My Engine Blew Up!

[spacemonkey]

Wow after 5000 miles it finally died on me
I'm on my way to work in the morning, 30 mile drive, with about a half mile left till my exit on the freeway i suddenly see a piece of something fly past my left side, suddenly i bike starts violently vibrating, i figured i hit something in the road and it screwed up my tire, looking in my mirror i see giant plumes of white smoke. I proceed to pull over to the side of the freeway and once i pull in the clutch lever my engine dies on me. getting off my bike i see oil pouring out onto the road, upon closer inspection I noticed a hole in my engine case. I proceeded to push it off the freeway into a parking lot, and got picked up for work. luckily my warranty isn't over till next month, unfortunately I don't know if Yamaha will decide to fix it, and I'm out of luck with work now. has this happened to anyone else or am i just totally unlucky in this matter

yes that is my piston rod stick out of the hole

 

[FZ1inNH]

Wow! First I've seen with a blown engine!

When was the last oil change? How often? How often do you check the oil?

Sorry and I hope they go good for it! Pressure them!!

 

[bmw675]

i dont even know what to say other than . i want to see this story unfold.
more details all the way through what yamaha does/tells you. wow!

 

[spacemonkey]

last oil change would of been less than 3000 miles ago i was about to do it this weekend, i have done all the regular maintenance on the bike, i have changed the oil 2 times since i have owned it once at the 600 mi, then agian around 2000+ and i was going to do it this weekend since its been around 3000 mi, and there is no reason why the oil would cause this, it was just a defect for sure that the piston came off the shaft and blew through my oil pan.

 

[MikeN02]

I would just say that once the engine blew and oil came out, it got on to your tire and you went down and dented the tank.

 

[dart1963]

thanks for the help guys, i drove it by the dealer and after like 10 secs of listening, they said the yami motors always tick and thats all i was hearing (they even started a new R6 to show me, lol)... i was just nervous because its my first new bike - didn't want to have something happen at 150miles already!!

from your earlier thread, not quoted... but, sounds like any concern you had, you immediately brought up to your dealer... if they didn't see an issue, and you've kept up maintenance... sounds like a defective part to me.

 

[ME_with_a_B]

Wow after 5000 miles it finally died on me

Wowsers... that stinks!! Thank goodness it didn't cause you to crash!!

 

[MikeN02]

I'm actually getting close to 5,000 miles...

4,800 here.

 

[ME_with_a_B]

I'm about to hit 10,000 miles - and so far, everything seems to be running as it should be.

 

[husker525]

I am sorry to ask, but can you put up some close up pics of the rod and piston? I want to see where it broke and the coloration of the rod and wrist pin area. I can't tell from the picture if the crankshaft broke, the rod broke, or the piston came off the rod. Can you tell us what cylinder number this is from?

I really appreciate any information that you can offer.

 

[spacemonkey]

those are the only pics i got. its the far left piston (if your sitting on the bike), i had it towed to a shop today and i wont know any information about it till tomorrow, once i find out more ill let you guys know what happened. yes thankfully i didnt crash on the freeway but when i pulled off to the side of the road the slick tire and gravel caused me to go down but i rolled away like a ninja so im alright. im glad that the oil hitting the exahust didnt combust and catch fire, idk if that possible but it seems like it could of happened.

 

[husker525]

those are the only pics i got. its the far left piston (if your sitting on the bike), i had it towed to a shop today and i wont know any information about it till tomorrow, once i find out more ill let you guys know what happened. yes thankfully i didnt crash on the freeway but when i pulled off to the side of the road the slick tire and gravel caused me to go down but i rolled away like a ninja so im alright. im glad that the oil hitting the exahust didnt combust and catch fire, idk if that possible but it seems like it could of happened.

Oil catching fire hitting the header pipes possible?? VERY POSSIBLE and you, my friend have a guardian angel looking after you, between the oil on the tire and not catching fire.

Just some possible causes for grenading, without seeing pictures:

1. If the oil was bad, usually the crank will just lock up and seize the crank bearings, or seize the piston(s) in the cylinder, but doesn't appear to be the case at all with this.

2. Inadequate cooling from lubrication to the wrist pin area, causing the wrist pin or piston to crack, separate, and at anything over about 4k rpm, catastrophic failure such as this.

3. Casting imperfections in either the piston, or the rod, causing a weakness in the rod (stretching a rod??) and causing it to snap, once again, catastrophic failure.

4. Casting imperfection in the crankshaft itself, causing one rod assembly to snap.

Make sure you ask to keep or photograph all the old parts upon repair. If Yamaha warranties it, then they will, and have the right to keep the broken parts, but you can photograph them all you like.

Having built and destroyed many "high performance" engines such as this one, everyone needs to keep in mind that having engine failures is the nature of the beast. It doesn't soften the blow, and it sucks, but it is a fact of life. Most motors will last a long time, but anytime you have parts that are mass produced, there is a small percentage of engine failures, there are no guarantees.

Bouncing off the rev limiter on a regular basis is a sure way to shorten the life of a motor. There are tell tale indications to a trained tech when engines are disassembled.

I am in NO WAY saying that you have any culpability in my examples, I am just pointing out some things that may be overlooked by new motorcycle owners and riders.

I hope that this gets resolved through Yamaha customer service, and at little to no expense to you.

 

[dart1963]

Bouncing off the rev limiter on a regular basis is a sure way to shorten the life of a motor. There are tell tale indications to a trained tech when engines are disassembled.

You mean, that's not the shift indicator I'm feeling?

Yeah, I'm a once every couple of months rev limiter guy, and that's usually in 2nd or 3rd, waiting to get on an on-ramp, and just misjudging speed/rpm...

Usual shift point is around 6k, that seems to be where she's happy.

Please, please... keep us informed on the outcome with Yamaha... I'm sure they'll take the broken pieces and look them over and over and.... so, let us know how it goes.

 

[husker525]

By no means am I attempting to jack this thread, I am merely trying to share some very valid information on making engines last as long as possible.

If you look at dyno sheets for a stock or aftermarket piped FZ6R, and the power curve, you will find that peak hp comes at about 9,000 rpm, with the limiter being around 11,500 rpm. By hitting the limiter you have already dropped 13% of your maximum hp, and after 9k, have no hope of recovering it. So ask yourself, if you are the kind of rider that takes it to the limiter at each shift, what are you gaining?? You are actually losing hp by not keeping it in the 9k range between shifts under full acceleration runs. The only way to build more hp AFTER 9k rpm is to change the profile of the cams, which will change your power curve. Depending on the cam, you can add more bottom, more midrange, or more top end power, but one area will always suffer for a gain in another. Different exhaust systems can add power across the entire range, but once again, depending on the exhaust, will just diminish the amount of "fall off" after the rev limiter. Aftermarket CDI's with an increase in the rev limit, are applicable only to very specific applications, and serious motor mods.

The valve to piston clearances are fairly tight, with the compression ratios these bikes have. By stretching it to the limiter, you must make sure your valve specs are dead on, or risk planting a valve or 2 or more through a piston, snapping a timing chain, etc.

Now, we all hit the limiter occasionally, and this is not what I am talking about. We all have seen people who ride on the limiter, ALL the time, and these are the ones who will blow up engines quickly.

Just food for thought....

 

[porky45]

You're putting yourself into your power band when you shift into your next gear instead of bogging down to 6k.

 

[streetmaster]

You're putting yourself into your power band when you shift into your next gear instead of bogging down to 6k.

Well that means the gearing is all wrong.

 

[ksanbon]

I'm really sorry for your situation. As mentioned before, the good news is that it could have been much worse.

There's 2 things I'm curious about.
1. What determines whether Yamaha repairs/replaces your motor under warranty?
2. What does the motor cost?

If I don't step up before the end of November, I'm was planning to buying an extended service plan. If they find a reason not to pay for yours, it might not be worth it.

I hope you can keep your spirits up while you wait for this situation to unfold. Hopefully, it'll be resolved soon so you can get back on the road.

Wishing you the best of luck,
Keith

 

[TOMIK]

WOW.. Sorry to see this, but Im glad you are ok, wish you good luck, and I hope yamaha take the tab.

 

[micigniter]

First of all, im glad your ok. Second of all, im going to be realistic. It sounds like this could only happen by a) a defective part, or b) you dogging the shit out of you bike. You know im leaning towards the latter. So im going to be fair and ask you? Are you rough on your machine?

 

[bmw675]

First of all, im glad your ok. Second of all, im going to be realistic. It sounds like this could only happen by a) a defective part, or b) you dogging the shit out of you bike. You know im leaning towards the latter. So im going to be fair and ask you? Are you rough on your machine?

we are all thinking the same thing, but to come out and say it at this point-in-time, what a way to kick him while he's down. lol