To part or not to part?

[coolbike]

Well, it seems that my motorcycling experience has come to somewhat of an abrupt end

I was riding over some train tracks last week, when my chain bounced off and apparently tore something critical, because I lost my entire oil reservoir in about ten minutes. Repairs would be too costly, so now I'm stuck with the dilemma of what to do with it. Several people have offered to tow it away for free, but I'm wondering if it's worth my time to part it out and try and recoup some dough for a future bike in five years or so when I can afford it again. Has anyone had any luck parting out their beloved rides, or should I just have this towed into the sunset?

[tconroy]

First access the damage and then see how much it will cost to repair yourself.could be less than you think.Also need to know what bike etc it is.Somebody on here might have just what your looking for to fix it then go from there.If you buy a used bike you will still be putting money into it so weigh the odds and see what would be best for you.It would sure beat not riding for 5 years if you can get it fixed.

[coolbike]

I attempted to assess the damage to see if I could fix it, and unfortunately just made a bad situation worse. I've got an old 1981 GS-450, and the price quoted to me to fix it was upwards of $200

[tconroy]

What about fixing it yourself???Thane how much would it cost.If you not going to ride for 5 years you will have plenty of time to fix it i would think.You could part it out on e-bay and makes some money though.

[boris]

ive seen gs450 complete engine and gearbox go on ebay here for 10 quid ($20 us dollars)
maybe you could rebuild it if you got a manual and wait for parts to come up
would take less time than 5 years

[SqDancerLynn1]

does the clutch still work? Guessing sprocket cover broken, probably bent clutch pushrod= damaged seal & big oil leak

[coolbike]

does the clutch still work? Guessing sprocket cover broken, probably bent clutch pushrod= damaged seal & big oil leak

That sounds about right - the clutch works but is extremely stiff. Based on the amount of oil leakage and my limited understanding of what likely happened, this seems to add up.

[duaneage]

I'd say fix it. you'll learn how the thing works, and that is a good thing.

[Nessism]

I've got some 450 engine covers you can have for the price of shiping. You need to figure out what's wrong first though.

email if interested.

nessism@sbcglobal.net