t200 invader slight problem

[Gil Gallad]

my old mate phoned me the other day telling me he'd gone to kick his invader - or x5 as you call them - up and on the second kick the engine just locked. told him the usual, take crank plugs out and drain the cranks. take the spark plugs out and should be able to kick it over. no, still locked solid. so, engine out and over here for a stripdown. there was a deep score in the right liner, right where the piston circlip sits, so i thought the circlip had come out and jammed it all up. nothing so simple. after much sweating and cursing getting the barrels and pistons off, the photo shows what i found. a trip over to see uncle ron at fahron is in order. luckily he only lives about 10 miles from me 
cheers, gil.

problem with the invader:

[Striker1423]

Ouch.

[85RZwade]

Was it hydro-locked?

[m in sc]

ah that sucks. boo.

[IR8D8R]

Loose circlip destroyed my RD350 engine a few years ago. Lodged in the transfer port and broke the piston and the liner. The broken piece of liner trashed the head before exiting via the exhaust port. Expensive failure of a $1 part. It still ran and got me rattling home though.

Your friend must be a strong lad if he bent that con rod with his foot. Is he accustomed to kicking over Harleys?

IR8D8R

[Gil Gallad]

i was thinking the same thing mate. one and a half swings on the kickstart to do that to a conrod? nah, just can't see it. it was definitely hydrolocked as when i told him to drain the cranks he got about half a pint - his words - out of the right hand side. i also found the nrv on the right - that feeds the right big end and mains - wasn't working. took the spring and ball out and rolled the ball around between my finger and thumb. it definitely didn't feel round. tried it with a not quite so old gt250 ball and it's almost cured it. new 1/8" ball bearings on their way and that should be cured 
cheers, gil.
p.s. where the piston was stopped it was just below the transfer port, which made me think circlip in the first place. needs a rebore anyway, with the score down the barrel, no matter what. touching wood here, but i've never had a piston circlip come out. i always use the 'C' shaped ones, not the ones with legs on them. and i always use british made circlips from imd pistons - i've actually bent genuine suzuki ones while trying to fit them.

[Gil Gallad]

i put new ball bearings in all 4 banjos, after thoroughly cleaning them of course. left them hanging overnight and the left side was perfect, it had lost no oil. the right side though had lost about half the line of oil, so still leaking. these things are dead easy to get apart, but if i have to recut the seat i'm at a loss. the only thing i can think of is to superglue another 1/8" ball bearing to a length of rod and use fine grinding paste on it to lap the seat in. what a ball ache though 
cheers, gil.

[Gil Gallad]

i sorted the oil lines after an idea from a mate and that was to drop the ball onto its seat and give it a sharp tap. i did that and everything now spot on. rebuilt crank back from uncle ron and now the engine is fully rebuilt. the only problem is the oil pump return arm - it doesn't fully return. but i'm on it and see if i can fix it. the invader is no show pony - he actually rode it every day in all weathers 
cheers, gil.

t200 invader engine, now rebuilt: