Case Cracked from Kickstarting...

My 04 TE450 just kicked the bucket practically.....the case cracked while kickstarting it today. See below....


Anyways i'm thinking of swapping in a used/new motor instead of rebuilding the bottom. Not sure what is the best route just yet. A new motor sucks since I just had the stainless steel valves put in, heavy duty springs, and the cylinder honed with new rings. What motors would fit the 04? Thinking of just cutting my losses completely though if anyone is interested in parts or the thing as a whole...........Anyone have the cost for something like this? Or the cost of the cases and labor? Man this sucks........

Wow !!! I think some of the stress must have been from the swingarm .... That is increadable , I would get a new bike .

I'm thinking a new bike too but I won't be able to get anything till next season probably. I'm devastated just thinking kick starting would cause this. Really sucks I put over $400 in parts into the top end with the new valves, springs, etc then labor and I rode it TWICE after the fix and now it's just dead.

Wow! I've never seen anything like that. Sorry it had to happen to you!

I had a 01 Burg 550 FC bought new and 1 1/2 years later I had to rebuild it , $1800 in parts... Month later cracked cases in the same area....

condolences. That really hurts.

Sorry to hear about this. Did you have the 2004 update repair kit fitted for the kickstart? I have seen crank cases for sale on e-bay from time to time where people lunch the top ends and decide to part them out. I hope you do keep the old 04 model going as there are not many of us around left riding them these days.

Yow, I expected a "crack" not a separation of cases. Sorry man. Maybe you could find a bottom end on eBay.

Ow, that does suck. The '04 was electric start only, but the factory issued a kickstart kit for it. However they had to issue a revised kit because of a number of case breakages. I found out all this when I researched the possibility of putting a kicker on mine. I wasn't 100% convinced of the integrity of even the updated kit with the '04 (for no other reason than "gut feeling") so I didn't bother in the end.

I guess the "fix it" option is governed by whether you really like the way the bike rides and are willing to put up with the downtime and hassle of hunting down a pair of cases / complete carbed motor and how much of any engine work you can do yourself. Your rebuilt head will be worth something to someone with an '04 in need of love. You may have a bit of trouble selling the entire bike "as is" for sensible money though, unless the rolling chassis is in really good nick, or you have an enthusiast near you, or someone that has an SMR and wants a dirt bike...

In addition to the knowledgeable folks at this forum, you may get some options from searching the Thumpertalk archive as I expect this happened to a few folks there back in the day. For instance it's possible that a set of later cases found on ebay etc are a direct swap for the '04's but unless someone's actually done it there's no way of knowing quite what's involved.

I'm really sorry to hear of your troubles GLantern - if my '04 lunched itself I'd be heartbroken.

There was a factory update on the kickstart for the 2004s and it does cure the problem with the kickstarter. The real problem I have seen several times is people go and sell the bad parts to unsuspecting people and they install them totally unaware of any issue. A puzzled failure usually follows.

Devastating is the correct word ... Maybe all that new stuff tipped the stress-range off the scale for the cases ....

I'll be continuing using my Estart as needed ...

Does anyone know if TE 250 cases would accept his TE 450 top end and crank? I have a good disassembled bottom end that is just gathering dust in my garage.

If I can find the stuff for the right price I might consider keeping it. Most likely i'm going to just sell it though and save for something newer I have just had enough of this bike already. But i'll see how I feel after a couple of days.

That would rock if it does, thanks for looking into it.

Could it? If i knew that would cause this I would have bought different stuff.

I really wish i knew that before hand otherwise I would have never used my kicker, heck I would never have bought an 04 since I wanted an estart and kick for days I might have a dead battery.

And thank you for the words everyone

If you rebuild it make sure it is in time....ign and cam.

That looks like a massive kickback. Did it kickback?

I don't know about 2004, but 2005 lists different part #s for the TE250 vs TE450 cases...

I am sure they are the same, except the 250 had full magnesium cases for lightness. Should all still be interchangeable.

No it didn't kick back, just one massive thunk when I kicked it in neutral and then the grand canyon developing on the motor.

I talked to Halls today about parts and I might be able to swing the rebuild if I do the work myself. I'm going to try to pull the motor this weekend and take it apart to see if anything else is shot in it.

Start a new thread asking for a spare 04 450 case.

I have read past threads where inmates admit to having spare cases and the like.