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Bagstr

Dear 450 XCW Motor - I am Sorry to have been so hard on you.

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Dear 450 XCW Motor.   I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. ( 2016 MY - Purchased Aug. 2015 )

( Edit )  Oct 4. )  My new strategy is to replace piston?rings at 250 hrs. )

( Edit }  Oct 21 ) 

 

To Wrap Up this discussion ( attempt )  :

Ask Mr. Piston -     We had such a good relationship, Why did you break-up?

A. We had been together too long, I just wore down.

B. That gas you fed me, made me throw-up

C. I left you notes, in the form of oil in the intake tube, You chose not to read them.

 

Remember that Tim Dunaway old me the piston would have passed inspection one hour before failure 

The gas was probably 3 months old.  What an idiot.  I now own a bottle of Sta-bil

The motor oil in the air filter box was definitely there at the failure. Subsequent Leak Down was Zero pressure. The top of the piston and the valves were very clean, so I am somewhat doubtful that the motor was really pushing oil into the intake before failure. I will definitely be checking this going forward.

Thanks to you all for your contributions to this discussion.  I am planning on the following the advice of a trusted public servant and " Getting Over It".

P.S. copying this last comment to the first post in hope that it may save someone reading all this. 

IMG_13091000w-XL.jpg

Evidently your life has been harder than I imagined. 315 hours of Sand Washes and Sand Hills was too much for you to bear. 

September 26, four of we desert roamers where finishing an Excellent run of about 65 miles in rare soil conditions. Truckhaven to Inspiration Wash, 5-6th gear application:  Mmmm something does not feel right. Not holding power in 6th, try 5th, mmm. Rolling to a stop in a cloud of blue smoke. Now I know that is not a good outcome. Geez, I though this motor was good for 10,000 miles. When the team assembled for the diagnosis: fuel pump is good, motor cranks, appears to have water and oil. But wait, SoCalMule notes leaking oil at the air filter.Oh that is just a messy filter. On closer inspection, no something much more sinister.  The group agreed that half a cup of motor oil in the filter box is a grim situation. 

I have heard good reports ( Mark ) about SDPowerHouse on Old Highway 80, Flynn Springs. Well Hell, I will just stop by and have a chat.  I was impressed by the shops' order and the staff; Tim Dunaway and assistant Bob. Yeah, could be cracked piston and or ring. 315 hrs is about what you expect running desert conditions 90% of the time. " Did I mention I was using 3 month old gas down that sand wash?"  Yes that can cause micro pre-detonation you might not hear which is hard on the motor.  Dang, that falls into the What a fool am I category. Really, take the trouble of cleaning the injector and then run old gas.  

After deciding to leave the bike, I heard that Tim works on all of Chilly Whites bikes.  That sealed the deal for me. Next week Leak Down Test. Then we go from there; cylinder, piston, oh heck think about the valves as well while it is apart.

The calendar is marked at a 3 week repair estimate;  see you guys at the end of October with my New Motor.

       Bagstr

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All good things must come to an end. She did her job. Now time for a little plastic surgery and she'll be hot as a 26 year old supermodel again soon.

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Governor - that four-fiddy gave you tons of Dez miles & smiles...she'll appreciate all of the attention she'll be getting from Tim in October! :good:

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Nah!

Quick top end and right back to it. Maintenance items with a predictable service interval. 

I think I have similar hours 🤔

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Wow....that seems like really short hours.  I have over 12,000/600 miles on my old Husqvarna 450.  I hope my new KTM based Husqvarna doesn't come up short.

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19 minutes ago, dirt dame said:

Wow....that seems like really short hours.  I have over 12,000/600 miles on my old Husqvarna 450.  I hope my new KTM based Husqvarna doesn't come up short.

Same here! 

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What do you folks think about the 3 month old gas as an issue in the fail?

This one lasted 4yrs.  In four years I  may take up Badminton as an alternate to the Dez.

Tim Dunaway is of the opinion that 315 hrs / 8600 miles, 95% in the sand is Not that unexpected.

       :dirol:

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9 minutes ago, Bagstr said:

What do you folks thinks about the 3 month old gas as an issue in the fail?

This one lasted 4yrs.  In four years I  may take up Badminton as an alternate to the Dez.

       :dirol:

I often have old gas in the tanks of my bikes, but I use Sta-bil marine formula stabilizer in all my vehicles, so two or three months isn't much of an issue.  A year would be a problem for sure.

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I saw the comment on fuel in the first post and it caught my eye.  The fuel in my XR is over a year old and the fuel in my orange bike is probably six months old; no additives in either.  I start them both about once a month and give them a little rip up the street but that's about it.  I've plugged carbs before with old fuel but that's it.  Interested to see what you all think about fuel being an issue.

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Really it is probably all that mechanical effort trying to keep up with CID, PMB and SCM

       👀

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10 minutes ago, Bagstr said:

Really it is probably all that mechanical effort trying to keep in front of CID, PMB and SCM

       

Fixed 

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2 hours ago, Bagstr said:

What do you folks think about the 3 month old gas as an issue in the fail?

This one lasted 4yrs.  In four years I  may take up Badminton as an alternate to the Dez.

Tim Dunaway is of the opinion that 315 hrs / 8600 miles, 95% in the sand is Not that unexpected.

       :dirol:

I was running the same vintage fuel in my bike on that ride. Don't think it was a fuel issue. 

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pretty close overall...

Bags - 8600/315 = 27.3015873015873 mi/hr avg

PMB - 9932/342.4 = 29.00700934579439 mi/hr avg

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26 minutes ago, Van said:

pretty close overall...

Bags - 8600/315 = 27.3015873015873 mi/hr avg

PMB - 9932/342.4 = 29.00700934579439 mi/hr avg

Wow!

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That is about the spread on the trail as well. His numbers would be higher if he knew where all the secret turns are in the Dez.

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7 hours ago, paulmbowers said:

I just checked.

 

342.4 hours

9932 miles

 

😧

Already have a third of your miles on my rebuild just months ago. Must find a way to extend these service interval  hours.

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Best way to make a motorcycle last is to run them the way my brother in law does.  He put 3 miles on his Harley last year.  Should be perfect for about forever at that pace. 😂

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Bummer dude. But it was a nice apology. Detonation could be a factor. Depending on the program in the ecu, these bikes can detonate when under a heavy load. Even with fresh gas. They run lean in the low desert.  The last bike with the 390 kit had a "tune" in the ECU, from Travis, that allowed it to ping under heavy load. I would add some Torco octane booster and that got rid of it. Or...Maybe you are just too damn hard on that poor thing. 

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Bummer Bags 👎.  Hope you’re out and about again soon.  

I busted myself up 6 weeks ago today.  Planning on taking the Super Enduro out for a short/light spin later today.....old gas/fresh oil....

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Hey Gang, Thank You for the sympathy. Please send your cards and flowers to SD Powerhouse, Flinn Springs, California.

Attention KTM 450 XCW.

i-cJbW9hT-L.jpg

        In Better Days

 

P.S.  Title has been edited to reflect this is XCW not EXC.  Running the Euro mapping. 

Amgems " Depending on the program in the ecu, these bikes can detonate when under a heavy load. Even with fresh gas. 

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Yikes I just saw this. In hindsight it's a good thing you didn't make our Cortez ride. We were in some canyons that I don't know how we would have extracted the bike. I'm at 7300\292 on the 350. Runs great, doesn't use any oil and the valves are still holding spec. But then I don't ride as much sand as you do. Hmmmm...... Waiting to hear what they find.

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