bairdco
a guy who makes cool bikes
so, this engine commited suicide on thursday.
after replacing the aforementioned piston with a new one, the bike ran like a maniac.
but it made some funny noises, like maybe i forgot a chunk of metal somewheres, but after messing with it a few more times, i couldn't find anything, so, thinking it's bound to blow sooner or later, i decided to do a few more top secret mods that i wouldn't recommend to anyone.
i removed the mikuni carb and replaced it with a modified NT carb i wanted to experiment with, did some dremel-ing in other places that probably shouldn'ta been dremeled, said some magic words and took it to work thursday morning.
it made some noise, but it ran smoother and faster then it ever did before.
i was thinking the noise was in the clutch internals, dry bearings in the gear, etc, 'cause it kinda sounded like they normally do without dampening inside the cover, only louder, so i figured when i got home i'd rip that apart.
i never got that chance.
i decided to go home the long way, and make a run down PCH (pacific coast highway), with it's big bike lanes, it's 55mph speed limit, smooth blacktop, wind at my back, and plenty of trucks to slingshot into their draft.
on one of those drafts, with my new smart phone speedo/gps ap reading 62mph (seriously. doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not,) there was this horrific noise like someone poured gravel down the garbage disposal, and that was the end of it. more or less.
the engine never siezed, because there wasn't enough parts of the piston to get stuck anywhere, as most of it blew into the exhaust, which also blew the exhaust off the bike, cracked the jug where the exhaust stud used to be, bent the 6mm, grade 8 allthread head studs when the head tried to blow off, and even made a cool little fireball for a second.
so i just coasted to a stop and pedaled a mile or so home.
i pulled the motor apart, and the piston pin was still connected to the rod, and that's about it. some of the piston was still in there, but the rest is out on PCH giving people flat tires.
the jug has two giant grooves fron the pin, and multiple gouges everywhere else, and also doesn't look round anymore, the combustion chamber looks like someone hit it with some buckshot, the rod is bent, and...
well, it doesn't really matter what else happened to it. it's toast.
luckily, i'm not, and i've lived to do it again. which i will. because that's the way i am.
that engine's been rode hard for about 8 months now, so the way i see it, is i definitely got my money's worth.
funny thing is, the engine from my 24" bike, that's been through the deathrace and willow springs, is 2.5 years old and probably close to 10,000 miles is still running like a champ.
at least now i have a platform for the new GT5A motor, the one with the super rat jug. we'll see how long it takes to blow that one up...
(i'll get pictures when i get them.)
after replacing the aforementioned piston with a new one, the bike ran like a maniac.
but it made some funny noises, like maybe i forgot a chunk of metal somewheres, but after messing with it a few more times, i couldn't find anything, so, thinking it's bound to blow sooner or later, i decided to do a few more top secret mods that i wouldn't recommend to anyone.
i removed the mikuni carb and replaced it with a modified NT carb i wanted to experiment with, did some dremel-ing in other places that probably shouldn'ta been dremeled, said some magic words and took it to work thursday morning.
it made some noise, but it ran smoother and faster then it ever did before.
i was thinking the noise was in the clutch internals, dry bearings in the gear, etc, 'cause it kinda sounded like they normally do without dampening inside the cover, only louder, so i figured when i got home i'd rip that apart.
i never got that chance.
i decided to go home the long way, and make a run down PCH (pacific coast highway), with it's big bike lanes, it's 55mph speed limit, smooth blacktop, wind at my back, and plenty of trucks to slingshot into their draft.
on one of those drafts, with my new smart phone speedo/gps ap reading 62mph (seriously. doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not,) there was this horrific noise like someone poured gravel down the garbage disposal, and that was the end of it. more or less.
the engine never siezed, because there wasn't enough parts of the piston to get stuck anywhere, as most of it blew into the exhaust, which also blew the exhaust off the bike, cracked the jug where the exhaust stud used to be, bent the 6mm, grade 8 allthread head studs when the head tried to blow off, and even made a cool little fireball for a second.
so i just coasted to a stop and pedaled a mile or so home.
i pulled the motor apart, and the piston pin was still connected to the rod, and that's about it. some of the piston was still in there, but the rest is out on PCH giving people flat tires.
the jug has two giant grooves fron the pin, and multiple gouges everywhere else, and also doesn't look round anymore, the combustion chamber looks like someone hit it with some buckshot, the rod is bent, and...
well, it doesn't really matter what else happened to it. it's toast.
luckily, i'm not, and i've lived to do it again. which i will. because that's the way i am.
that engine's been rode hard for about 8 months now, so the way i see it, is i definitely got my money's worth.
funny thing is, the engine from my 24" bike, that's been through the deathrace and willow springs, is 2.5 years old and probably close to 10,000 miles is still running like a champ.
at least now i have a platform for the new GT5A motor, the one with the super rat jug. we'll see how long it takes to blow that one up...
(i'll get pictures when i get them.)
