Sold a lemon...

[SoggyWombat]

[Batfink]

Damn Soggy that is, in my limited experience, friggin bad luck. Even a Rolls Royce can turn out a lemon (or something that isn't right) and many busa owners have done 100K-150K and over 200K klm with no major motor issues.

I am always cautious of bike with a lot of years and minimal K's. I have seen many old Holden and Ford motor shit them selves after coming out of storage (and I am talking tough cast iron motors) due to slight oxidisation of bearing-casing. Didn;t think an alloy would do it but you never know. Just need a little bit of H2O to be involved and everything goes to shit.

Great you got offered help and I hope it isn't as bad as it could be BUT.. why not big bore it while it is split LOL

[Shordy]

Hey Soggy,
I suppose the law of averages dictates that because we have all heard so many good stories about Busa engines, there has to be a bad story somewhere, and it would appear that you are the unfortunate recipient.
Just out of interest, you didn't mention how much you paid.
It wasn't unusually cheap was it?
Anyway, many of us on here have never delved into the innards of these engines and it would be very interesting if you could post as many pics as possible of the removal, strip down and diagnosis.
Chin up mate, at least you'll know what you've got when you are finished.

[Maj]

Thats just bad luck , ,
post mortem of the motor can tell a lot , and maybe avoid a repeat , look closely at all aspects as you pull it apart
check the oil pickup screen to see if its restricted under the layer of copper ,less damaged bearings for signs of oil starvation or physical injury , bolts for even tension as you remove them
dont neglect looking at the head and valves , you will tap the head and maybe valves as bearing clearance increases
replace that piston and pin if it has (or at least inspect it/them )

good luck with the rebuild

[Aussie Steve]

Given you havnt taken it back I assume you bought privately...and have no three month warranty?

[SoggyWombat]

Bike was purchased privately, and although slightly cheaper than comparable models for sale at the time, the seller did present it as a bike with no mechanical issues whatsoever. Its lower price in my mind was a reflection of it being 2 hours out of Perth and basically stock with no real mods to speak of. I am probably reluctant to say anymore as I really don't think, although not entirely sure, whether I can blame the seller. Either way...caveat emptor. If he was aware of it and it was something I didn't pick up on inspection I would be somewhat disappointed and pissed at the same time. I have since rung him, although for what purpose I am not entirely sure, and he obviously said he knew nothing of it.

I am extremely grateful my boss has offered to help me with it, as I was already stretched on funds just to buy the bike in the first place, and sold a perfectly good V-Strom thou for it. He is a mechanical fitter by trade, and is extremely mechanically minded having rebuilt jet-ski's and cars in the past. He is however, not a fan of motorbikes and any advice you all have in things to look out for specific to the busa or motorbikes in general is most appreciated.

I contemplated contacting Suzuki regarding claims of ill matching bearings? in 2006 models, but I honestly think that might be a waste of time as I have no idea whether that claim could even be proved. I am only going on what I read on the following page;

http://www.australian-hayabusa-club.com/...?tid=11900

More than happy to keep people posted with pics and a rebuild thread if anyone would be interested. Shits & giggles if nothing else.

Thanks again,

Soggy.

[Batfink]

There is no harm in contacting Zooki headquarters... As you said the worse result is they don't wanna know, so nothing lost?

[TheShredder]

[Pockets]

The guy you bought it off probably took it for a "final ride" before selling it. I'm picking bits of melted rubber out from under the tail left from the previous owner that "always took it easy".

[Lesabre1]

G'day SoggyWombat, welcome to AHC, that's bad news about your motor, reading between the lines here if the reputable

mechanic has serviced this bike for its entire life surely he would have the owners best interest at heart and should have

picked up on the copper in the oil beforehand ?. who can you really trust, it's a hard 1, my opinion only.

[Camel]

Hi Soggy,
I've seen a few failed big ends and mains in the Busa, but usually because of abuse (sustained high RPM in buggies) or because of insufficient oil. Odd to see it in a low mileage 'well' maintained bike though.

If you do decide to fit your e-bay crank be sure to measure the journals carefully (each in four locations and planes) and take the rods off and measure them as well. Also look at the numbers etched onto the rod across the surface exterior of the cap. It's not unusual for sellers to fit whatever spare rods they had laying around at the time to pad out a sale. That being said, your crank might still be salvageable given you picked up the symptoms so quickly.

Check the journal closest to the cam chain end; these can develop excessive wear if the cam chain is manual and over-tightened. Also carefully clean out the oil ways, they can harbor junk in their closed off ends. You need to be able to pick them out and clean them with air. On some cranks I've had to go so far as to remove the peined balls, clean the gallery and tap and reseal with locked grub screws.

Your oil pump will also be junk if you found copper in your pan. You can take it apart and inspect the mating surfaces of the trochoidal pump. Detritus will more likely also be found in oil jets, piston sprayers, galleries and even in the head around the valve springs.

It's good that you picked it up so quick. Some people just ignore the noise until the engine stops! I'm sure yours is rebuildable.

Camel