04 gs500f with about 7800 miles with a SEIZED ENGINE.
What does that mean and is it repairable? How much would the repairs be?
saw an ad for this and he's asking for 1100 for the bike.
what do you guys think?
There are several reasons why an engines can seize - revved too hard, overheated, etc - but the most common cause (especially in a GS500) would have to be lack of lubrication. A seized engine is difficult to repair as it almost always requires replacement of all internal parts... and given that the gearbox is enclosed in the same housing as the engine, any metal particles from the engine damage could also have caused damage in the gearbox.
Having said this, the lock-up could have been casued by an external failure or jam - like the generator or the clutch - you won't know until you have it apart on the bench!
I would budget for a complete replacement engine if I were you - as while it could be a cheap fix, it is more likely to be an expensive fix.
The engine in my 2004 GS500F began to fail at 33,000km and I replaced for fear of being stranded with a busted motor and an oily mess - the motor cost me $850 and fitment took about 4 hours in my garage..
On a bike that new,it's probably something simple like goats or Starwalt's disease.I have a hard time believing that it is major engine damage,but if it ran out of oil or over rev'd,it could be major.First thing I would do is pull the starter and see if it's locked up.I had this happen to me.It's called Starwalt's disease after a member on here.Also,check out the starter clutch and make sure the gear will only spin one way and not the other.If the starter and clutch checks out,then I would pull the left side engine covers and check for goat's disease.If that checks out,I would pull the cam cover and check the valve clearances.It's not unheard of for a GS to spit a valve shim out and lock up.Another issue is running an air cooled bike in a lean condition.It can cause a top end seize because of over heating.It would still require a complete engine tear down,inspect,bearing replacement,and a top end rebuild.It would be cheaper(easier) to buy a running engine than do(or have done) a tear down,inspect,and rebuild.As far as worth it,only you can say.$1100 for bike plus another $800 to $1000 for another engine.Are you confident that you can take on the repairs yourself?A shop will charge outrageous price to do repairs or engine swap.
If I had that opportunity I'd probably go for it - the tricky part would be finding a replacment engine (assuming the siezed one is toast) at a good price. Swapping it wouldn't be too much of a challenge if you have mechanical ability.
Engines have got very very hard to find, so much so that people have bought 1/2 motors from me and figures somethign for the top 1/2 type deals.
Easily looking at a looooooong project.
Cool.
buddha.