Cracked crank case cover / engine cover (whetever its called

olionel · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Karma :

I had a stupid lil off yesterday, and my ZXR400 flew down the road about 5-6m's on its left side.. so I have a snapped off gear pedal and a cracked (worn down) engine cover, and its very very littlely trickling oil. I have left the bike overnight and the oil level is still OK... Now I can get the bike picked up by the garage, who will do the repair, BUT its going to cost me a bit extra...

Do I buy a gear pedal, top up on oil and ride it to the garage about 8 miles away? Is this risky, when the engine is running is it going to piss oil everywhere and run out of oil before I get to the garage and damage my engine badly? The crack is 3/4 of an inch long and probably thick as a single human hair.

Advice please?

P.S. RAC had to bring the bike home yesterday, I wouldvel liked it to be taken to a garage but everywhere was closed (it was 6 o clock on a Friday night), would RAC take my bike to the garage for me ? (I kind of doubt it.. worth asking I suppose)
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1989 CG125 - Childhood Sweetheart (she got kidnapped by baddies)
1998 ZXR400 - Teenage Love (lasted three years, then she turned lesbian and left me)
2001 XRV750 - Wife Material (still getting to know her but head over heels in love)

Davo · Davo To The Rescue! Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Karma :

To be honest I'd do both parts myself, it's really not difficult. Just get the parts you need. It'll be quicker & cheaper.

When I last did it (due to a wayward set of SV forks hitting me) all I did was drop the oil out of it, unbolt the cover then replace with new cover. It took me the best part of two hours (including doing the rest of the service items).

If it's truly just a hairline (ish) crack I should imagine it'd be repairable.

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Hi

I go with Davo. Easier to fix it yourself than to faff around trying to get it top a dealer.

Cover will be £35~£100 (suspect around £65 for a Kwak one), plus a gasket. Not sure it there is a bearing in there for the starter motor gears to run in.

Changing the cover is probably easier than changing the footrest hanger.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

olionel · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Karma :

well Ive found out the left side is the generator/coil cover, and the part is about £70 and £11 for the gasket from the dealer.. I dont know how messy it will be to change it.

And the gear changer is about £25... I dont usually pay for labour, do most things on my car myself, havent owned a bike long enough yet to get my hands dirty, but I havent really touched an engine. Except for a buggered lawnmower engine which was dead anyway.
____________________
1989 CG125 - Childhood Sweetheart (she got kidnapped by baddies)
1998 ZXR400 - Teenage Love (lasted three years, then she turned lesbian and left me)
2001 XRV750 - Wife Material (still getting to know her but head over heels in love)

edd · Nearly there... Joined: 06 Jul 2005 Karma :

Dunno if this has occured to anyone else, but should there be oil behind your generator cover anyway? Ive got a little chunk out of my 550's generator casing and havent bothered fixing it yet( it doesnt leak). The only time ive seen oil the other side of a generator cover is with a knackered crank oil seal. I might of course be wrong, ive not had much experience with the zxr 400 engine, just seems unusual. Also if you can I'd phone breakers and see if the bits come up on ebay. It will be loads cheaper.
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Bluespark Automotive - Diesel Tuning for Performance and Economy

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Hi

There is on quite a few bikes. GPZ500 for example. Not a massive amount of oil in there (and almost certainly above the oil level).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

DOS · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 Jun 2006 Karma :

You could clean and sand the casing around the crack and then put some arildite on it.So long as the casing is not bent in and rubbing of the
flywheel or anything that moves then it can last for a long time.
I wouldn't use isopon or filler as it will crack and fall off.

Paddy.

olionel · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Karma :

the RAC man did suggest doing that actually. Dont know how it will last though. Mmm Ill have a think.
____________________
1989 CG125 - Childhood Sweetheart (she got kidnapped by baddies)
1998 ZXR400 - Teenage Love (lasted three years, then she turned lesbian and left me)
2001 XRV750 - Wife Material (still getting to know her but head over heels in love)

DOS · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 Jun 2006 Karma :

Vincent · Banned Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Karma :

I would have thought a second hand casing would be your cheapest bet. Must be a few out there, whereabouts are you?

iooi · Super Spammer Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Karma :

cheekythomas · Crazy Courier Joined: 06 Aug 2006 Karma :

If your happy to work on cars, just have a go... there is NOTHING you can do wrong changing the cover aslong as you dont overtighten the bolts afterwards... its dead dead dead easy to do!

olionel · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Karma :

Vincent · Banned Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Karma :

What year/model is your bike and which casing do you need? Have you got a pic of the damage?

olionel · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Karma :

Its a 1998 ZXR400 L8. But I think parts are interchangable between all the L models, 1991 on
Photos are below;
you can see the tiny tiny crack at the bottom, and the fine dribble of oil

Its the left hand side cover which is the generator cover, the parts name is the generator cover.

https://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mr-scientist/Photo-0404.jpg
https://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mr-scientist/Photo-0405.jpg
____________________
1989 CG125 - Childhood Sweetheart (she got kidnapped by baddies)
1998 ZXR400 - Teenage Love (lasted three years, then she turned lesbian and left me)
2001 XRV750 - Wife Material (still getting to know her but head over heels in love)

Vincent · Banned Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Karma :

Thought about getting a re-inforced cover? Or a carbon fibre one?

olionel · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Karma :

Vincent · Banned Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Karma :

People use the re-inforced ones to protect the crank. They're not cheap tho, prob about the same as a new one. The CF ones fit over your existing cover so you would need to fix the leak. They are a bit cheaper and look cool.

Vincent · Banned Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Karma :

https://www.bikejohnny.com/cgi-bin/store/BKJstore.cgi?user_action=list&category=TPT%3BKawasaki%3BZXR400

Vincent · Banned Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Karma :

Heres the Tay-Pro site;
https://www.tayprotec.com/products/racearmourapplications.html#

For used parts try AMS-Motorsport