RKDad

No doubt about low oil damage. This had less than a quart when I drained it and it was like maple syrup as well. Good to hear on the guides. Mine are like new as well. I thought for sure the knock was as you mentioned, from cam chain slap. Turned out to be low oil burned the wrist pin and the piston was dancing away in the cylinder. Still can't believe it ran, for about .2 sec. Fast as I could turn it off. Hey at least I got one and I don't mind working on them at all. Thanks, RK

Hello Ranger, I had a question regarding the cam chain upgrade. Does it work with the stock chain guides? I keep finding mixed reviews on weather they need replacing. Pretty sure some of them didn't have the proper guides to begin with. So I have a few updates, I went ahead and ordered this top end kit, I ordered this because it has what I hope is the Wiseco piston and rings. That's what I was going to use anyway. It states that it's 11:1 comp ratio but i doubt that. Probably closer to stock 9:1. Which is fine, I prefer closer to stock for comparison reasons later. https://www.ebay.com/itm/324427778436 I got a set of rocker arms and shafts as well. I went with valves from Shindy. They seem to have great reviews so why not. Only around $50 for all 4. I haven't decided if I'm going to reuse the valve springs, they are all .12- .18 above the service limit. I'm considering my ridding style and age. I like to rip but rarely if ever rap the motor out on any of my bikes. But I do have kids that are, well, kids. They like to go fast. Maybe keep for a good spare set. I also got a moose gasket set on the way. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have enough tools and parts to reassemble bottom end. Crank is back and looks awesome. I thought they were putting roller bearings for the wrist pin but just got a brass sleeve. I could be wrong, I've searched so much stuff it's becoming a blurr at times. Thanks RK

That figures, every other bike I have has it but this one. Oh well, I took your advise as soon as you posted that number I had it ordered,,👍 I think brakes will be next after I find a new steering shaft, I don't like the tilt and twist version I have now. Had a ! of a time getting the tank and plastic out from under it. I had read that a lot of stuff swaps over from the 450. Good to know. RK

Anyone happen to known what the stock cam chain length is and the service limit? I can't find anything in the repair manual at all on cam chain other than the tensioner. I want to check mine to see if it's even worth keeping as a spare. Thanks RK

I'm going to give it my best. I've built plenty of motors in my day but this will be my first complete bike rebuild. RK

Fortunately no more hacks, other than a pair of 6" bolts they used on the front top shock mount. They must've had trouble with the little filter in the carb as well because it's gone. I could only imagine what the other quad looked like. They actually "modded" it for more power. It did run better, by that I mean it didn't knock as loud. Lol it was in better shape but knowing they were inside that motor was enough for me. It was a newer model with the cut (narrower) fenders. Both had the same visual mods though. Well gotta get out and get the wirring and steering stem off then a deep clean to really check the frame for damage. Will post if I find anything. RK

Well here's progress so far. I got the case split and everything out. I have to admit, I thought the motor would've been in worse shape than it is. Bearings are all in great shape, most damage seems to be in the top end. Think I'm going to take cylinder to a local shop and have them hone it. I have a hunch it's beyond oem spec. If so I will keep it for when I put a bore kit in it. Sending out crank today for a refresh. The oil tank and cooler are next on the list. The tank was full of dirt and metal so I'm sure the cooler is packed. I used kerosene in the tank and it cleaned it right out. My ultra sonic cleaner isn't big enough to put he oil cooler in so I'll fill it with kerosene and let it sit then blow out and see how it works. RK

You definitely would keep your money on that one. After I looked at it closer the other day I noticed the crank had no color at all. It has maybe 25% more side to side and zero around the crank. Have to send it in to get a new rod as the wrist did a number on it. I think the cam chain is good. I used a little tool I made to count how many turns it takes to pull the tensioner all the way in. Then installed it and rotated the motor a few turns then checked how many turns it took to retract the tensioner. 9 1/2 turns from full extension and only 6 1/6 off cam chain. Seemed to have plenty of adjustment left and the guides look almost new. It felt good, but when I took it out there are 2 link that bind pretty badly even after trying to loosen it up in and ultra sonic cleaner using 50/50 simple green/water. So I will be looking for a new chain regardless. Thanks for the part number, going to get on that. Not sure on the cylinder yet. It's going to need honed out to see how much it will need to be bored. I want to stay in OEM spec for now and ride it that way next summer before changing thing up a little. Some before and after stuff. If I understood correctly I can go .025 over bore and still be able to use oem size piston? Should be getting a hone in a few days so I can see after I spend some time on it I got a few pics of progress so far. I will put them up as soon as I get home tonight. Thanks RK

Hello Wilson, Just got my tools a couple days ago so I will be yanking the crank today hopefully. Just need to take clutch side apart. Then it's off to Dr Crank Shaft for rebuild. Instead of trying to find one that doesn't cost more than the bike, figured it to be the best option. Now I'm finishing my coffee waiting for the sun to come up and warm things up a bit so I can get at it. I have a couple vehicles i've sold over the years that I wish I could get back. Always wonder, what's a fella thinking when he sales his favorite toys. Probably, I wish I knew how much I'd miss it and kept it. Thanks RK

Thanks Wilson, I'm a litlle more giddy than anything. I waited 36yrs to get my childhood dream bike. This is kind of like that. One I always wanted but could never afford. Except unlike my XR350 which I change oil after every ride, about 60 miles. And parts are all but non existent. This I can ride the snot out of and enjoy it. With the air filter on. RK

I do plan on keeping it so I'll put the money into it since I got it cheap enough. Saddest part was when I left from picking it up, they actually had 2 of them. Was like taking a puppy from it's mother. The other one wasn't quite as bad, it only had a slight knock, but they said the guy did some engine work himself to make it faster. After seeing the way they were both taken care of I offered them $1500 for both. Well going to wait for some tools to arrive so I should be back in a few days with an update unless I find something else amazing, lol. RK

Definitely didn't have enough oil. It had about a quart in it when I drained it. The main cause was the dirt ingested. I was told they removed the filter because ridding through swamps it would get the filter wet and die. And they live on a dirt road to.

Check out the debris on top of the piston. I believe they are pine needles. Unbelievable!! Now the interesting part, I'm figuring rings are wiped and cylinder would be scratched beyond belief. But not so, in fact the piston and rings look OK and the cylinder walls are as smooth as a babies behind and barely any ridge at top of cylinder and its mostly the same crap thats on the piston. With the amount of noise this thing made when it fired it startled me so bad that I couldn't shut the engine off fast enough. So naturally I'm expecting the rod to have ALOT of free play. But in fact there is zero lash up and down and I tried it in every position on the crank. That's where I was standing there scratching my head. There is a little more side wiggle than normal but it's little enough I wouldn't worry. Now I didn't notice the wrist pin when I was removing the piston and after another look I noticed the burned ring in the pin. So I reinstalled the piston and it had so much side to side and if you put your fingers on the ends of the piston and rock it back and forth its like a bobble head. There seems to have been alot of heat on the crank as you can clearly see the blue color. Con rod does have one spot you can feel slight drag other than that its like butter. Either way a new bottom end is going to be installed. Once the flywheel puller and case splitter get here I'll dive a little deeper into it. RK

This head as well will join the pile of paper weights. Valves and guides are so wore that you can wiggle them from side to side. I will keep the springs as spares if they're still in spec.

Removed the valve cover and inspected the lifters, yep, just as bad. Complete loss, the journals are wasted as well. RK