Well, I was driving to work today when the bike suddenly started making really loud clacking noises. I pulled over as quickly as possible, and as soon as I hit the clutch the bike died. I got to the side of the road and looked down to see the last of the oil draining out of the bike :o :o :o
(http://home.comcast.net/~rmbateman/imagelib/oilspill.jpg)
I pulled out my camera and took some pics under the bike to try to figure out where the oil was draining from... I think I found it. :x
(http://home.comcast.net/~rmbateman/imagelib/missingplug.jpg)
:x :o :x :o :x :o :x :?
I came back later and put a new plug in, filled it with oil, but to no avail... no luck, no start, can't even turn the wheel.
What are my options? New engine? Rebuild? I don't have a lot of spare time. how much would it cost to have the engine rebuilt by someone?
:x
oh, and did I mention :x ?
No oil is bad. Safety wire would have been very helpful here.
Probably need new pistons & rings. Suzuki sells 74.5 & 75mm pistons with rings for about $80 each. The cylinder can be honed for about $30-$60 depending on how much material has to be removed.
Oh my god that sucks! I would think if you can't do the engine rebuild yourself (time or experience) then a donor bike/motor swap might be the easier way out...if you need a new/rebuilt motor that is.
I feel for ya... :(
Way to go... there goes the june 12th trip (little joke).... So sorry Richard! Look at it this way, Kerry now has a brand new photo op.
I'll keep an eye out for any local fixes. An engine swap would probably be easiest and we could have another get together and finish it in no time.
Keep us posted....
So how you gonna get to work now??
I'll have to drive the old Pontiac and make Dad take the bus to work. (it's my car) it gets about 20mpg... :x
I was actually going to have to back out on that ride anyway, since it turns out I have to work that day :( but I guess it's not an option now anyway.
I'm currently thinking I'll have to find a salvage engine... don't have the time to replace an engine, much less rebuild it. Not sure what I'm going to do.
and I had it running pretty well, too. :-( what an expensive mistake.
There is a complete GS motor on ebay now. It is located in NC so I do not know how bad shipping would be.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7903722890&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT
i can never tell how muc oil i have in there, my dipstick is the same color the whole way up... should i buy a new dipstick or should i frequently just check for leaks, casue oil probobly dosent run out tht quickly
im sorry richard... i feel ya too my snowmobile seized up tis winter because of some loose bolt i was pissed
hope it works out
lol. I was just looking at that.
I think Srinath lives near there, perhaps he could tell us from his experience if the $108 that I'd be charged for shipping is reasonable or not.
Maybe he could stop by his house and make threatening faces 'til the guy sold it to me for cheap. ;-)
I'm also not certain how much it would be worth to bid on it... not knowing what I could potentially find in the salvage yards. :?
salvage yards i found to be pretty expenisive they were trying to sell me a junky caplier for 150 dollars,
mybe i just had a bad experince
On the bright side, at least it killed the engine before it coated the rear tire with oil enough to take you out as well. That motor might not live to see another ride, but you will. And when it all comes down to it, broken bike is much better than broken rider. :thumb:
I thought I saw a couple of "project"/salvage/trashed GS's on ebay lately. And that motor mentioned earlier.
Best of luck getting back on the road again. Perhaps you could get a couple GS'ers on the list to contribute toward one of the salvage auctions in proportion to the value of the parts each want from it? :dunno:
Quote from: wasabi_peasI thought I saw a couple of "project"/salvage/trashed GS's on ebay lately. And that motor mentioned earlier.
I am actually bidding on a bike on ebay with plans of parting it out.
Quote from: dgyverThere is a complete GS motor on ebay now. It is located in NC so I do not know how bad shipping would be.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7903722890&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT
OK Its being sold by our own Tshirt racer so here come the threats ... Ok come here you... Grrrrr :x :nana: :x
Now how much you take for that motor... Dont make me bring out the nun chucks... or call Kerry and his camera hand... or PHP extrordianire Richard...
Cool.
Srinath.
Make that "those donut gobblers Kerry and Richard". 8)
$108 shipping is reasonable.
The motor with transmission weighs close to 150lbs. I shipped a GS motor one state over a few months back for $68; and you're looking at cross-country shipping. Plus its a real pain to package up properly, requires a large box and a lot of packing material.
Adam
I bought a motor about a year ago from a guy in LA the shipping was 220 but they crated it and garenteed it. T-shirt racer had a thread in the buy sell swap forum a while back, if I remember right his asking price was around 450. if you have the time the cheepest way is to tear it all apart and find out where it seized, you can probably fix it with some sandpaper and new bearings. I'd try to contact Bob B. and see if he whould be willing to play with it if you don't want to do it your self.
Rebuild is way cheaper than a new motor. How many miles are on the one you have? Get the 75mm pistons from Suzuki and make it a true 500! Better yet get some 76mm big bore pistons with Nikasil plating and have the engine balanced, your already in there :)
yeah you mentioned :x i'll throw in a :o and a few
:x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x
:x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x
now you can do a 'busa swap :mrgreen:
the engine had about 17,000 miles on it. if there were someone close enough to work on it from the board, I'd be willing to pay to have someone rebuild it, but I don't have the time to try to figure it out myself. really, the work I've done on the bike has all been new territory for me, and tearing open an engine is a bit more than I am likely to be able to figure out in the "spare time" that I do have.
I do appreciate everyone's advice and suggestions, however. I'm still deciding specifically what I'm going to do. maybe I'll keep the old engine and rebuild it over a period of time, and then I'd have a spare in case I come across a bike that is down an engine. ;-)
Swapping motor is what I recomend... the oil less riding, causes lots og things to overheat, and once its overheated, aluminum is never the same, it has a memory and will come back and take revenge on you.
A swap is also easier, take off tank and bodywork, chain, carbs, cables exhaust etc, and undo and loosen, not take of yet the bolts holding the sub frame and the motor mounts, then lay a mattress on the left side and lay the bike over on it, and then reach under and remove all the bolts, then lift it up and the frame will come up and motor will be on floor. Reverse them for re install.
Cool.
Srinath.
Wow, that looks bad. I can't tell from the picture where is that hole?
Anyone have an estimate how much he would have to spend to rebuild the motor w/ new pistons? At least would be a comparison to $500 for the new motor. I saw about $80 for the pistons...
ASLAM.
That hole is where the drain plug is supposed to go... it's the bottom of the engine. :oops: I guess I didn't tighten it as much as I thought I did. :x
One hecka expensive mistake.
Just did "buy it now" on that ebay engine... I'm sure that made a fellow GStwin member happy. =] It was a bit more than I was hoping to spend, but I can't find an engine at any of the local yards, and that one is (I hope) in good shape, at least.
$600 after shipping :x but I guess if that's what it takes.
who the heck is tshirtracer on this site..
well now that you have learnt the lesson.. you can part out the old engine or learn to fix it once you got a working bike.
By the way, arent you like 100ft from kerry's place?
OMG the drain plug wasn't tight enough... :o
Good luck with the new engine tho. Seems like you live around some other GS members who know what they're doing on this type of thing.
ASLAM.
LET'S REBUILD THE MOTOR!!! And throw it on the back of a tricked out go cart!!! 8) Imagine cruisin through the west desert at 50 mph.......sweeeet!!!!
100ft from Kerrys? As if.
it's at least 300ft.....
;-)
that's the only reason I think I might be able to get this figured out anyway... because Kerry will probably be willing to help me, just for the experience and the chance to snap pictures of everything in sight.
Tell ya what, Hi-T... you're welcome to help us tear it apart, and if we decide to rebuild it, I'm sure we can think of something cool to make out of it. =]
If I could find a way to recoup some of my losses on the new engine it would be nice, but we'll see what happens.
Quote from: richardI guess I didn't tighten it as much as I thought I did. :x
One hecka expensive mistake.
Now that Torque wrench doesnt seem that expensive, does it?
Quote from: The_good_guywho the heck is tshirtracer on this site..
well now that you have learnt the lesson.. you can part out the old engine or learn to fix it once you got a working bike.
By the way, arent you like 100ft from kerry's place?
Yea he's a duuuude that lives around in NC somewhere.... but he's got a GS race bike and he's selling parts too... Yea NC is now the hub of all GS activity....
Cool.
Srinath.
I call yoink on top end parts if you don't rebuild it.
davi, pmed him earlyer
sorry dude
Please takes lots of pics, and a step by step tutorial would be greatly appreciated. I need to do an engine swap soon, since I seized in a similiar method. Thanks and good luck with the swap.
Hi,
Sorry to hear of your misadventure with the loose drain plug.
The lesson here is that it is critical to use a good torque wrench when working on your bike.
I have a Craftsman 3/8" drive "clicker" torque wrench (0-75 foot-puounds) and a Craftsman 3/8" drive standard torque wrench (the kind that bends, 0-600 in-pounds for smaller fasteners).
I use them for everything, from oil filter nuts to drain plugs to axle nuts and everything in between.
Never trust your "guess" on what it takes to tighten a fastener.
Good tools are your friends.
Good luck with your new engine. I wish I was closer to you (I'm in PA), otherwise I'd love to come over and lend you a hand. :)
Best wishes,
Todd
I'm really sorry to hear of your misfortune, Richard. It can be a leason for us all though. I changed my oil today, and after your mishap I was extra careful with the tightening. Best of luck to you on the repairs.
Yeah- yesterday I did another check on my critical bolts- And have been thinking about safety wiring.
Let me know when you get the motor and plan on doing the swap. I'll see if I can make it down. Let me know if you'd like or need any extra tools.
AND... I was talking to my dad and it looks like a gs motor might work nicely on a gyro copter. I know you'd like to get something out of the old motor- I'm sure we could work something out. Now that I got a new house I actually have space to do actual work on the GS.
Later
cool. We'll see what the plausability ends up being for doing a rebuild. If we can rebuild the engine I'll probably talk to Hi-T about what odd plans he has for it (they sound entertaining so far), and if not I'll be looking to part it out, I guess.
Now I must be patient 'til it arrives... at which time I will probably be so swamped with work that I can't do anything with it yet. :-(