
When I bought the bike with 73k on it I noticed that
the tank mounting hole barely lined up with the slot
in the bracket and some force needed to be applied
(not a lot.)
At 82k my gearbox, which had always jumped out of
third at the worst times, finally crunched and refused
to go into 1st. I pulled the box, there were bent and
ground down shift forks and shifter shaft bushes
cracked. I had the tranny rebuilt at Marty's in
Torrance and popped it back on. The tank fit about the
same as before, some pressure required.
About the time of the 96k service I noticed the tank
would not line up anymore and I've been riding without
the bolt since. No amount of force by hand will push
the tank forward enough to line up and I've checked
the clearances all around. Nothing is fouling the
tank.
Interestingly I had an unused NOS tank in the garage
as a spare. One day I decided to offer it up to see if
it was any better. It was perfect! So I think the
answer in my case is that something happens to the
tank at some point and it actually warps, permanently.
Both my tanks are plastic, I assume John's is too?

I never had problems with the turn signal switches. I
had a solder joint remelt and become unreliable after
poor contact of the high beam switch caused heat, but
cleaning and resoldering fixed that.
If the switch can be cleaned up again and is not
cracked or poorly soldered anywhere that I would
suggest applying some dielectric grease to stop
corrosion.

Cheers!
Tim

- --- John Dancoe <jdan@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Subject is a '93 R11RS w/73k miles.
> 
> Two things maybe others have some ideas about:
> 
> 1. It's very difficult to re-install the gas tank
> after removal. The problem
> is getting worse over time. I have to use leverage
> using the seat mounts as a
> fulcrum, and an excessive amount of force to push
> the tank forward far enough
> to line up the tank mounting hole with the holes in
> the frame tabs.
> 
> I'm overstressing the assembly and either the tank
> or the frame tabs will
> eventually crack.
> 
> The tank's never been easy to install in this
> regard, but the problem
> certainly got worse after I reinstalled the
> transmission after the clutch and
> input shaft were replaced (about 20k miles ago).
> Recently, while the tank was
> still installed, I tried loosening the tank mount
> and all the rear subframe
> mounting bolts, then retightening them. My theory
> was that some misalignment
> had occurred when I installed the transmission and
> subframe but that the force
> of the tank trying return to its relaxed dimension
> (which force must be
> considerable) would push the subframe rearward and
> thus improve the
> alignment.
> 
> However, that theory proved false and the tank was
> just as hard to install the
> next time.
> 
> Any ideas about this, any similar experiences?
> 
> 2. Within a year of buying the bike, the turn signal
> cancel switch became very
> unreliable (pressing it fails to cancel the
> blinkers), and has been so ever
> since. Often it takes several attempts, or sustained
> pressure on the switch,
> before the cancel happens. I can improve this
> condition by removing the switch
> block and shooting contact cleaner into it. But the
> first rainstorm, or a few
> weeks of use, will re-introduce the unreliability.
> 
> I've lived with this for years by using the trick of
> pressing both turn
> signals at once, which causes a single 4-way flash
> and then cancellation. This
> is actually kind of cool and it worked well for me
> for years. I think only
> early oilheads had this feature, but that it was
> considered a "bug" and was
> eliminated from later models.
> 
> But now the wear on the switches, and perhaps my own
> declining skill at
> synchronizing the press on both switches, has
> rendered this technic unreliable
> as well.
> 
> Short of buying new switches, does anyone know of a
> treatment with a more
> permanent effect?
> 
> Regards,
> John D

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End of oilheads-digest V2 #152
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