xr650r seized

[hahv]

Hi there. This is my first post here.... who cares Here's my tale: 2 days and about 500 miles after an oil change and 1 day and about 250 miles after I checked the oil my thought to be healthy xr650r seized on a trip in Mexico (I'm from Boston). I was hustling along pushing between 75 and 90mph with my temp at 186F which is pretty normal for my bike in these conditions. 10 min after looking at the temp gauge the bike coughed then seized almost immediately. The temp was reading 268 at that point. I loosened the bolt at the bottom of the frame down tube/oil reservoir and the reservoir was pretty much bone dry. I then drained from the bottom of the case and by removing the oil filter cover and collected about 1.6 quarts. The oil shows no sign of water, the water shows no sign of oil. There are LOTS of copper colored shavings in the oil everywhere including in the bearings behind the water pump. I haven't taken the top end off yet. A friend of mine wondered if the oil pump might have failed. Does that make sense? Does anyone have a builder they would recommend? (I have the bike in Phoenix now with the motor out). With shavings thru out should I just assume that this rebuild is going to be much more comprehensive than a crank, rod, piston etc?

Sorry if I'm vague, any thoughts appreciated. I'm trying to figure out if I ship this thing back to Boston, sell the bike for parts now or try to get this engine rebuilt and get back on my trip again in a few weeks.... thanks

[XR250rdr]

A failed oil pump is one possibility. Failures aren't too common, but that would explain the sump being empty.

The copper is probably from the rod bearing washers. The shaving shouldn't have hurt the trans gears any, but I would consider replacing the bearings. It is imperative you do a thorough cleaning though.

You really need to open up the engine and see whats up. If the valvetrain was starved of oil for too long it could be toast as well.

[hahv]

Good input. Thanks man. h

[FORMA MOTO]

All Honda engines have small oil passages that can get clogged if oil change/oil brand/ filter changes/ air filter changes and seating rituals are not monitored.

I am sorry for your loss.

[hahv]

What do you mean by seating? valves? thx

[Eurobiker]

I think he's referring to the air filter seating snug. If not, dirt/sand goes into the combustion chamber and can result in seizer. An easy check, just open the air box and make sure the filter is fitting snug against the air box and the clamp thingy is not askew.

So where are you with this?

[hahv]

That makes sense! I bought an engine that I believe to be low mileage and I am going to put it back in the bike and try to get back down to Mexico on er by mid april. When I get back I'm going to rebuild the blown engine and have some fun with it.

[Agent2]

A little off topic, but where in the oil system on a 650r would metal shavings collect if the engine was on the way out - main oil filter or the screen at the bottom of the downtube, or in the bottom of the case? I pulled the downtube screen out this weekend luckily to find it clean, hoping thats a good sign.

[hahv]

I had shavings almost everywhere except behind the clutch. Check out this site: http://www.xr650r.us/tech/ there is an article there with a lot of info plus a diagram of the flow of oil thru the engine... g'luck