xr longtivity

when l first joined this forum l purchased a 04  Xr .L blew that one so bad it was scrap . the crank and balancer shaft went through both cases .Piston broke and cylinder sleeve as well.l was wondering is their a way to improve luberation to crank on these dry sump engines .When l got this xr l chaned oil and filter , changed coolant , checked screen in frame and went through whole bike , it ran well , one day l heard a little knock wasn't sure at the time what it was , on my third fuel tank of fuel , it blew up , l was out a bike .l went to Quebec City and purchased a 03 xr which has a new cylinder, pistons and valves , runs great . l serviced this motor also with fresh oil and filter, changed thermostat . It was uncorked check carb has correct items in it.l see many last a long time , l resently found a spare motor for it now and will take it down to check ever thing inside .Yesterday l seen a bike in a classified in Ontario ,Canada . He was parting out the complete bike l called him .He just purchased this bike and blew the excact way mine went , Engine toast .Any tips to make my 03 live a great long life would be nice
thanks mike

Hi Mike, these bikes don't normally go bang...what have you been doing to the bike to make it go bang....riding everywhere in 1st gear ?.....

They are pretty much indestructible, I have wrung the life out of mine in sumo trim and several seasons of dirt trail riding with no adverse effects.

+1, utterly reliable...... unless you fiddle with the rev limiter (the XR400 one, it allows 1000/min more) and/or bigbore kits and/or other seriously-more-power mods.
What also helps is to ride it like a 650 and not a 125, meaning keep the revs at least reasonable instead of revving the tits off it.
Bad luck perhaps?
Take the current/next one down to cases only, and measure the crank's play's - it's all in the manual, and it's there for a reason.

Mind, aren't you the guy who painted all including engine red, or had it powdercoated or something?
This engine runs hot if ridden slow, the rads simply are on the skimpy side - and, when you start coating the engine (= insulating it) things go south however the temp goes UP.
Yes, looks good but is not, especially not for offroad.

l run my dirt bikes hard , YES, had and still do, have many , LOVE the xr 650 r , l do run mine to the max in each and every gear to get the RUSH of the TORQUE , they have .Before it blew big time l did a radar run and all slowed down waited for the gang to catch up , then when they did l let a friend go ahead .I took off as usual going threw the gears almost to peak rpm . I hit third gear and it seized , TOAST,to this day l didn't take the engine apart to see what l can save .Like mentioned l quess l shouldn't rev it out to the max in each gear ??!!.I have three 500 xr r models l run them hard for years and still do 79 , 80 , and also 81 , wet sump engines not as strong by all means but still alive and well .Regular maintenance, rings , piston changes and cam chain and balancer chains as well their adjustment.STILL GOING STRONG
thanks for the reply , mike

If you like to run on the top end to feel the rush of power you should throw your leg over a piped stage 2 hot cam CRF450R. Its 100lbs lighter than the 650 and revs like a two stroke, the bottom end is unimpressive with the stage 2 cam but once you crest 5krpm it comes alive with 3rd gear power wheelies. It’s pretty ridiculous trail riding a 450r set up this way.

XrMax,

I think a Carillo conrod (ie a rebuild crank) is for you. I'd say such would give you a proper base (no pun pls) to hammer it from, and then you'll see this bike can even take your hammering reliably

thanks for the reply guys , any other tips are welcome , con rod will be placed in my new motor l picked up this fall, and try not to run the hell out of it !!. Might be hard their
so much FUN to take to the limit
mike

l took the 04 apart and the engine is on the bench , will take pictures of the damage
mike

l did paint the two side covers on the bike , stator and clutch cover, the engine didn't over heat from the little paint l have .l also have a temp gauge l check often as well

l have since this picture installed the 04 forks onto this 03 model year XR , liked the aluminium look instead of the black forks

I suggest you run dual core radiators in any case, if only because you then even can ride it slowly!
Serious, the XRR is made/designed for speedy runs in the desert, and then the rads can cope. Not so when the going gets tough & slower, they do overheat quickly - which can be negated by mounting better rads, dual core's are what you want.

What (dual core) rads to you run Bart? i.e that work with the big IMS tank?

I bought mine from an Oz outfit, PWS I think? (Edited: PWR !)
Costly first, built to spec but they didn't quite fit which I am (still ) busy rectifying so I've not mounted mine yet - but a very good quality indeed.
Besides, I sortof expected to have to modify them somewhat anyway, as I will fit the 44L Safari tank, or dual-split tanks rather - which are such a close fit around the engine that one has to remove absolutely everything: exhaust, overflow tank, anything behind the cylinder but for the carb (I had some electrics there), remote choke (of TM40) and even the oil return pipe because one has to make supports to mount the tanks.
Exhaust? Yip, the high slung pipe now has to become a low slung one, that's the next hurdle.
Anyway, dual core rads will not need a fan, they shed enough heat even at low speeds.

On Fleabay apparently some Chinese dual core rads are offered, at a fair price too - and I've heard (hearsay!) that they're not bad. Why, Mark, you're considering mounting a set? They all should work with any (but for the super special 44L Safari) tank.

Well, I've had it overheat once when slogging through the mud so need to do something...I think a fan will be cheaper if I can find one that works with the IMS tank.

A PC-PSU fan (a square block) is cheap to buy, not water/environmental proof but very flat thickness-wise, and you may be able to squeeze one of these inbetween the rad & tank.
It cools little (waaay less than the Span 4") but may do the trick, and also it draws a lot less current.if you go this way buy 2 and mount 1, that way you'll have a spare when needed (as said they're cheap).

BuRP wrote:A PC-PSU fan (a square block) is cheap to buy, not water/environmental proof but very flat thickness-wise, and you may be able to squeeze one of these inbetween the rad & tank.
It cools little (waaay less than the Span 4") but may do the trick, and also it draws a lot less current.if you go this way buy 2 and mount 1, that way you'll have a spare when needed (as said they're cheap).

I have been donated a KTM fan and somewhere I saw a cad drawing for the bracket to fit on the XR - My question is..

Where would you fit a battery?