Motorcycle Engine Rebuild

Automotive
1

Anyone interested? I have a 2011 Yamaha FZ6R in need of some engine work. I was referred here by @Brandon_Green in hopes that someone would have the skills or desire to take on this task. I’d love to tackle it myself but I don’t have the tools or the know how (would love to learn!).

This project would break rule 1 as I don’t imagine this would be completed in one day, so I suppose I would need to speak with someone about special permissions, luckily the motorcycle has a very small footprint.

Thorough details can be provided, let me know!

Tyler

2

I am curious, so I ask a lot of questions.

What does “some engine work” mean? Often, if there is a lot of damage, a
used engine out of a wreck is more cost effective than rebuilding.

Would it be possible to trailer the bike to the Space, and take it home the
same day, leaving the engine at the Space? It is much less of a problem if
a long term project fits on a pallet.

Are you interested in learning by doing, or are you looking for someone to
do the work for you?

You are a Member, right?

1 Like
3

There is a bent rod, or the cams/crank needs to be replaced. I’m just repeating what the dealer told me. After I saved up a bit of money and was willing to have them to the work, they said “we got a new guy and he doesn’t want to do it.”

Back story: I put too much oil into the bike after I replaced the clutch, and hopped on the road to test it out, make sure everything felt right. Ended up on the highway and white smoke started coming out of the exhaust and the engine stalled. Took it to the dealer right after. They replaced the starter (I burned it out in my attempts to bring the bike back to life), but they learned the engine wouldn’t physically turn, so wanted to tear it down and replace the part they believed to be causing the issue. I don’t have the capital at the moment to buy a used engine, I’m purchasing a house and have a 3 month old. Any money I had went towards the house or medical expenses.

Anything’s possible, I just would need to figure it out. I have a hatchback and a sedan, so would need to rent/borrow a trailer and straps to transport.

I love to learn by doing, I would just like someone who’s experienced with engines to be a guide.

I am not a member but if this project is approved, I would gladly join.

1 Like
4

Anything you can fit on a single pallet(40" x 48") can be stored(just have to send email to logistics specifying timeframe), we just cleared up some more large project storage area. Bringing the bike up and pulling engine to leave on a pallet sounds like a good plan.

I can help out but I don’t have any specific motorcycle experience, how hard could it be? Just like cars but everything is smaller?

1 Like
5

Also I would recommend not attempting a rebuild without a factory service manual, looks like you can buy one for $100, http://www.yamahapubs.com , or you could risk a third party site that is cheaper but probably not legitimate, or maybe its on a torrent site somewhere

1 Like
6

A crank for that bike is about $400, and rods are $104 each. Maybe cheaper somewhere, but you are looking at ~$1,000 in parts. You can get a whole engine for $850 used.

Look Here:

Partzilla Crank assembly

Used Engine on Ebay

1 Like
7

Unless you heard a metallic crashing sound you likely have just locked the engine up from over filling it with oil. It could very easily be that you just need to drain it and hand spin the engine to un stick it and hopefully no more damage than that, possibly a little bit of scoring in the cylinders. If that is not the case and you actually caused engine damage a replacement is likely to be needed. Most motorcycle engines cant take a lot of a beating before they are toast. If you can get the bike in sometime next weekend I would be more than willing to help you take a look at it and walk you through an assessment so you can learn it.

1 Like
8

Dealer would be just guessing. Hydro locked from to much oil (bend rod)
and or bearing/cylinder damage from air rated oil.

9

You knew I had to…

aerated
should also not be confused with
air raided

To add to this thread, we should totally make this into a “so your engine quite on the side of the road…what do you do now” class because this is classic diagnostics 101, and will, I presume, lead to the “critical tests”.
I have tried on numerous occasions to explain to people how to save themselves some $$ by performing the necessary tests to determine cause/extent of damage BEFORE allowing a shop to tear down, and nearly always, they do not understand. If a shop fails to perform these tests first, they are being derelict in the their duty to you as a customer, and you should immediately remove your vehicle from their deathclaw (in my opinion; YMMV).
The tests in question:
relieve compression on the cylinders by removing sparkplugs/glowplugs/injectors (whether spark/compression)
compression test (if it will spin over now)
cylinder leakage test (whether it spins over now or not)

These are the basic diagnostic test which will help to determine what to do next and whether it’s worth it (if you’re paying someone else). I think every driver should understand them. Many drivers disagree, but we could maybe reach some…

1 Like
10

Since you had to, then I have to as well. My engine performs quite well on the side of the road, thank you very much.

1 Like
11

LOLz!
I think that’s a bazinga…

12

Thanks all, for the responses!

@Brandon_Green, agreed. I would buy the manual regardless if it gets taken to the space or not, since I don’t trust my memory to remember where every bolt goes lol. I don’t think the technical difficulty is any different from a car engine, I just want to know what I’m looking at (is that a flux capacitor??)

@dallasmagna I was looking at that Sunday. I found rods on eBay for $75 for all 4, but having an entire engine could mean lots of replacement parts if I need them (or a total swap if necessary).

@ke5bud There ware no loud sounds, I didn’t even know something was wrong until I exited the highway and started going slower, only then did the white smoke become apparent. Shortly after, it stalled. I would like to believe that the mechanic and his “10 years experience” would have done what you and @jast suggested. I would love for this to be something simple like that.

@jast, I have no problem if you’d like to use my bike (and sheer stupidity at maintenance) to teach others. I know Yamaha charges like $90 for an oil change (did them all myself, 18,000 miles worth, and this one got me), wanted maybe $500 to replace the clutch plates (took me 30 minutes once I knew what I was looking at), and $900 for labor, the starter, and draining the oil. Sadly, I keep going back to Yamaha because I have their credit card therefore can afford some of the major parts. Bottom line, all dealers overcharge so your class would surely help!

1 Like
13

@tstandish Did you ever get your bike issue resolved?

My humble guess… You overfilled, and oil got on top of the cylinder. White smoke was an indication that the oil was being combusted. No mechanical noises(pops, bangs, clicks, ratcheting, rattles, scratches, grinds), and the rear tire NOT locking out, And the bike NOT slowing down tremendously fast means the combustion could not continue and there was oil on top of the cylinder.

You could have broke the timing chain and it could cause some of these issues you experienced. Not a super expensive part, but a very tedious endeavor to replace on a bike.

If the valves bent shut, the engine makes a TON of noise. Since the cams still has to spin due to the chain action tethered to the crankshaft. The noises and vibrations are crazy, and will be a note worthy event you would remember.

If the valves bent while open they lock your engine bringing your rear wheel to a stop, UNLESS you had the clutch pressed but the lack of sound from the engine would alert you something wrong happen. If valves break one of two things usually happens. they punch holes in your engine. Or make (loud) rattle sound like you are a metal margarita.

If the piston connecting rod breaks, it will rattle, and knock hard and loud. Usually they will punch-through or crack the crank case and oil will visible pool and drip from your bike.

If the connecting rod cap breaks off, it usually makes noise but the engine quits, not quites, on the spot. The bike will have no power but it will not experience any breaking action(commonly.)

The white smoke is the biggest clue. If you flood the combustion chamber with oil the spark plug’s electrodes become coated and it makes ingnition difficult if not impossible(conducting the spart at the wrong point), depending on how flooded it is. You can usually “burn” the oil in the chamber fast enough to keep going, but if the engine slows down, looses heat, spark and momentum that usually kills the engine.

The another thing it could be, since the FZ6Rs are liquid cooled, if you overheated it will quit working eventually, while smoking white - BUT it will “diesel” when you try to shut it off, not to mention unbearably hot before then. You are more liable to jump off the bike at high speed due to the heat, than to let it run it self to the point of dieseling.

Anyhow… I would love to co-teach a class titled, "Your vehicle Quites on the side of the road… " It would be useful and fun.

…X…

1 Like