I just got back from a 10 day trip to Moab, UT with my 16 yo son. We had an incredible time and made great memories, but the story did not end well for the bike.
On our last day of riding, my son was riding a 2011 EC300 and unknowingly punctured the radiator. Unknown to him, all coolant was lost and he ran the bike until idle was very erratic and the clutch started misbehaving (obviously due to excessive heat). When I finally caught up to him (youngster likes to twist it on) pulled over on the side of the road, the bike was VERY hot and the rads bone dry.
After allowing the motor to cool, we patched the rads up as well as possible with JB weld and refilled them. To my amazement, the bike started up and ran just fine--which was a huge relief as we were 20 miles in the desert by now. I thought it better that I ride the bike now so I could nurse it along an observe motor behavior and coolant leakage etc.
I observed the following:
1. Clutch (Rekluse EXP 2.0) was overengaging (swollen clutch pack due to heat) so I pulled over and adjusted the installed gap.
2. Idle was very erratic
3. coolant was blowing out of rad overflow but I could not identify any other coolant leaks.
4. The bike settled to a halt at one point....I could not restart it until I pulled the plug and noted it was very wet. We were in a creek section, so I don't know if it was external water sucked in or water (coolant was long gone) from rads that was migrating into the combustion chamber and fouling the plug. I put in a fresh plug and everything fired up again.
5. Coolant was leaving bike very quickly. Rads would be empty in 20 to 30 min of running, mostly vented through overflow. Eventually, I stopped pulling over to refill (as all our supply was exhausted and there was non to be found in the desert, it was also getting dark and by this time I was more concerned with not spending a night in the dez than minimizing engine overheating/damage)
6. Thankfully, we arrived at truck as sun set. All safe. The next morning, I dropped the clutch/tranny oil after all the clutch overheating and it was fine.
7. I then inspected the cooling system. I filled the rads with green coolant and when the bike was fired up i saw coolant bubbling out between the cylinder and the head. I then noted that most of the head bolts were slightly loose and the two furthest forward were quite loose.
8. I tightened the head bolts as tight as I could, but was never able to completely eliminate the leakage from under the head.
9. After flogging the bike in 2nd gear for several hundred meters, I continued to observe copious belching of fluid from the overflow and slight leakage from under the head.
10. After this high rpm/high temp test run, I dropped the oil and this time found it to be profoundly white and milky.
At this point, the riding trip was obviously over. The bike was loaded up on the trailer and driven 27 hours home.
So.....
I'm thankful the motor didn't seize and that we got home. I need some advice on what damage is done and how to assess that. I also need to know what needs to be replaced.....how deep a tear down should be done.
Water pump seal failure?
Warped head?
Head gasket failures?
Main crank bearings/seals?
Complete engine rebuild?
Or do I just to one thing at a time and "see how it goes"? I do need to be able to rely on the bike getting me home as we do a fair bit of remote riding. I don't want to put my son out in the boonies with a timebomb.
Advice is appreciated.
Thanks
On our last day of riding, my son was riding a 2011 EC300 and unknowingly punctured the radiator. Unknown to him, all coolant was lost and he ran the bike until idle was very erratic and the clutch started misbehaving (obviously due to excessive heat). When I finally caught up to him (youngster likes to twist it on) pulled over on the side of the road, the bike was VERY hot and the rads bone dry.
After allowing the motor to cool, we patched the rads up as well as possible with JB weld and refilled them. To my amazement, the bike started up and ran just fine--which was a huge relief as we were 20 miles in the desert by now. I thought it better that I ride the bike now so I could nurse it along an observe motor behavior and coolant leakage etc.
I observed the following:
1. Clutch (Rekluse EXP 2.0) was overengaging (swollen clutch pack due to heat) so I pulled over and adjusted the installed gap.
2. Idle was very erratic
3. coolant was blowing out of rad overflow but I could not identify any other coolant leaks.
4. The bike settled to a halt at one point....I could not restart it until I pulled the plug and noted it was very wet. We were in a creek section, so I don't know if it was external water sucked in or water (coolant was long gone) from rads that was migrating into the combustion chamber and fouling the plug. I put in a fresh plug and everything fired up again.
5. Coolant was leaving bike very quickly. Rads would be empty in 20 to 30 min of running, mostly vented through overflow. Eventually, I stopped pulling over to refill (as all our supply was exhausted and there was non to be found in the desert, it was also getting dark and by this time I was more concerned with not spending a night in the dez than minimizing engine overheating/damage)
6. Thankfully, we arrived at truck as sun set. All safe. The next morning, I dropped the clutch/tranny oil after all the clutch overheating and it was fine.
7. I then inspected the cooling system. I filled the rads with green coolant and when the bike was fired up i saw coolant bubbling out between the cylinder and the head. I then noted that most of the head bolts were slightly loose and the two furthest forward were quite loose.
8. I tightened the head bolts as tight as I could, but was never able to completely eliminate the leakage from under the head.
9. After flogging the bike in 2nd gear for several hundred meters, I continued to observe copious belching of fluid from the overflow and slight leakage from under the head.
10. After this high rpm/high temp test run, I dropped the oil and this time found it to be profoundly white and milky.
At this point, the riding trip was obviously over. The bike was loaded up on the trailer and driven 27 hours home.
So.....
I'm thankful the motor didn't seize and that we got home. I need some advice on what damage is done and how to assess that. I also need to know what needs to be replaced.....how deep a tear down should be done.
Water pump seal failure?
Warped head?
Head gasket failures?
Main crank bearings/seals?
Complete engine rebuild?
Or do I just to one thing at a time and "see how it goes"? I do need to be able to rely on the bike getting me home as we do a fair bit of remote riding. I don't want to put my son out in the boonies with a timebomb.
Advice is appreciated.
Thanks
