***WARNING***
This Blog contains mechanically explicit material. Proceed at your own risk

Remember that motorcycle i used to have? that was fun...
So i rebuilt the top end myself, and not only did it actually run afterwards, but it ran better!! before the rebuild, it would top out at about 120km/hr, which is not that great, but i consoled myself with the idea that motocross bikes are built to haul up hills and through forests and stuff, not necessarily go really fast on the straightaways. after i messed around all in the inside, it went a lot faster...but i'm not sure how much, since i chickened out. it was accelerating through 130kph before i lost my nerve. i was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, ok? lets see how brave you are when you have visions of becoming hamberger!!

Anyways, i was almost home, not going that fast, maybe like 90, passing a little scooter, and my engine just clunks and stops. i got the clutch in time, so i coasted to the nearest parking lot, then walked it the rest of the way home, expecting it to be something little. not so, i'm afraid. my first clue was the spark plug:



And i thought to myself "why, something must have attacked my little spark plug while it was minding it's own buisness inside my engine". so, with no further ado, i took off the top end of my motor, and as i do that, the next thing i see is this little tiny thing falling out of the cylinder:



And again, thinking to myself, i thinked "that looks as if it were at one time one of the quintuplet of valves that has lept from it's rightful place with its brothers to wreak havoc upon the piston, cylinder walls and 3 remaining valves." so i took a closer look at the piston, and this is the view i got (and this one's a little painful):

that used to be my piston. and here's the last view of where the valve sprung from:





And there you have it. no more motorcycle for me. i have no idea what caused this. i'd been riding it for about 5 days, so if there had been a timing problem i should have found out about it before i snapped a valve. but, for whatever the reason, the valve made friends with the piston, with disasterous results. it bourced around in the cylinder, destroying my piston, cylinder walls, and the 3 remaining valves.

I still have the bike taking up precious space, which, in this country, could get you thrown in jail. i just can't bring myself to get rid of it yet. about a week ago i was talking to a kid about how awesome it was, and he asked me what i would do if it broke or if it totalled it. he thought i'd probably cry. i told him that if it was totalled, then i would soon forget about it. it's when there's little things wrong that i'm actually capable of fixing that i waste my life out there working on it. and look where i am now. another classic example of God calling my bluff. and honestly, i'm only a little sad. not sad for the $600 i put into it, or the like 200 hours, or the like 38 severe lacerations, but it was sorta a legacy around here. and it was fun driving. like being on an amusement park ride, only driving. but unless someone knows a mechanic in japan that wants to give away a 250cc kawasaki motorcycle engine, and probably put it in for me too, this is it for the bike:

my little '95 KLX250. for sad.....

ps-all these pictures were taken with my cell phone. sweet, huh?
pps- i apologize if this entry was over your head. it is because i learned all this stuff that i don't consider the time, money, or blood wasted. well, maybe a little blood was wasted...