Showing posts with label Motometer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motometer. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Motometer...some service/repair information for the BMW R80GS speedometers...
0 comments Posted by car 2011 at 9:15 PM
Earlier I started information on the Motometer instruments used on BMW motorcycles, and this is to be continued, as I have yet to cover the BMW K100 and K75 series and the BMW/6 and /7 series.
But this blog deals a bit more technically with problems that arise with the BMWR80GS and a start on the BMW/6 and /7.
Left click on the images to enlarge.....
I had a comment from a chap, "Peter G" who looked at the R80GS blog and I recalled then a common problem that occured with this instrument.
The area where the cable attaches to, and this thread is 18mm x 1.5mm metric, is what we call the lower frame and originally it was supplied as a plastic item..who knows why, but cost is a likely consideration.
With time and heat, the material seemes to change and as the section where the threaded part changes into the main top part of this frame is thin, vibration and road shock would snap it off.
A "quick fix" was to use Araldite or and adhesive, but it seems to not be a permanant repair.
I knew that the frame on the previous BMW/5 models used a diecast metal frame and it was identical, so I used them, but soon ran out of used items.
On a visit to Motometer I enquired as to parts for the BMW/5 intending to purchase these metal frames.
Parts for this model were no longer available, although Motometer admitted to making small batches of the complete instrument for BMW as a spare part.
During the inevitable tour of the factory I noted a pile of these diecast frames and observed the Motometer part number which I quickly wrote down.
Later in Sydney, assembling an order of parts for the later BMW speedos, I included this diecast frame number with a quantity of 100...
I was pleasantly surprised when 6 months later the order arrived and those diecast frames were supplied...Eureka!
I did this a second time before they ceased supply and I note, although I sold all my Motometer parts when I sort of retired to Lionel Otto Instruments in Salisbury, Brisbane, Queensland, I kept three and still have them.
Yes I'll sell them ...email me.
As you can see you need to run the thread further up the diecast frame, as there is a large flat washer and thin nut to secure the speedo into the case.
Another problem that occurs is the bottom of the speedcup shaft which pivots in a bush at the end of the mainshaft where the magnet assembly presses on. This is the same for the GS or the /5/6/7 series instruments.
The end often fractures off, in which case you need to find a supplier of these shafts, or if you've access to a small instrument lathe, Lorch , Emco etc, machine one up out of silver steel.
As well even if they don't fracture they wear...you can feel the wear with the end of your finger..it feels sharp.
Measure the length that this end protrudes from the speedcup bell from the brass centre piece to the end. The range 0.125" -0.140" is what you want and if at the lower end or less, you need to make a locating jig and lightly tap the shaft through.
The magnet is secured to the mainshaft by lightly pressing onto the shaft and trapping a plastic keyplate. Wear occurs on this plastic keyplates bearing surface and so you need to reduce this such that there is minimal play.
Care when pressing the magnet on...make a small pressing piece to push on the brass centre of the magnet to avoid cracking the magnet. DONT tap with a hammer.
It's also possible for the small bush at the top of the mainshaft to wear and it has a small circular hardened piece of steel inder it, called an endplate, which the speedcup shaft mentioned above pivots on.
Re-bushing this is not impossible, but tricky. You need access to a small instrument lathe, a clockmakers Lorch or an Emco 3. You can buy small bushes from clockmaking suppliers, brands such as Bergeon. They are not expensive less than AUD$2 here in Australia and you certainly couldn't machine them up for that.
As well the small threaded top bush...4mm x 0.35mm thread which the speedcup shaft passes through can wear and again a Bergeon bush can effect a repair.
I was able to buy the threaded bushes from Motometer years back.
The mainshaft like most of the steel parts in speedometers are unplated metal and thus rust. The rust on the mainshaft causes a squealing noise in operation and cleaning off the rust and regreasing it cures this problem.
The later /7 instruments had a damping bridge and cup arrangement with silicon damping fluid as the medium and reduced the tremor of the pointer in operation.
However pointer trembling or oscillation can also be as a result of an inner drive cable fault....another blog for the future, the care of speedometer cables...or wear in the top and bottom speedcup bushes as well as no damping medium.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
More Motometer instrumentation...information on the BMW R65, R65LS and R45 motorcycles....
0 comments Posted by car 2011 at 8:29 PMWell I'm on a role here...I've scanned in all my Motometer stuff and will feature information on BMW motorcycles that used Motometer instruments from 1973 to, well into the 1990's, perhaps later. I was out of it by then....
This blog features the boxer engined R65, R45 and R65LS models. As well some of the R80's appear to have used these as well.
Left click on the images to enlarge.....
I made pencil notes on the gearing over the years and have scanned this in as well...a bit scratchy, but the effort needed to type it up is more than I'm prepared to do.....
The R45 used a 180kph speedometer.
Information on how to connect a tester to the tacho follows in some of my pencil notes...
Details for the additional Motometer quartz clock and voltmeter offered as an extra on these models are in the previous blog......
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Readers of my blog will know that I ran an instrument sales, repair and restoration business that specialised in motorcycles.....
I was strong on Smiths, but dealt with all the others....German VDO, Motometer, Veigel.
From the USA Jones, Corbin, Stewart-Warner.
Italian Veglia.
Japanese Nippon Denso, Yazaki and Nippon Denso to name a few.
This blog is on the German Motometer instruments used on the offroad BMW R80GS....
Left click on the images to enlarge....
I'll likely come back to other Motometer and VDO items in future blogs, for despite my closing my retail business I retain all the literature and I searched the world for it during the time I ran my shop.
I first visited Motometer around 1986, when I did a business trip from Australia via the USA ( where I visited the Jones instrument company) to the UK and Europe.
They were helpful with exploded parts diagrams and for some years sold me individual spare parts before reaching an agreement with BMW, Mercedes and VW not to supply further spare parts....
I sold off all the Motometer, VDO etc stuff when I closed my shop and other than this literature I have no parts...please don't ask- there just isn't any....
I note in a Wikipedia item, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motometer , that Robert Bosch GmbH acquired Motometer AG in 1991 and liquidated the company.
From memory it was around this time that I was unable to gain further parts supplies, so Bosch may have dictated the decision.
1982 BMW R80GS instrument binnacle.
The dials were black background with green numeral printing as was the speedometer which was calibrated as a 180kph for metric areas ( Europe, Australia, NZ, Japan etc) and 120mph for imperial areas ( usually USA and UK).
As mentioned above, the dial configuration was a black background with green numerals with the pointer blades for speedometer,tachometer,clock and voltmeter coloured white...this was from 1978 onwards, prior to that, pre 1978, the dials were black background with white dial numerals and the speedometer/tachometer pointer blades were fluorescent red.
The clock movement prior to 1978 was not a quartz movement, but an impulse type.
A quartz clock can easily be identified when running as the pointer for the secondhand advances a second at a time and appears jerky in operation, whereas the impulse clock sweep secondhand smoothly sweeps around in operation.
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