CRF50 Underwater

[Olds455guy]

My nephew ran his CRF50 into what he thought was a puddle and ened up submerging the entire bike. I am the motorcycle guy in the family so they brought it to me. The engine was seized upon arrival, so I pulled the cyclinder and everything looks to be ok except the connecting rod is clearly bent. I am not very familiar with these motors but I know there is a huge following and aftermarket for these bikes so I thought Id ask, what would you do in the situation? Is it worth splitting the case and replacing the rod with an OEM one? Are aftermarket ones just as good on these little bikes? Is it possible the cyclinder is damaged? The bike is pretty beat up, bent forks, bad tires, bad chain, broken plastic, etc. Im questioning if volunteering to fix it is worth my time? Thanks for any input

[k.g]

I would rebuild it personally, but with the price of an entire top and bottom end, you could spend a little more and get a Lifan engine. I bought an ATC 70 with a Lifan 125 engine on it and it was pretty good. Pretty much the same thing as a honda engine.

[Punkinhead]

The bike is pretty beat up, bent forks, bad tires, bad chain, broken plastic, etc. Im questioning if volunteering to fix it is worth my time? Thanks for any input

When I read about the overall condition, I . This won't be a quick fix and it's not going to be cheap. There's a high likelihood the dealer doesn't stock the crank parts so you'll be waiting at least a week for parts. Add in the cost of the other goodies you mentioned and it's a lot of money.

IF you decide to rebuild it, you can replace the rod, but unless you have a machine shop, chances are you're not tooled up for the job. The crank has to be split and the two halves aligned within .001inch when it's re-assembled. So, that means paying for someone's labor. Too many people I know have had bad experiences with motorcycle machine shops so when I was in the same position as you, I just bought an entire crank assembly from Honda. By the time I added in the cost of the rod, bearings and machine shop labor, it was almost as much as a new crank assembly. If I were in your shoes, I would not just replace the rod.

I never really shopped too much for an aftermarket crank. I seem to remember they were about the same price as stock, but you got a stroker crank or you had to buy a big bore kit.

In my case, I spent as much as the purchase price of the bike to fix up the motor. All the gaskets, seals, bearings, etc. add up. I had a cylinder that couldn't be salvaged, but I did find a good deal on a cylinder, piston and head. Spend an hour looking up prices on the internet and see if you think it's worth it.

You might be able to pick up some stock forks cheaply from BBR Motorsports and scrounge up other pieces elsewhere. But, it will take time to find the bargains.

[Go Big Red]

Labor and parts alone, even if you do it yourself, is going to be a few bills. Then add in all the other items you mentioned that need replaced and you could easily go over four or five hundred dollars. I do enjoy working on my son's 50 and tinkering with it, but you have to do a cost benefit analysis to determine if its worth it.

Point being....

A little snooping on craigslist and a decent xr or crf50 can be had for 5 or 6 hundred dollars. Heck, i bought a really nice xr70 for $550 and a second that needed 100 bucks in parts for $200.

Just my opinion, but if this last one wasnt properly cared for, your time and money could go down the drain pretty quick.

[Olds455guy]

So it sounds to me like its not work fixing that motor. I didn't realize that the crank had to be split, and I don't have any machine shops in my area that I would trust. Anyone have any experiance with the Lifan motors? Im not a fan of anything chinese made for motorcycles but Im wondering if a bike with a cheap motor is better than a bike with no motor. A used Honda motor would be a needle in a haystack here unless I get lucky on the internet. Thanks for the help

[Go Big Red]

Just an FYI. Rod and crank on Ebay for 45 bucks!!!

[ickfinger]

sounds like its gonna cost what the bike is worth to get it straightened out, with you doing free labor. As beat as you make it sound, even its parted out value is low. But It doesnt sound like its worth fixing.

[Olds455guy]

The owner says fix it so it looks like Ill be splitting the case and replacing the crank. By the time I replace the forks and all the other broken stuff he will be in it more than its worth. I guess he'll have a running bike and Ill have the know how to do anther one when my three year old is big enough to do the same thing to his future 50. Thanks for the replies

[Go Big Red]

Stick with some of the cheaper ebay parts to keep cost low. PCC makes a lot of things at about the best price. They arent OEM, but it will do the job. Forks are about 60 and the plastics can be had for about 30. If you can snag a cheap crank, it will help as well. Chain and sprockets about 40 and tires will run around 50.

All i have to say is you are one heck of an uncle. Your nephew is pretty lucky.