GPZ Crash imagery - suggestions welcome!

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There is a nice bit of con-rod protruding out of the rear of the
crankcase. I believe, on reflection, that it was the cam chain that
died first, hence lack of go from the engine, and then something or
other happened to make the rod punch through.

The pictures show what is and what is not damaged, thus far I have
ascertained that the following are salvagable and probably worth
flogging:

Chain and sprockets (~1000 miles use)
Both wheels
Complete rear brake system
Headlight unit
Clocks
Rear fairings

The exhaust seems OK, apart from a small dink and a spattering of
melted trouser material

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Sean Hamerton

If a job's worth doing...

Odd thing though, thinking about it, I don't ever recall having seen a
rod come through the back of a casing. IMLE, they tend to go forwards.

Not that it matters in terms of final outcome, of course.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of
the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

Let's see... <Opens MSN Messenger "SeanH" log and rummages through to
11th Feb '06 11:32:21>

<Sean> "the chap at the garage said it had some cam chain noise"
<Nick> "Is cam chain noise good?"
<Sean> "any noise is bad. noise = wear"
<Nick> "Does it sound expensive? Mind you, I suppose it is 10 years
old."
<Sean> "i'm going to inspect the manual about how easy it may be to
change it"
<Nick> "Ask Muck if he can help if you need it. He's used to fixing
SOB's"

Sean deary, did you have the opportunity to inspect the manual?

 

Well, I was always a bit too busy going to work, seeing the bird or
revving the tits off the bike to get round to inspecting the thing.

I think I'm going to get a 21st century part-ex from a dealership and
have a man do the tinkering.

 

Not that I'm an expert in such matters but most things from the front
of a GPZ500 must get some call. Same with the ER5 and CB500 as they
usualy end up in the back of a car so you're quite fortunate to have
the front intact.

Also: Someone's nicked your tax disc.

You don't happen to need the front RHS signal, do you? It's about to
fall off anyway...

 

Sean Hamerton said...

It just so happens I have a spare petrol tank in the same colours but in
better shape than that one. It'll be going on ebay at the weekend if you
don't want it.

 

The close ups and of the bike on its stand are a Sony W1. The one of
the bike on the grass verge and my trousers were from a Sony Ericsson
K750i

 

Thanks Loz, but I think I'll be putting bits on eBay myself and getting
a used bike with a garuntee, etc from a dealer soon enough...

 

Just wanted to say glad you are ok mate

 

You got off pretty lightly I'd asy - shame about the poor bike though. Just
out of interest, what milage had the bike done? There's a bloke I work
beside who has about 55k on a D plate 500s (the first encarnation of the
model) and it sounds rattly as ****.

 

<snip>

It'll T-cut out.

 

It's a 96N reg with 29k, 3k of which I'd put on since the beginning of
February. It didn't sound VERY rattly, I had the impression that They
All Did That.

SV650 awaits I think, or a Bandit if I can find a good one.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Sean Hamerton belched forth and ejected the
following:

Are the forks ok? You'll get a bit for those, too. Rear lights?
Indicators? Seat etc?

I reckon you're doing the right thing by selling it. You could be like
BGN and go through a series of repair and bin sessions but if at first
you don't succeed, you need to know your limitations.

 

I need to listen a bit more carefully to the chap at work's bike. It sounds
very mechanical but I'm not sure if it's the camchain or summat else. Yours
is the first I heard of that's blown up at only 29k. It's probly had a very
hard life.

I test rode an SV650s and liked it a lot. I've never driven a Bandit but I
know a guy who bought a new one 6 years ago just after passing his test and
he still loves it to bits. Have you seen the £1 deposit, 3yrs 0% finance
deal Suzuki are doing just now on SVs & Bandits? It might be a better
option for you than another s/h bike given the 2 yr warranty and all.

 

When Muck and I drove to Leicester with you to pick it up I think both
of us commented that it sounded a bit agricultural. It sounded like a
tractor. I know that I put that sound (perhaps wrongly) to the Nexxus
exhaust and put the rest of it down to being ten years old.

It did smell of not being well maintained before you picked it up. I
looked at the chain and didn't know one could fit all of that rust on
it. We also used up almost a whole bottle of oil the engine just to
bring it up to the minimum level.

It's a bit bit of an assumption, but it possible that the 29k on the
clocks actually represented 129k? 29k / 10 years = 2.9k a year over
10 years. Or 129k would 12.9k a year.[1] I'm unsure how long a GPZ
engine lasts when badly maintained and when cam chain wear starts to
be a problem. Perhaps one of the previous owners was a bit shit at
DIY when making adjustments. Perhaps it just got fed up.

[1] Stay tuned, next week BGN teaches Foundation Geography.
[2] Can you remember how many it's had?

 

Tough luck mate, glad your ok though

 

I though of that too. Here's another hypothesis; the cam chain snaps, the
piston smacks an open valve (or 2), the con-rod breaks @ tdc, the engine
goes around and on the way back up, the broken end of rod sticks through the
casing.

 

Foundation garments are usually easily found when negotiating a womans
underwear prior to removing it for "Naughty" liasons

1 too many by the sound of it.

 

....engine covers, radiator, calipers, disks, forks, lights, footpegs,
mirrors,
seat, indicators (or lenses), electrics (coils/starter/solenoids/loom),
sidestand, swingarm, shock, lockset, grab rail ... you'd be amazed
at how many bits you could probably sell on ebay.

 

Seats can be a bit of a goldmine.