Pulling bike, jumped into gear - damage?

[Bek]

HELP! I was pulling my bike and it somehow dropped into gear. I was going like 45 or 50 and drove like a mile before I figured out what it was and tied back the clutch. Its leaking a bit if oil now and I'm really worried about it. Is the trany destroyed? I haven't started it yet cause I'm afraid too.

[verboten1]

Your best bet is to post a new thread, not in a 4 year old one.

I'm not sure what you are talking about here, but doing anything for a mile should be pretty much ok, I would think.

High RPM can put some oil into the airbox

[SLOWn60]

Bek towed the bike on a trailer that holds the front wheel but the back wheel is on the ground and turning,
The concern is the bike was towed at about 50 mph with the engine off but the drivetrain engaged therefore the transmission and engine were rotating. Oil was found to be leaking.
The question is: would or could this have caused damage to any part of the drivetrain?
I don't know but someone will have an informed opinion and post up soon!

[VaFish]

Leaking oil from where? How much oil is leaking?

Pictures would help.

I don't know if you damaged it, but you sure didn't do it any good.

[Alex]

/moved to new-gen tech

You were pulling it with one of those hitches that holds just the front wheel, and it hit a bump and went into gear while you were driving 45 - 50 mph? Yes - it's likely bad news. It either went into 1st or 2nd. Best case it was 2nd, but even then it would be spinning the engine at close to redline. If it was first gear, it would have been spinning the engine well past redline. That's why it's recommended that if you need to use one of these types of rigs to tow the bike, you really need to remove the chain so this doesn't happen if it accidentally goes into gear.

[SLOWn60]

Now what to do next?
Check fluid levels.
Get it on a rear stand if possible.
I would remove the crank cover plate and turn the engine manually just to confirm its loose. If that checked ok then I'd manually crank through the gears. If that checked ok then I'd fire it up, listening carefully and if all seems well; go through the gearbox ensuring smooth operation and normal sounds.
If all that checks out: take it for a ride and check that all seems normal.
If problems; let's cross that bridge if we get there.

[algs26]

What about a compression test?
Would over revving the engine cause the valves to hit the pistons (like in a car)?

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by algs26

What about a compression test?
Would over revving the engine cause the valves to hit the pistons (like in a car)?

It's possible, but unless he has a compression tester handy I think @SLOWn60 has a pretty good plan for checking it out.

Me, I'd put it up on the stand, hit the starter and see what happens. If it's screwed already from a mile of being dragged I don't think starting it up is going to do much more damage. But before making that as an actual suggestion to the OP I'd like to see how much oil is leaking and from where.

[RacinNinja]

Oil probably came out of the crank case breather. It was tilted back, cold oil, then high RPM's.

Best bet is to do what Slown60 said. Check your fluid levels, make sure the engine turns and see if it will run! Then go from there.............

[jkv45]

That's a tough one...

Not sure exactly what could happen, but worrying about it won't help.

Check the items that were listed, then take it for a short ride.

I guess if you were going to tow it that way (?) securing the clutch lever to the bar would be a good safety measure.

How does the rear tire look? It may have gotten damaged. I'm assuming it got dropped into 1st gear by a bump, which may have caused the tire to skid along for a while.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Bek

HELP! I was pulling my bike and it somehow dropped into gear........

Which one?
I don't see how that could happen; ..... Unless it is result of prior damage to the transmission.

I believe that the oil pump is not active when the engine is off.

[SLOWn60]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Which one?
I don't see how that could happen; ..... Unless it is result of prior damage to the transmission.

I believe that the oil pump is not active when the engine is off.

Is the pump not gear driven off the crank? (I'll go look in the service manual)

[Ghostt]

Sounds like someone might have put the front wheel in the back of a car, and left the back one on the ground, and maybe hit a bump cause the bumper to hit the gear selector and popped it in gear.




Otherwise I don't see this happening any other way, it just doesn't pop into gear, unless something else caused it.

Also no other posts from the OP since his first.

I say start it, if there was any damage, it's already done.

[Alex]

It's hard to tell conclusively from the post, but it sounds like he was using one of these:

51v7ABVgOYL.jpg

Every time you hear about one of those, someone pipes up to remind users that if the bike pops into gear while underway, it can get very expensive. Removing the chain is the recommendation for chain drive bikes; finding a different towing method is the recommendation for shaft or similar drivetrains. I don't think holding the clutch in is wise either, as even a fully pulled in clutch still has plenty of friction/slip between the plates. I don't see how towing it for any length of time wouldn't have a pretty significant negative effect on clutch life.

[SLOWn60]

Or it's this guy :

[Ghostt]

Darwin would be so proud.

[tubarney]

oil and water pump are gearbox driven so the engine would be moving oil and coolant. Cold fluids, but circulating none the less.

The excess rpm is the issue if it was in first. At 45 it would be spinning at close to 17k.

I would personally take the head off before doing anything, but if you can't do that rotate crank with a wrench to make sure your valves aren't floating around somewhere.

[mgentz]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Which one?
I don't see how that could happen; ..... Unless it is result of prior damage to the transmission.

I believe that the oil pump is not active when the engine is off.

The oil pump is not active when the engine is off. It is driven off of the crank. You can burn out the tranny ASAP if spinning it with the engine off. @Racer x can you confirm? I thought that you had once posted on this, but I could not track it down.

Also, depending on the angle that the bike was towed at, issues could have arisen from oil starvation.

Here is a video of the tranny in action thanks to Racer x:

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/show...66&postcount=1

[DEFY]

Question: in order for the engine to turn wouldn't the clutch have to be engaged?

I would think if the bike is off and rolling in neutral, then popped in gear it would skid the tire as you go. Perhaps at that speed as it changes gear it keeps rolling due to the momentum, like doing quick shifts without the clutch?

[SLOWn60]

Apparently; the incident knocked out the OP's reply button too!

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

Apparently; the incident knocked out the OP's reply button too!

I reality of destroying the motor on his first ever motorcycle before he even got it home and after saving up money for who knows how long to make the purchase has set in. Poor guy is probably in the dark corner of a room contemplating his continued struggle through life, or he forgot his logon password

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by DEFY

Question: in order for the engine to turn wouldn't the clutch have to be engaged?

I would think if the bike is off and rolling in neutral, then popped in gear it would skid the tire as you go. Perhaps at that speed as it changes gear it keeps rolling due to the momentum, like doing quick shifts without the clutch?

That would depend on the friction of the tire against the road vs. the backpressure form the engine. This is the exact process used to bump-start a bike, though the weight over the tire, the speed of the bike, and maybe the gear used are different in this scenario.

[Racer x]

OK first I would as already stated check fluids and then try to start it. Maybe pull the plug and look for oil. Open the air box and look for oil.
Going into gear for a mile and spinning the engine to 17000 rpm cold is one problem. Very bad for piston skirts and bearings. Might have scuffed the rings and messed up that part.
Yes the oil and water are pumping and that is good. More than a mile or so and the fan would not come on and the friction heat would over heat the engine. I witnessed this with a car towing behind a motor home. Boiled the engine dry and cooked it.

Here is the kicker. Pulling the bike with the chain atached was spinning the transmission. All the gears are turning on the bearings and meshed together. The engine was not turning until it jumped into gear. So before the engine went into gear there was no oil flow to the spinning transmission. This might have done some damage. Only way to tell is try. Can't do anymore damage at this point.

[mgentz]

Originally Posted by Racer x

OK first I would as already stated check fluids and then try to start it. Maybe pull the plug and look for oil. Open the air box and look for oil.
Going into gear for a mile and spinning the engine to 17000 rpm cold is one problem. Very bad for piston skirts and bearings. Might have scuffed the rings and messed up that part.
Yes the oil and water are pumping and that is good. More than a mile or so and the fan would not come on and the friction heat would over heat the engine. I witnessed this with a car towing behind a motor home. Boiled the engine dry and cooked it.

Here is the kicker. Pulling the bike with the chain atached was spinning the transmission. All the gears are turning on the bearings and meshed together. The engine was not turning until it jumped into gear. So before the engine went into gear there was no oil flow to the spinning transmission. This might have done some damage. Only way to tell is try. Can't do anymore damage at this point.

Thank you for confirming what I thought. All he can do now is check the oil for shavings and try to start it.