Straight rods with no cracks

[Curt Henry]

I got my connecting rods back this week from Crankshaft Supply in Minneapolis. I had the rods magnafluxed, checked for straightness, new small end bushings installed and the large end checked to make sure that it is round and in factory specs. After I knocked the large hole in the right piston dropping a valve the rods checked out to be in very good shape for a bike with 160,XXX miles.
I have all the parts to put it back together but am starting to get the "Might as Wells". I am fighting with myself, should I just put it back together or should I finish tearing the engine down and give the engine complete rebuild. This bike will never be my main ride again as I have the R1150RT and the R1200 GS Adventure for trips. I might take the bike a couple hundred miles from home, local rallies and some dirt road riding. Smart thing to do would just to say "Good enough" and slap it back together, but that is not in my nature to do thing half ass.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I got my connecting rods back this week from Crankshaft Supply in Minneapolis. I had the rods magnafluxed, checked for straightness, new small end bushings installed and the large end checked to make sure that it is round and in factory specs. After I knocked the large hole in the right piston dropping a valve the rods checked out to be in very good shape for a bike with 160,XXX miles.
I have all the parts to put it back together but am starting to get the "Might as Wells". I am fighting with myself, should I just put it back together or should I finish tearing the engine down and give the engine complete rebuild. This bike will never be my main ride again as I have the R1150RT and the R1200 GS Adventure for trips. I might take the bike a couple hundred miles from home, local rallies and some dirt road riding. Smart thing to do would just to say "Good enough" and slap it back together, but that is not in my nature to do thing half ass.

It isn't easy being you, is it Curt?

Unfortunately you know yourself too well. You know you will always feel uncomfortable if you don't check everything out. And your history of catastrophic engine failures doesn't help.

Would some arithmetic help? How many hours have you spent getting the bike this far, and how many more will you spend if you just put things back together without going that extra mile. Now, with that figure in mind, how many additional hours would it take you to do the job (what you consider) right? Maybe that would help you get some perspective.

Another tack: If you don't go that extra mile on your bike, will that time then be filled up with onerous domestic chores that you really don't want to do? And looking at it another way, if that extra time saved could mean you get to go to an additional rally or event, that might sway you into doing that instead.

What about the season? Now is prime riding time where you are, and how long is that gonna last? Would some extra riding time be worth tearing the bike back down again this winter to do the extra looking around at your bike's innards that you'd like to do? Probably not.

Ken

[mattcfish]

Should I get this one checked?

What kind of valve was it that dropped. I'm sure you answered that question on previous posts, but I haven't followed your story.

[Ross]

Slap her back together and ride her. That's what I would do.

[Curt Henry]

What kind of valve was it that dropped. I'm sure you answered that question on previous posts, but I haven't followed your story.[/quote]


Black Diamond, I think what happen was when I did a water crossing and the valve seized in the guide or the valve seat came loose out of the head.

[Major Softie]

Curt, although Kens points are all good, all that really matters are his first two: You know yourself. What will you be comfortable with?


In situations like these, I like to turn it around backwards for perspective. By that, I mean this: What are the chances you will be sorry years from now that you did all the work? What are the chances of you being sorry that you didn't do all the work?

I'm pretty sure I know where this leads...

[ME 109]

Curt, I'd be happy with your results from crack testing.
The fact that the rod/s are straight would indicate they haven't suffered as a result of dropping the valve.
I used my same rods after dropping a valve with no problems, and they have since been put to test well enough.

Edited to add that ultra sonic testing is a more accurate determination although the shape of a rod would make that test difficult.
X-ray is also another good test but the cost of these tests would make new rod/s an attractive option.

[mattcfish]

What kind of valve was it that dropped. I'm sure you answered that question on previous posts, but I haven't followed your story.

Black Diamond, I think what happen was when I did a water crossing and the valve seized in the guide or the valve seat came loose out of the head.[/quote]

Does anyone here grind there keepers down (create a gap between them) to make them fit tighter on the stem? A VW rebuilder showed me this trick used to prevent valve dropping. The only issue with this is that it hinders the valve from rotating. That said, a video of the valve train of an S1000RR at high RPM shows that the whole spring rotates, not just the valve. Watch the springs start to spin toward the end of the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuWiZ5nVKzA .

[Ross]

Total loss oil system hey. At least your boots would be water proof.

[Major Softie]

Does anyone here grind there keepers down (create a gap between them) to make them fit tighter on the stem? A VW rebuilder showed me this trick used to prevent valve dropping. The only issue with this is that it hinders the valve from rotating. That said, a video of the valve train of an S1000RR at high RPM shows that the whole spring rotates, not just the valve.

I believe Curt had a valve head drop off the stem. I do not believe the keeper tightening would affect this problem in any way, and not having the valve rotate might even make it more susceptible.