Joined Oct 2008
207 Posts | 0+
My front room, England
Ok so my engine seized at about 90mph yesterday. Fortunately i managed to stay on so it couldve been worse. Anyway, im just gonna give a brief description of what happened and anything i think may be relevant to see if i've done anything wrong. If i have i need to know so i dont do it again. Also if you want to throw a vague diagnosis please do, i know its gonna be a shot in the dark having not seen the bike or heard it etc but i just want an idea of what will/may need replacing,costs,timescales etc
Ok, FS650 on a '53 plate (newer engine, 2 wires out of right hand cover)
I use Motul 300V 5w/40 oil, changed the oil every 3 hours. I use 97 RON fuel
i bought the bike mid October 2008 with 2511 miles on it and 66.8 hours
changed oil and filter when i got it. Everything ok.
28 dec 08: 2619m / 70.2 hours changed oil
17 mar 09: 2731m / 73.2 hours changed oil
seized at 2750m / 73.9 hours
Bike sat through winter (dec-end feb) on 70.2 hours. Took it out for a good ride early march and it ran like a good 'un. carb still a little out [revving itself when pulling up to junction etc and popping quite a lot on decel] but did a 2 hour ride and parked it up. few days ago nice weather arrived so i took it out down a local backroad consisting of quite a few open straights with humps etc and a few twisty bits, i did this 2 days on the trot straight after work. then it got to yesterday (seize day) i took it out for a short run and then it was due an oil change so i changed the oil as normal (no filter change as yet) . The oil was nearly as-new. not very dark and very few bits on the drain plug. I also decided to try and sort out the revving problem i was having. now on 2731 miles and 73.2 hours. after changing the oil i started the bike up and ran it for a minute and turned it off. i let the oil settle and checked the level. it was pretty much spot on. I screwed the mixture screw in about a 1/4 turn and then i set off and rode steady for a few miles then got to the backroad and rode to the far end. bike felt quicker and throttle response a bit better but had one or two little hesitations mid corner going from off throttle to on so i screwed the mixture 1/8th back out and set off home. Bike felt a bit better than both previous settings but i felt the vibes a bit more through my feet at low speeds but a lot less when upto speed (80mph). so i adjusted mixture about a 1/16 of a turn back in. i then checked the oil level again. As far as i understood it, the oil level should be at the bottom of the sight glass when cold, and middle of the sight glass when hot ?? so i looked and it was a bit below the middle so i put a bit in (40ml-ish), gave it a quick check over make sure there wasnt anything hanging off or loose then set off again. From my house to the backroad is about 2 miles which i ride sensibly, from the start of the backroad to where it failed is about 2 miles.
I pulled out of a crossroads onto a long straight and accelerated hard up into 6th gear and at about 85-90mph for a split second it felt like it'd run out of fuel then the back wheel locked solid. Snaked for a decent distance then realised i should pull the clutch in, i then coasted to a stop and had a smoke. I tapped it down into neutral, let clutch out and it freewheels so im ok to push it home. tried to press down on the kickstarter and its just solid. pushed it home and took the engine out. This is where im upto now. The outside of the engine is just the same, no leaks, no loss of either oil or coolant. It was about 8 degrees c yesterday and sunny and dry. Radiator was hot to the touch but in my opinion not overly hot. everything else fine, rear tyre is a bit scratched. dropped the oil and the plug has small-medium size silver bits in. screen has nothing on it and the filter looks to be relatively clean (tiny tiny particles in oil sat in filter housing.
Theres a few things that i did yesterday which could have led to my problem but i havent a clue what could have done it. Ive got a feeling i killed her though but maybe i didnt ? the more i look at it the more i think that extra bit of oil did it, but i cant understand why it would ? could it have overheated ? or did my adjusting the carb do something ? could it all just be a crazy coincidence ?
The engine will be rebuilt by someone/anyone who knows what theyre doing aka NOT ME. Any recommendations of stuff to install/upgrade whilst the engine is open
thanks in advance for any help/advice/comments
Ok, FS650 on a '53 plate (newer engine, 2 wires out of right hand cover)
I use Motul 300V 5w/40 oil, changed the oil every 3 hours. I use 97 RON fuel
i bought the bike mid October 2008 with 2511 miles on it and 66.8 hours
changed oil and filter when i got it. Everything ok.
28 dec 08: 2619m / 70.2 hours changed oil
17 mar 09: 2731m / 73.2 hours changed oil
seized at 2750m / 73.9 hours
Bike sat through winter (dec-end feb) on 70.2 hours. Took it out for a good ride early march and it ran like a good 'un. carb still a little out [revving itself when pulling up to junction etc and popping quite a lot on decel] but did a 2 hour ride and parked it up. few days ago nice weather arrived so i took it out down a local backroad consisting of quite a few open straights with humps etc and a few twisty bits, i did this 2 days on the trot straight after work. then it got to yesterday (seize day) i took it out for a short run and then it was due an oil change so i changed the oil as normal (no filter change as yet) . The oil was nearly as-new. not very dark and very few bits on the drain plug. I also decided to try and sort out the revving problem i was having. now on 2731 miles and 73.2 hours. after changing the oil i started the bike up and ran it for a minute and turned it off. i let the oil settle and checked the level. it was pretty much spot on. I screwed the mixture screw in about a 1/4 turn and then i set off and rode steady for a few miles then got to the backroad and rode to the far end. bike felt quicker and throttle response a bit better but had one or two little hesitations mid corner going from off throttle to on so i screwed the mixture 1/8th back out and set off home. Bike felt a bit better than both previous settings but i felt the vibes a bit more through my feet at low speeds but a lot less when upto speed (80mph). so i adjusted mixture about a 1/16 of a turn back in. i then checked the oil level again. As far as i understood it, the oil level should be at the bottom of the sight glass when cold, and middle of the sight glass when hot ?? so i looked and it was a bit below the middle so i put a bit in (40ml-ish), gave it a quick check over make sure there wasnt anything hanging off or loose then set off again. From my house to the backroad is about 2 miles which i ride sensibly, from the start of the backroad to where it failed is about 2 miles.
I pulled out of a crossroads onto a long straight and accelerated hard up into 6th gear and at about 85-90mph for a split second it felt like it'd run out of fuel then the back wheel locked solid. Snaked for a decent distance then realised i should pull the clutch in, i then coasted to a stop and had a smoke. I tapped it down into neutral, let clutch out and it freewheels so im ok to push it home. tried to press down on the kickstarter and its just solid. pushed it home and took the engine out. This is where im upto now. The outside of the engine is just the same, no leaks, no loss of either oil or coolant. It was about 8 degrees c yesterday and sunny and dry. Radiator was hot to the touch but in my opinion not overly hot. everything else fine, rear tyre is a bit scratched. dropped the oil and the plug has small-medium size silver bits in. screen has nothing on it and the filter looks to be relatively clean (tiny tiny particles in oil sat in filter housing.
Theres a few things that i did yesterday which could have led to my problem but i havent a clue what could have done it. Ive got a feeling i killed her though but maybe i didnt ? the more i look at it the more i think that extra bit of oil did it, but i cant understand why it would ? could it have overheated ? or did my adjusting the carb do something ? could it all just be a crazy coincidence ?
The engine will be rebuilt by someone/anyone who knows what theyre doing aka NOT ME. Any recommendations of stuff to install/upgrade whilst the engine is open
thanks in advance for any help/advice/comments