How do I know if my dirtbike is about to blow up

[Ryan Hitchin]

I bought a 2006 yz 450, there is a ton of compression but it’s been ridden hard from the previous owner and it doesn’t run right. I know why it doesn’t run right because the carb was a mess and the spark plug was also messed up. but how do I know if the bike is about to blow up

Edited January 21, 2021 by Ryan Hitchin

[braindead0]

You don't ever know.. could happen for any number of reasons and at any time...even to a brand new motorcycle.   Find someone that knows about engines, has proper diagnostic tools and can help you assess the current condition.

[Doc_d]

6 minutes ago, Ryan Hitchin said:

 but how do I know if the bike is about to blow up

 

Put the bike up on a stand.   Kneel down next to it and look very closely.   See if it says "Suzuki" on the side.  ?

joking aside...  Without any obvious telltale signs (knocking from the bottom end, metal shavings in the oil, etc) it would take disassembly and detailed analysis.   Failures can happen for many, many reason.  You'd have to look at the crank, conrod, piston, oil pump, timing chain, valves, etc, etc, etc.

Very few people do this.  They base it on knowing the bikes history, number of hours, how it was run, how it was maintained to determine when to preemptively rebuild the engine (top end only or top and bottom end) 

Doc

[cazzkx]

Change the oil if it’s milky or has any metal or has really small shavings your bike is probably going to blow up soon. It also might be your crankshaft. also matters if you bike is running lean or rich. I would check the cylinder and piston just in case but definitely take it to a shop 

[average.rider]

Definitely check the oil for shavings or a weird color. If you hear any knocking or ticking then you’re gonna wanna get her to a shop.

[dhdrider]

What do you mean by "spark plug was messed up?"  What color was it? Is the electrode in tact?  

You need to do what others have said - check the oil, coolant, you've already checked for compression (I'm assuming you used a tester? Not just your kickstarter feel)

Make sure your carb is clean and properly jetted, have a clean air filter and a new spark plug. 

After you get it started, make sure you don't hear any bearing failure noises (there's lots of you tube videos you can reference to hear main bearing failures and what they sound like), no loss of coolant (burning coolant).

After you confirm all that, you should be good to go.

Edited January 21, 2021 by dhdrider