Copper in oil?

I did my first oil change on my new to me 79 mk2. The oil was clean but in the sunlight the oil looked like it had lots of very small copper glitter in it. The sun had to be on the oil in the drain pan to see it. Does shis sound like a additive or a clutch?

Also I have had a few bikes in my time. This MK seems to shift better then anything I have owned. No klunk just very smooth and possitive. It is better than my Honda Saber Is there anything differant about this transmission?

Sounds like you might have a bearing going bad somewhere.

copper in oil:
can come from engine parts
is an additive in some oils
can come from gasket sealer

I would:
ask PO what kind of oil he used and if he did any work on the engine.
look at the filter for larger copper bits and if none then change the oil and see what it looks like next time around.

High sulfur oils will attack bronze and copper if the engine is used a lot for short trips and seldom heats up enough to drive water out of the oil. This was a problem with gearbox oil in Porsches. The gearbox never got hot enough to boil off water and high sulfer oil would eat up the bronze bushings.

-Duck

I can't think of ANY copper bearings in a MKII engine. The ONLY copper that I can recall are the copper crush washers used for the exhaust pipes and the copper crush washers used to seal the engine studs/cylinder head nuts. I think perhaps someone has used some sort of engine treatment leaving this stuff in the oil. I would keep an eye on the oil during the next change but don't think there is copper coming out of your engine anywhere. Bearing surfaces are aluminum.

WG-

Are the camshaft bearing shells plated copper or solid 'babbit'?

My 76 has 2 copper thrust washers one on each side of the large starter drive gear on the end of the crank shaft.

rgpbeme wrote:

...The oil was clean but in the sunlight the oil looked like it had lots of very small copper glitter in it. The sun had to be on the oil in the drain pan to see it. Does shis sound like a additive or a clutch?....

The oil I use looks the same way. Eenie-weenie teenie-tiny little sparkles in the sun, especially noticable when pouring with sunlight. New or old. It's in there. It's an additive for additional protection when the oil would otherwise break down... I assume...

The cam gears are plain ol' aluminum. I forgot about the thrust washer for the gear that drives the starter drives. It is copper. Good catch! It is a thrust washer and there is little way it could wear since it sits in a recess inside the gear as I recall.

It's not copper , it's bronze and it's likely a thrust washer going away. Pull the oil pan and check your crankshaft cuz this problem isn't going to go away on its own.

I agree with Jack. On dirt bike engines where I have found bronze flakes in the strainer and filter the thrust washers on either side of the rods were going bad.

Again, there are NO copper/bronze thrust washers inside the engine cases. The thrust washer on the outside of the engine cases goes over the crankshaft end where the starter driving gear sits behind the rotor. There is little liklihood this thrust washer can wear as it sits in a recess inside the starter driving gear and if it started flaking, I don't think the flakes would actually fall down and get into the oil. They would be trapped inside the recess. The washer itself is not in engine oil. There is a small journal at the bottom of the cases where the bottom of the starter driving gear can get some oil I guess but the oil doesn't reach up into that area where it could wash any copper (or bronze). I have NEVER seen wear on that thrust washer. How do you know the washer is bronze and not copper? I can't tell them apart by eye and the color is identical to the copper washers used atop the cylinder head to seal the oil journals. Just curious. BTW, Jack, you can't see the ONLY thrust washer on the crank by pulling your oil pan. You have to remove the alternator cover (or stator cover depending on model). Once you do, you have to pull the rotor and then the gear that drives the starter gear.

Wiredgeorge,
There is no washer on both sides of the connecting rods between the lobes of the crankshaft??? I know there is not on my KZ750ltd but the crankshaft/connecting rod set up appears to be different on the 79 1000. But, I can't tell for sure looking at drawings.