HELP MEXICANS!!! (pics added)

[NovaCoder]

he wants $1220 (shipped to my door) to stop the auction.....

I reckon that's pretty good. I can put all my "good bits" on it (the parts that are scratched and what not)

so, anything from those pics that don't look kosher to you guys?

What's that weird 'burn' mark on the sump all about then?

What about that green paint, what's the story?

Also it looks like the marks on the cylinder block might have been caused by rubbing of the rad-hoses which would be strange for only 7000k.

BTW. I'm a suspicious bastard

[MadKaw]

Yanky
The only thing I noticed is the hose clamp on the oil filter. This is usually what race bikes have done to them to lock wire the oil filter in place. If someone is checking it, get them to look at the oil filler plug and see if that has a hole in it too as that also need to be safety wired on a race bike...
Also the scratches on the engine case should be looked at a little closer as not many road bikes will get that low but race bikes do... or it has just fallen over... :

[Aussie Ninja]

It was a race engine. Looking at the last pic the oil cap has been drilled. Just thought that may be a good thing on some levels. Mabye its got lumpy bump sticks and a flowed head. But then again if it did he'd probably be charging more.

[MadKaw]

Yep, didn't see that last pic, the oil filler cap is drilled so it was more than likely a race engine. As far as having any serious internal work done on it, I'd doubt it as it it still has the clean air intakes into the rocker cover... Any worked race engine would either remove them with block of plates or at least route the hoses into each other...

[aardvark]

My last two bikes have been ex-race bikes, and neither has given me a moments grief engine wise.

Most race bikes get new oil after every second meet, if not after every meet. They tend to be looked after, depending on who it belonged to of course.

[Yankee]

yeah i saw those things too Nova... the main item being that weird burn mark (like a big cigar) on the sump, but then i'll have my old sump to put on if it bothers me.
I saw the metal ring around the oil filter and thought, what the?! cheers for the heads up MadKaw.... I was thinking of doing the lock-wire thing to my engine at one point in time... after learning why race bikes did it....
anyway, knowing that it is a race engine (well, it was raced on some level) and only has 7000K's... what do you think? should I still go for it? would it of been babied more/less being an ex-racer??
i'll ring him again tomorrow!!! ask him more questions. Apparently he has a really good reputation for this industry (checking his e-bay rankings etc.)
anyway, thanks again for pointing out some things i didn't know about!! i knew it'd be a good idea to put the pics up!

[MadKaw]

Its a tough call... Race engines are usually looked after pretty well but they also wear a lot quicker.. With mine I use to change the oil after every 3 days use so the bottom end was fine, but the valves all wore out cause it was constantly on the rev limiter...
Also, if it was a race engine they wouldn't really know how many K's its got cause it probly had no speedo...
Its a 50 / 50 shot...
Negotiate the price and get him to warranty it for say 3 months..
A compression test is the quickest and easiest thing to check for a rough idea of its condition..

Also if he has it listed for $800 (no res) why does he want $1220 to send it to ya. You can get a complete bike sent to QLD for about $300..

[Yankee]

Cheers MadKaw....
he said it would cost about $120 to "ship" it, but he wanted $1200 to end the auction..... so we met at $1220???
but after the remarks on the "race" engine..... hhhhmmmm
I'm certainly a bit scared now. The engine to look at, looks better than mine (ie: not dirty) but mine hasn't had too hard a life at 50,000kms, so internals could be better.
well, if anything "goes" on it, i'll have all the spare parts ready to go! I think a negotiation on price is in order though, as I don't like the idea of NOT KNOWING the history of that thing.......

as far as being revved to hell.... well, aren't kwaks made for that?! i still have confidence that it should be a good ticker with heaps of life left.... i hope

[Aussie Ninja]

I think go for it. Like you said at worst you'll have enough bits to build one good engine. Even if the cylinders and head are worn out you can use yours on his bottom end. If someone could go and give it a sniff it could be helpful. If the oil wasn't changed as much as it should have been the engine will smell like old oil with an acidy flavor mixed in.

[MadKaw]

ooooh, the Auction has been ended... Did you buy it Yankee.??

I was just going to suggest you chuck a bid in for $800 so he couldn't stop the auction and take a chance to see what it goes for. I wouldn't have thought it would go for too much.. perhaps I'm wrong..

[SocialSecurity]

what was the best price you got quoted for a motor from a wrecker?

might be hard to go wrong with this one... especially when you still got your old one


plus you could probably get a few bucks for the shagged motor, or even just keep it for spares

[Super Ninja]

my 2 cents. . . race engine/ride day?? what sort of maintence is questionable seeing that they have let the exhaust system rub on the sump for a far while suggests either poor fitment/wrong system, poor maintence , dodgy mechanic or park and forget tracky.

[SocialSecurity]

shoulda got somebody to take a compression tester and a battery when checking it out

[Yankee]

yep, i got it.....
$1220 (to my mechanics door), when the cheapest i could find from wreckers was $2500-$3000. I think I was going to have similar history problems no matter what I was looking at: was it shagged, was it dropped, was it pissed on etc. etc. I mean it's from a mean machine, I'm sure it was flogged if it isn't in a bike... you know?!
the good thing is I still have my engine which is ab.fab. minus the little sliver of crackcase that won't weld back on! And I also got a "warranty" (who knows what that actually means!) so if the compression isn't good, doesn't run, whatever.. it'll go back. I asked the guy all sorts of questions and he seemed truthful/honest/knowledgable enough... the main thing is I want my bike BACK!!!
it came from a road bike with 7,200kms that prolly did the odd track day? he said the "guy" that he got this engine from he got about 75 others and they are all 100% (over the years of doing business from japan), no complaints from customers.... so..... what the hell, gotta take a chance on fixing the 'ol gal! CAN'T WAIT!!! should be here in 4-6 days apparently........
again, will keep you posted. This was the best I could do for not being someone who knows the bike industry too well, for someone finishing Uni, for someone looking for a new job while doing another...... just too much shyte on and I want my wheels back!!!! Just was really shitty timing.......
okay, back to work!!!!

[mick_dundee]

I won't bother trying to arrange a time to sus it out then as the deed has been done