Engine Life

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Mon May 22, 2006 1:38 pm

Just as a matter of interest. What kind of mileage should we get out of one of these engines. Does anyone know of any really high mileage examples and what engine work needed done in getting there.

Lightrunner · Post by **Lightrunner** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:39 pm

Think Jason's has done in excess of 140k miles.... all you need to do is know how to strip any part of your bike from any other part of your bike.... in a petrol station.... in a non-english speaking country..... with a hammer

well it's not quite like that

bigblackfalco · Post by **bigblackfalco** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:46 pm

I think in general that the bottom ends(cranks and main bearings etc) and barrels and pistons are good for a very long time......at least 200'000 miles if the oil is well maintained.
The problem with these engines is related to the valve train;worn cam chains,worn valve seats,valves,rockers etc are a problem with air cooled engines.
I think that gearbox/final drive problems normally occur before the demise of the top and bottom ends of the engine.
Are you planning on a trip to the moon and back??
Bailey.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Mon May 22, 2006 3:47 pm

Don't know about a trip to the moon but I sure as hell can't wait to get back on a bike. I know how you must feel Bailey as I'm also waiting on getting my licence back from the DVLA. I'm just whittling away the time building up a bit of knowledge on the bike prior to blast off.

I would have thought that this bikes top end should be solid as the engine has separate oil cooler passageways designed to provide the head with a direct feed of oil. Ok the camchains will probably need replacing eventually but I'm surprised about the final drive not being 100% bulletproof over the long-term. 140,000 miles is pretty good as long as he has'nt had to rebuild the whole thing to get there.

Jason M · Post by **Jason M** » Tue May 23, 2006 6:59 am

scotty wrote: 140,000 miles is pretty good as long as he has'nt had to rebuild the whole thing to get there.

Hi - not quite at 140k - just over 135 at the moment. Nope, no engine work yet, unless you count a self destructing throttle body. Gearbox gave up at about 125 but that was probably just a fluke event - one of the bearings has gone I think. I might get round to taking a look one day. As Bailey said - rear drivetrain bits seem to be the wear items, but even they are not that bad if you consider the cost of replacing a chain every so often. I had the rear UJ go at about 75k (but it did go round the world carrying a load of luggage for 30k just before that) and the rear crown bearing went at about 90k. I've replaced paralever bearings a few times but they're only about £20 and it only takes an hour, and I've replaced the main swing arm bearings once too - again cheap and quite quick. I don't thrash the engine to be fair, but it still sounds quite sweet, but does burn a fair bit of oil. If it aint broke though, I sure as hell am not going to fix it

And yes Andy mate - I did have recourse to the fabled rubber hammer this weekend whilst 'fettling' with the Fazer

Jason