Losing My Sense of Humor...and oil.

[jbfla]

Before I purchased the RX3, I read that you had to have a sense of humor to buy a China bike.

I think I may be losing mine.

On one of my 100 mile loops, coming out of the Green Swamp area of west central FL, the RX3 started losing power, and within 5 to 10 seconds, the engine stopped running completely,

I quickly pulled in the clutch lever, and fortunately coasted into a church parking lot.

When I came to a stop and looked down, my pant leg was covered with oil...and so was the RX3....engine, frame, swingarm, rear tire...





I suppose it could have been worse. Twenty minutes earlier I was in the wilderness, with intermittent cell phone coverage.

Three hours after I called the wife, she shows up with the trailer, we load the bike, and head home.

At home, I found the problem...



I am pretty sure the piston has seized....parked the bike in the garage to deal with another day.

jb

[Lee R]

Did the bolt snap off or just come loose?

Not much fun having the oil all pour out of the top. Hopefully it's not seized, I would think it would run a little longer without oil before that happens, not great for the internals for sure.

Isn't this your second engine?

[2LZ]

That sucks jb.... Hope it's only a new bolt and some more oil and back on the road.....

[Sport Rider]

any warranty to cover this?

the RX3 is better quality than the average CB (at least I'm assuming that based on the effort/price they put into it). seems like these type of things wouldn't be so common.

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by Lee R

Did the bolt snap off or just come loose?

Not much fun having the oil all pour out of the top. Hopefully it's not seized, I would think it would run a little longer without oil before that happens, not great for the internals for sure.

Isn't this your second engine?

Bolt and rectangular o-ring missing.

Original engine, but with replaced camshaft and associated parts.

jb

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

any warranty to cover this?

No warranty, I'm pretty sure.

I have had the RX3 longer than one year, so it would be parts only anyway.

And the missing bolt would be deemed my fault, as was the damaged cam, which was repaired by CSC under their "good will" policy not the warranty.

jb

[Sport Rider]

that sucks. fingers crossed the motor is ok!

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by Lee R

...... Hopefully it's not seized, I would think it would run a little longer without oil before that happens, not great for the internals for sure. ...

Right after this happened, I tapped the starter switch and only got a "clunk"...don't think the crankshaft turned.

Will probably take a closer look later today...been riding the Triumph....searching for my "sense of humor".

jb

[rjmorel]

Bummer jbfla, my heart really goes out to you and hope you stopped it in the nick of time before much damage happened. rj

[fjmartin]

Sorry to see and hear about this. I really hope it's an easy cost effective fix.

[Working_ZS]

Originally Posted by jbfla

I am pretty sure the piston has seized....parked the bike in the garage to deal with another day.

Well, the "good" news is that it's a "China Bike". That means low cost parts. I've saved you the trouble, since you're probably not feeling like doing it yourself right now, of looking up the parts for repair:

Camshaft: 39.95
Cylinder Head Assembly: 179.95
Cylinder Block: 179.95
Cylinder Block Gasket: 5.95
Piston: 39.95
Piston Pin: 4.26
Piston Rings: 13.95
Oil Pumps: 22.90
Crank/connecting Rod Assembly: 140.00
Valve Cover Gasket: 0.79
Valve Cover Bolt: 0.2

Total: 627.85

This is probably on the high side, since the cam and cylinder head are most likely OK. The piston and cylinder, however, are definitely toasted if the engine seized as you described. A few other parts may or may not be needed, based on your tear down inspection (timing chain, timing sprockets).

Hopefully, you can find the energy to get it going again. It's too nice of a bike not to. Good luck.

[rtking]

Ugh - that sucks. Sorry to see and read about it, JBFL.

Hopefully after things cool down, and some more oil, the bike will fire right up. But if it's seized, Working_Zs if right, just change the cylinder block, piston, and piston rings and give it a try again. Hopefully it'll fire right back up.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by Working_ZS

Well, the "good" news is that it's a "China Bike". That means low cost parts. I've saved you the trouble, since you're probably not feeling like doing it yourself right now, of looking up the parts for repair:

Camshaft: 39.95
Cylinder Head Assembly: 179.95
Cylinder Block: 179.95
Cylinder Block Gasket: 5.95
Piston: 39.95
Piston Pin: 4.26
Piston Rings: 13.95
Oil Pumps: 22.90
Crank/connecting Rod Assembly: 140.00
Valve Cover Gasket: 0.79
Valve Cover Bolt: 0.2

Total: 627.85

Was this through Taobao or CSC?

[BlackBike]

How? How does a tightened cover bolt just back out. Did you forget to tighten after checking valves? I am not saying this to belittle you. Just trying to understand what happened jb. This just sucks. You have enjoyed the hell out of this bike and have poured on the miles. It seem hard to believe that It froze in that short of time but it may have been long enough on the hot engine. Yes it is froze now because currently there is no oil. I think it will run but may have dinged the rings. Refill and manually Spin it over with the socket and you will feel if damaged pretty quick I would think. CRAP

[2LZ]

Another question. Does the injection, etc...shut down automatically when oil pressure gets too low to save itself? This is not uncommon....but I really can't imagine that you ran an entire quart out or more out onto your pantleg. That would have been a massive mess that would have covered you, the bike and the road behind you. It will be interesting to see how much oil is left in the motor.