Do I need a new engine?

[gruvola]

That is the upper and lower crankcase broken. Is the rod still intact? It could be the piston broke up and the rod is OK, so the crank could be salvaged.

interesting you say that, I've heard I may be surprised how many good parts I'll find in there

 

[gruvola]

Nice XS . You don't see the green to often. I've always wondered about catastrophic engine failure at highway speed. Glad you're OK.

starting sounding terrible, I instinctively pulled in the clutch, big bang and oil all over my pants. uneventful roll to the side of the road. lucky? more than luck?

 

[gruvola]

My bike is a 74 too. How many miles on the engine when it let go?

about 25k. But, I didn't rebuild the bottom end at the resto and who knows what it went through.

 

[gruvola]

Yes, I too am always curious about what causes failures. Having raced cars for many years, I've had a few, and as much as I hated losing an engine, I always enjoyed the detective work.

Hey guys, I will do a thorough investigation but I have some logistical issues and it may have to wait until I retire in a few years. . . . though curiosity and a cheap Amazon camera may get the better of me.

 

[Raymond]

Hey guys, I will do a thorough investigation but I have some logistical issues and it may have to wait until I retire in a few years. . . . though curiosity and a cheap Amazon camera may get the better of me.

I meant I'd investigate before going to the expense of a new engine, in the hope of rebuilding the existing one. But given that you will need a new set of crankcases, unless you are lucky and can score a good set of cases, then a new engine is prolly the best route to go.

 

[gggGary]

Now that you've decided you have time; squirrel a few hundred dollars into the rainy day fund and start watching. You'll find a failed project with a good motor, do the swap in an afternoon, sell or stash the extra parts and Bob's your uncle.

 

[Its been a long time]

Now that you've decided you have time; squirrel a few hundred dollars into the rainy day fund and start watching. You'll find a failed project with a good motor, do the swap in an afternoon, sell or stash the extra parts and Bob's your uncle.

Probably the most sensible approach. In that eventuality I would look out for something hacked to death by an angle grinder and put the poor thing out of it's misery. Rescue the motor and anything else along the way. Fair to say though, here in the UK if that happened, even buying something like I described would probably be an uneconomic fix. Good luck with it, be good to see the bike repaired.

 

[gruvola]

Hey guys, I will do a thorough investigation but I have some logistical issues and it may have to wait until I retire in a few years. . . . though curiosity and a cheap Amazon camera may get the better of me.

Hey Guys, I bought a cheap fiber optic camera and snapped the following pics. The first is looking up at the bottom of the piston and, though it's not real clear, you can see a fractured rod. The other two pics are looking down into the crank where the rest of the rod should be and it's gone! all that's there is trash and pieces of bearings, etc. So, it looks to me like the bearings went on the rod at the crank, snapped the rod and sent it through the case.

Interestingly, pics through the spark plug holes were unremarkable. Maybe running lean but all seemed in order.

 

[AUTOMAN]

Wasted money on the borescope.
Needs an engine, you ain't a gunna fix this one.

cliff