'85 GS550E chain broken

[Anonymous]

Hello, first post, but I've been browsing for a while.

I ran into a pretty significant problem on a ride today. I was cruising along at around 40-50 in 2nd when I lost power. I thought I accidently shifted into neutral for a minute, so I tried upshifting, but the bike wouldn't grab. I pulled over to the side of the road and there was a lot of smoke coming from the engine and a big pool of oil leaking out.

Also, when I looked down I noticed that my chain was snapped. A guy on a dual-sport stopped to help out and suggested that I may have blown my crank because of the amount of oil that leaked.

My friend helped me get my bike about a mile down the road to a church parking lot where it's sitting now.

What might have happened to it? I wasn't riding very hard, but this chain was pretty rusted/corroded when I bought the bike. How much am I looking at spending to fix all this?

[Anonymous]

May be terminal, may be not too bad. If the chain wrapped around the front sprocket, it may have broke the engine case. Old 750 Hondas were very bad about this. If you were lucky, the chain may have hit the clutch push rod, thus ruining the rod & the seal that keeps the oil in. Also posibly a shifter shaft seal. I just replaced the clutch pushrod seal, in my wife's "85" GS 550 ES, this weekend. Not a big job. The shifter seal is a bigger job, and the engine case, GOOD LUCK.

[focus frenzy]

ooooooo very bad, very bad indeed
often when a chain breaks it will stick to the front sprocket and roll up, the problem is it wont fit and often the cases around the counter shaft sprocket are cracked or shattered when this happens.
you need to remove the left rear side cover off so you can see the counter shaft sprocket and the engine case around the shaft.
if the case is broke, (and it sounds like it is) you will need one or both half's of the engine cases, or another engine.
then again you may be very lucky and have just torn the counter shaft seal, but the odds of that are pretty slim, sorry.

you may be able to locate a good used engine on E-bay for a good price, or check around the area motorcycle retirement homes for a good engine.

PS: shafties rule (sorry couldn't resist it)

[Anonymous]

Ahh thanks for the replies. I'm heading out to pick it up in a little while and I'll check it out tomorrow or wednesday. I reallllllllllly hope it's the seal, I was just getting to like this bike

[SqDancerLynn1]

Rusty chains are BAD news If you can find a talented welder they might be able to save it, if it's not to bad.

[Anonymous]

Well, turns out that it was just the seal. It seems as if I got very, very lucky this time.

[saaz]

Lucky it was not one of those expensive shaft drive parts that let go!

[earlfor]

There is no savings in using a cheap, worn, or corroded chain. Its somewhat like trying to save a few bucks by using old, hardened, cracked tires. The $100 you save will not pay for the first two minutes you spend in the emergency room.
Earl

Well, turns out that it was just the seal. It seems as if I got very, very lucky this time.

[robinjo]

And don't ride 40 to 50 mph in second... :roll: atleast not all the time :twisted:

[Anonymous]

Robin: But it really attracts the ladies attention! 8)

[robinjo]

Robin: But it really attracts the ladies attention! 8)

Paint your bike bright pink and wear a fluffy helmet if you want attention. :twisted:

Trust me on this one