01 wr250F crank problems.

[Sure Shot]

After reading the post on the cranks breaking on the 01 Wr's and having just purchased a used one I am getting a little concerned. My bike has around 1000 Km (600 miles) and I have test rode it and it seems to work fine (Lots of snow now will be awhile before I get to ride.) is it possible to inspect the crank by taking the exhaust off. I hate to tear a bike apart that isn't having a problem but engine failer isn't cheap. (Suddenly I wish I had kept my KDX 220R) Any one do a swap with an 02 crank before it happened and what did it cost, and are the 02 still having this problem.

 

[Glitch]

You would have to completely tear down the entire engine to check out the crank bearings. I personally would just leave it alone and ride, making sure to change oil often and use a very good oil.

 

[dthoms]

Sure Shot,
I not sure what kind of failure the O1's were having but I think you could check for excessive play by pulling the fly wheel and possibly the clutch basket. You would want to put a dial indicator on the ends of the crank and check for sideways movement and up and down movement. There should be specs in the manual. If you have excessive play you will soon be expereincing a crank problem.
I certainly agree with Glitch on the using a good oil, and change it frequently. DONT USE AUTOMOTIVE OR AIRCRAFT OIL!!! Use a oil specified for motorcyle use.

 

[Humai]

Sure Shot, I don't think you will be able to see any signs of cracking until the failure actually occurs. Even if your crank was ready to break on the next ride,  I doubt that you'd see it now.

My '01 WR250F broke its crank at 1000km and since changing it (Yamaha provided all parts free of charge) I've done another 2000km of trouble free riding. When the crank let go, everything else in the engine (piston, bore, big end bearing, journal surface, mains etc) was like brand new.

This site had a poll and out of a substantial worldwide readership, IIRC about half a dozen cranks failed.

I'd say your chances of a failure are remote.

Enjoy the bike - they're a fantastic woods weapon!

 

 

[MitchPeters]

Mine is going fine. I got the 3rd '01 my dealer recieved. I raced it a bunch with no problems.

 

[mnbaja]

Humai - Could you give me some information on how you got Yamaha to pay for the crank. Did your dealer do it all? My dealer says they called Yamaha and they said that they hadn't heard of any crank problems and that I was on my own. Anything you can give me to go on would be apprciated.

 

[Humai]

Mnbaja, I dismantled the engine to see what had happened and took the broken crank into the dealer for a "little fireside chat" about the problem. The dealer quickly got onto talking to Yamaha about it and even organised for me to talk to the Yamaha tech rep directly.

It was all pretty painless, due mainly to a responsible dealer who gave a damn about his customers (a plug for the benefit of NZ readers: it was Red Baron - they were great!) and Yamaha confirming another couple of examples of the problem as they took ownership. I would suggest that your dealer can't be bothered pursuing this or that he explained the situation to Yamaha incorrectly. This happened in about mid 2001.

If you have a crank that is broken right in the middle of the big end pin clean through, with a crack looking like it may have started on the oil feed hole and everything else is in brand new condition, you are definitely not "on your own" my friend. It doesn't sound like your dealer has tried hard enough. Try Yamaha directly.

Good luck!