win some, lose some -- 1971 XS1B

[DogBunny]

I bought this matching numbers 1971 XS1B Monday. I was stoked. The seller needed to keep the exhaust for his own 72 project, but otherwise pretty much complete and unmolested.
My plan was to do a resurrection similar to my 1973 Super RustBucket. In other words, do the minimum necessary to make it run great, be safe, and pass inspection.
Then I discovered the motor is stuck. Oh, no! You may ask, "isn't that something you check before you buy a bike?" Normally, yes, but the seller is a trusted source of mine, and he honestly thought the engine was good. I've gotten some great deals from this person, so I can't get too mad at him.

The seat loop is cracked near the rear seat hinge (I knew about that). And no title. So... stuck motor, cracked frame, no title -- my resurrection project that I was so excited about is now a part-out. EDIT: The part-out is on hold. I'm thinking I might resurrect it after all. Stay tuned...
The bike wasn't cheap, but I'll make my money back on parts, plus some -- but it will be earned. A part-out is a lot of work.
If anyone sees anything they'd like, PM me. As said, the part-out is on hold.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

About 7 years ago I bought a '67 YR1 from a woman in her 80's who bought it new and was the first woman in her area to own a bike.
She told a good story.
She said $300 over the phone and that it had been kept in a barn for decades. It was stuck.
When I got to her house she said $450 (!) and wouldn't budge. For some reason I gave in, and found later everything had been filled with water. She lied.
It didnt look this good.
However, I parted it out, and eventually made about $2500. The exhaust went to a guy in Sweden who invited me to come visit and ride the roads in his area.
It was a lot of work.

.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

View attachment 322480
View attachment 322481
I bought this matching numbers 1971 XS1B Monday. I was stoked. The seller needed to keep the exhaust for his own 72 project, but otherwise pretty much complete and unmolested.
My plan was to do a resurrection similar to my 1973 Super RustBucket. In other words, do the minimum necessary to make it run great, be safe, and pass inspection.
Then I discovered the motor is stuck. Oh, no! You may ask, "isn't that something you check before you buy a bike?" Normally, yes, but the seller is a trusted source of mine, and he honestly thought the engine was good. I've gotten some great deals from this person, so I can't get too mad at him.

View attachment 322483
View attachment 322484
The seat loop is cracked near the rear seat hinge (I knew about that). And no title. So... stuck motor, cracked frame, no title -- my resurrection project that I was so excited about is now a part-out.
The bike wasn't cheap, but I'll make my money back on parts, plus some -- but it will be earned. A part-out is a lot of work.
If anyone sees anything they'd like, PM me.

I have a 72 thats in way better shape than that up in my loft that Im never gonna get to. Its titled too...you can have it for $950 bucks (what I paid for it way back when) if you want to ship it down to your address.

Its got a seat pan, blinkers, instruments, etc. No tank. Turns over too. No rust ,been in my climate controlled shop at least 10 years.

You could make one good one outta the two, just a thought?

 

[Grewth]

I think that all of us get ahead of ourselves at some point, myself, I think that I'd have a go at freeing that seized engine, just for the hell of it. It's worth more in bits than it is in one piece, so nothing to lose except maybe the skin off your knuckles.

 

[DogBunny]

have a go at freeing that seized engine, just for the hell of it. It's worth more in bits than it is in one piece, so nothing to lose except maybe the skin off your knuckles.

Yes. Two weeks later, and there is now a possibility that I will resurrect this bike. In any case, I am definitely going to free the motor.

A week ago, I poured a mixture of 50/50 acetone and ATF into each spark plug hole. A couple times each day I tapped on and torqued on the crank. Nothing. Last night, I took the head off.
The right cylinder (on the left in the pic) looks okay, and all of the acetone/ATF mixture has seeped past the rings.
The left cylinder (on the right in the pic) is covered with rust and is still holding the acetone/ATF mixture.

I now understand why vinegar is popular for freeing stuck engines. The rings must be rusted solid to the cylinder. I am going to get all of that old acetone/ATF mixture out, and replace it with vinegar, and wait. I hope the cylinder isn't pitted.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Yes. Two weeks later, and there is now a possibility that I will resurrect this bike. In any case, I am definitely going to free the motor.

View attachment 323608
A week ago, I poured a mixture of 50/50 acetone and ATF into each spark plug hole. A couple times each day I tapped on and torqued on the crank. Nothing. Last night, I took the head off.
The right cylinder (on the left in the pic) looks okay, and all of the acetone/ATF mixture has seeped past the rings.
The left cylinder (on the right in the pic) is covered with rust and is still holding the acetone/ATF mixture.

View attachment 323609
I now understand why vinegar is popular for freeing stuck engines. The rings are rusted solid to the cylinder. I am going to get all of that old acetone/ATF mixture out, and replace it with vinegar, and wait. I hope the cylinder isn't pitted.

I tried Metal Rescue/Evaporust as you’re doing with vinegar. I failed. I’m interested to see if the vinegar is successful.

 

[Grewth]

Now that you know exactly which cylinder is seized you could use one of these to exert quite a bit of hydraulic force on the piston crown.
Also it could probably force some of that ATF/Acetone mix past the rings etc.
Obviously you'd have to refit the head and valves, and get a gasket to seal the joint.
I'm wary about using them on an engine "blind" i.e. when you are not sure which cylinder is the one that's seized.
Probably possible to put a couple of tons of force on the rods, with obvious destructive results, but in your case that's not an issue now

 

[DogBunny]

Since the head is off, the window for using hydraulics is closed. In the future, I think the thing to do would be to use a bore scope to try to determine which piston is stuck, and then use hydraulics, if that's what you want to do. In my case a bore scope would have easily identified the stuck piston.
One fly in the ointment is that I think 9 out of 10 times the stuck cylinder is going to have an open valve.

In any case, the stuck cylinder is now full of vinegar. I very thoroughly removed as much of the acetone/ATF mix as possible. I'm just going to let the acid do its thing, undisturbed. I have a lot of confidence that with patience, this will eventually work.