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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Faster to do entire engine swap?
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Message started by Eegore on 08/17/18 at 05:28:43

Title: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/17/18 at 05:28:43

Lets say I burn an engine about once a year, isn't it going to be faster to replace the engine in its entirety than to do a rotating rebuild on 3 or 4 of them? This is assuming I can purchase whole engines to begin with.

The shop can cycle rebuilds as the pistons and such are damaged but from a time-man hours perspective I feel it might be easier to just get a new engine and toss it in the frame, however there may be components I am not thinking of.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by verslagen1 on 08/17/18 at 07:35:54

Of course it's faster, then you'll have a spare to rebuild for the next.

But for you, who's going to pay either way, does it matter?

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/17/18 at 08:31:50

Lets say I burn an engine about once a year..
Which nobody has ever done.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by batman on 08/17/18 at 10:34:47

Faster to just buy another running bike. but if your looking for just a motor you'll need to buy bikes 1995 and up ,as their are many differences ( mostly rotor and /ignition module/timing) between the 86-87 bikes and the reintroduced 95 to present .

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Dave on 08/17/18 at 11:58:49

If you start with an engine in good shape, use a good oil, keep it tuned.....I have no idea how you can burn through an engine each year.

When I built my cafe" engine I put in a bigger cam, Wiseco piston, ported head, Mikuni round slide carb, big foam air cleaner and better muffler. Later I added a light flywheel when Armen started machining them. Once I got it going I was happy with the results and I don't find a need for doing any additional modifications...it is smooth and relatively strong for what it is.

I didn't know how reliable the motor would be - so when I saw a chance to buy a complete 2006 motor with only a couple thousand miles on it for $600.....I bought it as a spare. I built a stand for it, put in some fogging oil, and rotated the engine so both valves are closed, and now sits in the corner waiting for a day when it will be put into service.

My modified engine has 10,000 miles on it and it is still going strong. When the Savage engine is taken care of it is capable of going more than 100,000 miles if you don't let the cam chain tensioner screw things up. And maybe if you were the type to go ride 80mph on the interstate on a continual basis it may reduce the life of the engine. Abused engines run low on oil, low idle speed or on the wrong oil can be screwed up in only a few thousand miles - with proper maintenance I think it would be hard to ride the bike long or hard enough to go through an engine every 10 years!

If you have the money and a place to put a spare engine.......go ahead and buy one and have it ready just in case you need it. Make sure the wiring for the two engines is compatible years so the wiring connectors are the same - and an engine swap can be done in a day.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/17/18 at 12:15:25

I've burned up two 1995s this season and the shop can set up to rebuild but I wanted to have full replacements looked into. The only bike left running is still doing a tire size test from last year so I'd like to get another up and going.

It seems to me I could just have a new one put on a frame in a day while a rebuild would take more than that, I just don't know for sure how long and if ordering all the parts separately is worth the hassle. If I can just have the crew install an engine and move on to other projects I'd rather go that way, unless there's some reason I am overlooking regarding putting in a new engine on the same frame each year.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by GOF on 08/17/18 at 12:20:03

What are you doing to these engines?

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by verslagen1 on 08/17/18 at 13:18:03

If you're into saving labor, just buy another used bike.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/17/18 at 14:16:17

I could scrap entire bikes and search for only 1995's but there aren't that many around unless I want to start shipping them in from out of state.

"What are you doing to these engines?"

One is running some modified pulleys at different RPMs at length, one I never bothered to put oil in.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/17/18 at 15:25:29

I've been following your posts. You don't do anything without analyzing the results.
What are you learning?

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/17/18 at 16:29:49

"I've been following your posts. You don't do anything without analyzing the results.
What are you learning? "

So far a 150/90 tire will not cause pulley squeal or damage parts but I have one more tire to wear out.

The RPM's aren't conclusive as there's only 17,000 on the first pulley, we want to run 50k on each type.

Correction, 25k of each type, 50k total.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/20/18 at 05:49:50

So the local dealer won't or can't purchase engines for me. I was hoping to get four 2019 engines sent out but they can't just order engines from what I have been told.

So does anyone have any suggestions? Do I just have someone eyeball eBay for a while?

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by batman on 08/20/18 at 18:32:31

Harley -Davidson has sellers of after market engines readily available.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/20/18 at 19:24:42

Go up the food chain.
Contact the importer.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/21/18 at 05:40:36

Alright I will have it looked into, thanks.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Dave on 08/21/18 at 06:53:59

6C4C4E465B4C290 wrote:

"What are you doing to these engines?"

One is running some modified pulleys at different RPMs at length, one I never bothered to put oil in.

I really doubt that you will be able to buy any new complete engines from Suzuki - the parts list doesn't even have a number to order.

Buying used engines is a bit of a gamble.......you would still be well advised to take off the head cover and look around before you put the engine in the bike, you want to inspect the rockers/cam and replace the head plug and sealant (most used engines are likely to have already had the head cover off for a leaky head plug fix or dealer cylinder head torque check). Expect that any used engine is likely to have scratches from being moved around on a concrete floor. The engine is bulky and a bit hard to ship - I bought one from Pinwall Cycles in Massilon, Ohio and they put it in a plastic bag in a large box and injected foam around it for shipping......it was very well protected. Pinwall Cycles buys salvage bikes from insurance companies - some of the engines are low mileage and were in crashes or stolen.

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Gary_in_NJ on 08/21/18 at 07:51:07

I have so much to say...with so little to add

Title: Re: Faster to do entire engine swap?
Post by Eegore on 08/21/18 at 12:33:44

Yeah it looks like I might have to just get three from whatever sources I can and just do alternating rebuilds as per the original suggestion from the shop.

I was just hoping to save the time and space by snagging ready to go engines.