Locked up!

[Bagman]

I have a TE 250 05 with 210 hrs on it. I took it to West Virginia for a little vacation of riding but it rained hard for 2 days so we stayed at a hotel. On the 3rd day I went about 25 miles when the bike quit & sounded just like it ran out of gas. It started right up but went 100 yards & quit again. I ran the battery down trying to start it & when I tried to kick it it was locked up. I had to be towed out by a DR 350.:jawdrop I drained the carb & gas fiquring the rain had started the problem because there was no knocking or strange noises.[didn't help] So I went fishing for 2 days.[ great smallmouth bass in those mountains]. When I got it home I took the ignition side & the clutch side apart hoping to find something jammed in the gears. All I found was the oil pump hard to turn by hand & when I took it apart there was metal shavings behind it. I cleaned it up & smoothed out the shaft & rotors & freed it up. I also found metal shavings in my oil filter & a lot on the drain plug.[almost looked like never sieze with a bad hair day Anyway, after changing oil & cleaning all the filters[both small & long screens had no shavings] & charging up my battery, the bike started right up & quit suddenly. I could not kick it. I used the starter again & it started right up & quit again.[locked up again] There were no uncommon noises at all. What is locking it up? If it's a bad crank or rod I just as soon send it out but should I go to the trouble to inspect the piston & cylinder & rings first? And why am I not hearing a knocking or pinging or something? Anyone got any ideas? Thanks in advance. Oh, I did check the valves & the tolerances were right where they have been since I bought the bike new. THe bike has been bulletproof till now.

 

[dfeckel]

Doesn't sound good. But I would advise against trying to start it again until you determine if there's internal damage. If your piston/rings or main bearings are damaged and shedding metal bits into your motor with every start, you might damage other stuff that so far is still okay.

Pulling the top end isn't too hard, you might want to start there. If things look okay there, then you have to assume something in the bottom end is shredding.

I can't really think of anything simple that would be locking the motor up and not causing serious damage each time it happens. I'm no motor guru, however, and I hope I'm wrong...

 

[rabskyline]

my Aunts family has some property (well they did in 1981 when was there lol) in fort ashby .. top trail country from what i can remember as an 8yr old riding their 50cc honda ....

 

[gandalf]

Does it only quit after you let the clutch out? If so, is the bike in gear and the kickstand down? I know it's a dumb question, but it's happened to me after changing a tire and having the bike on a stand with the kickstand down.

 

[HuskyDude]

& when I tried to kick it it was locked up.

quit suddenly. I could not kick it.

Not sure what it could be but just with you writing this ...might be a good place to start looking. "kick start mechanism"

Keep us informed. Would like to know the out come.

 

[gandalf]

Uh, I now see why my dumb suggestion won't help in this case. Good luck!

 

[Bagman]

Not sure what it could be but just with you writing this ...might be a good place to start looking. "kick start mechanism"

Keep us informed. Would like to know the out come.

Yeah I pulled the right side cover & took out the clutches, pressure plate, ect & checked the kickstarter assembly while I was in there. I was hoping that was the problem.

 

[Bagman]

Uh, I now see why my dumb suggestion won't help in this case. Good luck!

Not a dumb suggestionSometimes the obvious & small things are overlooked. The bike is in neutral & will run for a minute with the clutch lever out. The bike is on a working platform secured by tiedowns with the kickstand up. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Bagman]

Doesn't sound good. But I would advise against trying to start it again until you determine if there's internal damage. If your piston/rings or main bearings are damaged and shedding metal bits into your motor with every start, you might damage other stuff that so far is still okay.

Pulling the top end isn't too hard, you might want to start there. If things look okay there, then you have to assume something in the bottom end is shredding.

I can't really think of anything simple that would be locking the motor up and not causing serious damage each time it happens. I'm no motor guru, however, and I hope I'm wrong...

No,I won't start it anymore but needed to check it out. I quess I'll check the top end,just a little antsy about getting it timed right when i put it back together. I know what the computer manual says but there's always small things that takes a journeyman more time & effort because we don't do this often. I need to enjoy it more & look at it as an opportunity to know my bike more. The last time I rebuilt a 4 stroke top end was in 1996 on a Honda XR600 & it took me a month! Again I am just wondering why it locks up. Any theories? Don't have to be right. It's not like I'm going to tear into something w/o thinking about it 1st.

 

[ah_huat]

Hi Bagman,

i think is better to tow it to a husky dealer and call them to check this. which i also have the same problem. As my is shaking/free play too much. i will find the video when i get back from home.

8000 A5703 Connecting rod compl. (250-310)

 

[Bagman]

Hi Bagman,

i think is better to tow it to a husky dealer and call them to check this. which i also have the same problem. As my is shaking/free play too much. i will find the video when i get back from home.

8000 A5703 Connecting rod compl. (250-310)

Yeah you are probably right but the closest dealer that I would trust is about 6 hours away. They offered to take the bike when they open & have it done that day. Can't beat that but it will probably be at least $1000, & I can't do that right now so I'm trying to find out what the actual problem is. IF it's just the top end, I can do it myself. If I have to split the cases then forget it. My bike isn't shaking at all. What video are you talking about? Maybe it will help. Thanks

 

[Up-tite]

Pull ign cover off. Pull the clutch cover off. Remove the clutch. Pull spark plug. With sockets and breaker bar turn the motor over both forward and backwards complete revolutions, what you have done by diong this is to isolate the motor from trans, might help to figure out where your problem is. Motor or trans? Later George

 

[Bagman]

Pull ign cover off. Pull the clutch cover off. Remove the clutch. Pull spark plug. With sockets and breaker bar turn the motor over both forward and backwards complete revolutions, what you have done by diong this is to isolate the motor from trans, might help to figure out where your problem is. Motor or trans? Later George

If the motor is in neutral doesn't that separate the trans from the motor? It will lock up in neutral. I will do what you say but just asking.

 

[AndrewS]

If the motor is in neutral doesn't that separate the trans from the motor? It will lock up in neutral. I will do what you say but just asking.

No. I believe that would just mean that the main shaft and countershaft are separated.

 

[ah_huat]

here is the iMG will post the video soon.

 

[Up-tite]

Trans is in N but motor is still connected thru primary gear and clutch ring gear. Later George

 

[ah_huat]

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8057129

 

[Coffee]

For reasons which should be obvious, html is not enabled in the forums. I did enable the [.youtube] [./youtube] tags but it appears you are attempting to use vimeo.

 

[AndrewS]

You can see the video by clicking on this link: http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8057129

 

[ah_huat]

thanks coffee and andrews for the help.