locked up motor
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,122
Likes: 51,431
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
If the motor was running and froze on it's own the cylinders have to come off or there will be trouble shortly , minimuin the piston skirts are scuffed and maybe the cylinder walls . I'm and old shovel mechanic , been building those motor's over 30 years . I know what they will and won't do and what happens god knows I've had to fix enough of them guys have fucced up . Tell your bro to get hard line and make the bastards take it down or he'll regret it , the motor life on the upper is gone she'll be a smoker and have lots of piston slap shortly . Once he takes ownership they will say anything happens he caused , guarantee they won't warranty it .
Maybe I'm wrong, but 15 seconds is just not long enough to build heat and seize the motor. Something else is going on there. Could the pistons be in backward? Wrong size to begin with, Way, Way too tight. Just my thoughts, I'm probably wrong.
Any way about it, the fella needs to find another engine builder.
Any way about it, the fella needs to find another engine builder.
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,122
Likes: 51,431
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
Maybe I'm wrong, but 15 seconds is just not long enough to build heat and seize the motor. Something else is going on there. Could the pistons be in backward? Wrong size to begin with, Way, Way too tight. Just my thoughts, I'm probably wrong.
Any way about it, the fella needs to find another engine builder.
Any way about it, the fella needs to find another engine builder.
I didn't run oil in the top end of my top gas bike, I had it shut off by plugging the pushrods. Between rounds I would drop in a capful of oil on each valve and button it up for the next round. The pistons were oiled from the low end. I would run that thing at close to 7000 rpm and never scoured the cylinders or froze a valve. Just saying.........
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 11,224
Likes: 3,049
From: St.Louis Mo.
motor only ran for 15 to 20 seconds tops, before it locked up.i told him i would demand they tear it down. i think this engine will be short lived to say the least.i would be worried about my safety riding something that might self detruct any time.i was telling him what are you gonna do when you get bike home and can't ride it for months because of the weather and then next spring ride it and it starts smoking or worse yet blows up or locks up on you again.they will just tell him to hit the road.sure glad it's not my bike.i would have thought they would have found a broken pinion shaft or something relly bad,but i guess you gotta look to find something.i'll keep everyone updated when he gets it home and if he's able to ride it alittle.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 11,224
Likes: 3,049
From: St.Louis Mo.
update! went to shop to pick up bike for my buddy as he don't have a truck to tow it home with. they sold him a new inner primary cover and custom made clutch pedal for jockey shift setup. heard bike run for 10 seconds while he was up front paying the bill,anyway towed bike home and he kicked on it for a couple of hours trying to start it .no go,won't start, took plugs out and held one to head with a piece of wood and no spark. sometimes it will pop in the pipes but nothing else. i feel sorry for him they banged for another 1800 dollars and it won't start. i left because i got tired of watching him kick it ,no point in it no fire not gonna run. he calls me later on and said he slipped off of kicker pedal and broke his heal and chipped a piece of bone off of his ankle.he thinks these guys are great, i think they screwing him big time,he's put 5000 grand in this pile of junk and it still don't run. well he's gotta heal up now before we drag it back to these guys and i'm getting tired of towing it around,don;t mind helping him out but this is getting silly.i washed my hands of working on it with him because he does everything *** backwards. he's been monkeying with this thing since last march. oh well back to the shop it goes.
I'm sorry to see your buddy taking the beating he is taking. Sometimes you have to stop, step back and take a breath and re-evaluate. Maybe he will learn to do things himself. The average owner, with just normal tools can do 90% of the restoration project. With a little investment, and patience, people can do all the work. There are 3rd world shops that will milk people dry and close the door. I'm lucky, I have a great engine/trans builder who I can trust my life with. I know builders around the country I can ship a motor to if needed. If I ever jump into nitro, I'll give Kirby a try. I've heard a lot of great things about that guy, never met him, though a lot of my friends know him. And that is the key! Find a great wrench, no matter where, and stick with them. Piles of junk are created by bad mechanics. Just sayin'..............
Last edited by AlCherry; Dec 31, 2012 at 06:37 AM.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 11,224
Likes: 3,049
From: St.Louis Mo.
they installed a crane hi-4 and crane coil, everyone i know who has run one of these has had it fail and went with a dyna s and no problems.they banged him for $470 for the crane.i told him to stick the points back in and in will most likely run. i just hate seeing them keep taking his money,how's the old saying go a fool and his money will soon be parted. throwing good money after bad.i'll update when we find out more info.
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they told him they did'nt do anything to the motor just broke it loose with a big wrench,did'nt remove heads or anything.did take nosecone cover off and looked in there,but nothing else.just don't see how this engine could last along time.something has to be fcked up somewhere.
If this powerplant was locked up/seized, then it HAS to be pulled down, and the root issue corrected, as the damage will show up later, if not sooner.
I could venture guess's as to what may have caused this, but upon inspection, all would be evident then.
Scott
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 11,224
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From: St.Louis Mo.
well they tried to tell him it was the trans that locked it up, i say bs there was nothing wrong with it when we took it apart and when you push the clutch in you could move the kicker though,there was nothing wrong with the trans ,i asked the guy what they replaced in the trans and he said main something and i said main what, gear, shaft what was it.he said main gear was bad and he did'nt think it would last long. these guys try to talk in circles and then talk down to you like you don't know anything. i 've been ridin and wrenchin for 45 years.hard to keep my mouth shut,but this is his deal.he don't want to listen to anybody. i agree this engine should be tore all the way down and inspected, i sure don't think it will last very long. they are trying to talk him into putting an electric start on it.they will end up getting a $1000 for that. he's not doing anything till he heals up now.