That actually doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. What a shame. Any idea what caused the leak? Is the head rebuildable or too damaged? You said the cylinder wasn't damaged how about lower end parts? what does the front cylinder look like? Is she going to rebuild or look for a good used engine?
The front cylinder is fine. We ran a scope in through the spark plug hole and other than some carbon buildup, it is unscathed. We suspect the water pump repair was faulty as she picked it up from the dealership and went on a group ride from there. The bike had no coolant in it when it arrived so what little it had left when it seized must have leaked out when they towed it here. We haven't checked that out yet. We'll get the engine repaired, fill the system with water and see what happens. Could even be nothing more than a hose that was not properly secured.
The head is definitely not repairable. The broken intake valve piece beat up the seat pretty badly. No way to recover that. It will require a new head and piston. Damage is actually worse than it looks in the picture.
We found some chunks of piston about the size of a 22 cal. air gun pellet in the lower end. They did no damage and were just laying in the bottom of the case. There was nothing disturbing in the oil filter. All that is very good news. Also, the rod, rod bearing, and piston pin are in good shape. We will, of course, replace the piston pin with the new piston. But fortunately, the damage is surprisingly restricted to just these few parts. We picked the few large pieces of the melted piston out of the lower end and there were also some melted piston remains up in the intake path on the broken valve port. It's actually much better to have large shrapnel than fine debris that can get into bearings, gears, etc.
The owner didn't want to mess with this Spyder. She was pretty frustrated with the whole experience. We purchased the bike from her hoping we could restore it and sell it this spring. It's a shame all around. As I said, it's likely that something was not right with the water pump repair. We'll know more about that when we get there. It will be very sad if it's nothing more than a loose coolant hose.
Still, she knew it was getting hot but ran it until it quit anyway. Fortunately, it is repairable and once we get it all squared away, it should make someone a fun and reliable ride.
Ya, I stopped by your shop to see you and the guys at the shop yesterday and saw that!!! What a mess!!! Hopefully, I'll be back next summer, and you'll be around, good to see and talk to your team at the shop!!:2thumbs:
Most days I work from home in the morning. Answer emails, order parts, talk to suppliers, work out details on new products, etc. I get more done because I'm not answering the shop phone. But I do miss seeing customers that come in. I'd rather talk to you than do what I'm supposed to be doing. I usually get in by 11~12.
Yes, I have hopes of visiting BajaRon's shop one fine day. Be nice to have a shop inspection and ride away with a good feeling.
Yes! By all means! Stop by if you get the chance. Some have told me they didn't stop because they were not going to buy anything. Absolutely not necessary! Just pull in and say hello! We really appreciate it.
