So I have a 2012 848 Evo Corse with 15k miles. I was pulling out from a small town close to where I live, accelerating slowly behind a car and at about 35mph, the exhaust tone and power changed. I pulled the clutch in and coasted to the shoulder and the engine gave up. It was all just a few seconds. The engine would not turn over and in first gear would only rock back and forth a little. I thought maybe a timing belt gave up but today when I stripped the bike down, the belts were good but there was a bunch of metal parts against the mesh oil screen and a bolt. It looks like maybe a piston rod connector bolt but I am not sure, I will go to the books later to do a better investigation. It looks like I will be dropping the motor and spending the short summer here rebuilding instead of riding!! All good though, it could have been a really bad situation. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great, specially dealing with the motor drop or anything you might like to add. This will be my first engine rebuild since the early 1980's when I blew up my '71 Mustang Mach 1 motor being a silly 16 year old!! Cheers!
I was just looking at an online parts manual diagram and it is one of the connecting rod bolts....curious to see the other one and the connecting rod. A bit lost as this motor only has 15k miles! I'm guessing the piston is stuck at TDC and the remaining connector is jammed up against the crankshaft??
That’s a con rod bolt. The pieces of debris are big end shells material. By all means pull it apart, but from experience with a few of these failures, I’d look for another motor. You’ll defo need a crank and at least one rod. Usually a cylinder gets damaged too.
Thanks Nelly. Can you clarify what big end shells material is? Are you thinking the case might be damaged? I don't mind doing a pretty thurough rebuild, just trying to figure out the line at which a rebuilt motor would be the best option. Thanks!!
The shells are steel with a soft metal coating. The brass coloured fragments are the soft metal, the curved piece at the bottom of your picture is the shell it’s self.
Thanks for the explanation!! I’m going to start pulling the motor this week. A used crankcase is about $550 pounds. About the same as a crank by itself
if you have time and really enjoy a full build then I can't put you off, but apart from that, new - as in good s/hand engine looks the most logical next step as said above.
As Nelly said look for a new motor, at least fully strip the lump and then make a complete list of every part, gasket, seal and bolts, washers that you will need. G/tee ontop of a new crank, conrod, piston assembly, gaskets and seals there will be countless other parts required, be amazed if you can do it "properly" for £3k plus your time. Replacement engine and you're back on the road in a couple of weeks for a lot less money.
You guys were 100% correct!! I was still in disbelief that my true love gave up on me. By the time I started adding up the long list of possible parts for my rebuild and the long time in doing it, I decided to go your route and buy a good used motor. I pick it up at a shop tomorrow in Denver if I can make it over the mountain pass with all the new snow. Its got 7,800 miles and service has been done. It was removed off a bike after a low side with a bent frame. I've been busy at work so I haven't had a chance to open the old motor to find out what really happened. I'm moving to the UK early this spring so I will remove the heads and check the motor in several suitcases. Never a dull moment! Thanks for the advice....
Finally got a chance to pull the motor out and remove the horizontal head and cylinder. The great news is that everything looks pretty good, no head or cylinder damage, the piston looks pretty good and even the conrod looks good minus the conrod bolts and bearings. Bad news is that there are piles of metal shite everywhere. I'm sure several of the gears are in bad shape and I will send out the crankshaft to be polished and balanced at a minimum. The plan for now will be to disassemble the motor into manageable pieces and disperse them into all my checked bags on British Airways for the move over...
Unless you're traveling in a huge group who all want to help out I predict an eye watering excess baggage charge coming your way.
No kidding.... My wife and I are doing 2 Denver to LHR round trips, one in January to go buy a house and another in March to do the final move. We are each carrying 3 max size suitcases and a ski bag for each trip.... a bit nervous when they xray all the different bags with different engine components... We don't own enough stuff to justify a moving company, so if you want to see either a very funny or extremely sad situation...BA arrivals 0930 17 Jan!!! 6 large bags, 2 ski bags, carry ons, 1 155lb Malmute dog and two cats departing terminal for Weymouth!!
OP does appear to have some sentimental attachment to the bike, guessing if you’ve got the cheddar for a full relocation from Colorado to Weymouth you can probably bear being a few quid out of pocket to keep your pride of joy vs picking up a similar but unknown bike here.
I wish we had the cheddar, we are on a budget, hence moving with everything in checked bags instead of using a moving company. My initial thoughts were to sell both bikes ( my wife has a 2021 950SS S) but being in the mountains with several feet of snow on the ground until the end of June changes things. It’s going to cost me just under 5k to get the bikes from Denver to the UK… probably a wash at the end of the day. I am the king of buy high, sell low!
Some great roads around Weymouth as well ,especially the coast road to West Bay ,more than happy to meet up at some stage and show you a route or two ,
Have you factored import duties, VAT and UK registration costs (and hassle of UK reg process) into your calculations?
