XR650R small pieces of bronze/copper at the oil drain

[lorenzo]

Hi to Everybody

I am new in this forum

I have recently change the engin oil, and at the drain I have found small and (around 1mm) curled pieces of (look like) bronze/copper. I have never runned the bike with low oil level and always changed at low milage, actually the engin dosent noise bad and seems to me that nothink is changed. What can be happen ? from where this metal is coming ?

Thanks

Lorenzo

[nate992v]

How old and how many miles are on it? I'm not sure of the material Honda uses for their bearings, but they could be a source. Especially if you are still breaking in the bike. Is the clutch slipping? Also another potential source of foreign material in oil.

[lorenzo]

Hi

The bike is an 2004, and I have runned up today 14.000 miles mostly on-road. The clutch seems to be ok.

Thanks

Lorenzo

[atreiou]

sorry, but I think to know your problem..

the bronze parts are from your crankshaft...

exactly from the foot of your rod...

I think you must change your crankshaft with rod...

or disassembly and buy a carrillo rod...

maybe you are an "hard wheeler"

do you perform long wheelies ?

[lorenzo]

No I am not, I just worm up the bike on the side stand. How is that possible I use the bike with the white glover, is the crankshaft made with butter ?

Lorenzo

[atreiou]

not butter but....

I can't give you the answer...

but I know people with this problem on the rod...

the simptom is ever some little bronze pieces in the oil, when you drain for oil change....

[ponq]

This post might interest you.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96350

[Marcia]

Check your choke plate in the carb. The have been known to brake and go through your motor.

[qadsan]

atreiou is right. Chances are you've got problems with the big end of the crank if you're seeing bronze filings. If you're truly interested in finding out why this happened, you'll need to get with a metalurgist for failure analysis and they may be able to shed some light on why it failed at this point (oil starvation, oil type, contamination, corrosion, installation, materials, process, etc).

[xr_stamm]

Does the infamous clutch bushing have metal flakes like this? Before we send the guy to the scrapyard, could it be the clutch bushing?

David

[JimT]

No I am not, I just worm up the bike on the side stand. How is that possible I use the bike with the white glover, is the crankshaft made with butter ?

Lorenzo

I have heard that XR's historically have crankshafts made of "butter". Dont know if this appiles to the new 650R's. I sure hope not, I'd like my 650 to last me a while. I have been told to change the oil after every ride on an old '86 XR250 that I have. This is the only solution to the problem. Dirty oil corrodes the crankshaft.

[captb]

I don't think the cranks are weak or I would have had a problem, I've been riding XR600Rs and had one 650L since 1986 till switching to the 650R and never replaced anything but drive chains and tires, I did change the oil every 1000 miles and run syn oil and oem filters, never found anything in the oil filters or downtube screens but a few clutch fibre bits and very few very small metalic chips of any kind. If the cranks were weak there would be thousands showing up with problems since they sold millions of XRs.

[lorenzo]

Thaks to all

The choke I am sure is not, I have an Edelbrock carb. The strange think is that the engine sound very good, no strange noise. Are the clutch plate made with a kind of synthetic material including metal ? The pieces of metal that I found are very very small and they were in the crankcase not in the oil filter.

Bye

Lorenzo

[babbs]

I too found some small silver metallic pieces in my drain oil on the first oil change after I bought it. It was a used 2004 in great shape. I was freaked out at first, thinking it was going to explode, but I have changed the oil a number of times since, with no metal flakes.

I will ride it until more metal shows up or it bombs. If more metal shows up, I will trade it in. Just check and clean the screens, mine were all clean. Maybe consider a magnet add on to your oil filter.

[atreiou]

the magnet don't work with bronze/copper..

[captb]

the magnet don't work with bronze/copper..

Did you clean and inspect the downtube oil screen?

[dhreno]

I know this is an old thread, but,

Hey Babbs and Lorenzo, whatever became of your bikes with the bronze flakes?

[creeky]

Bronze flakes are most likely from the rod bottom end thrust washer.