I am looking for recommendations on an engine rebuilder. I am in Southern California but can ship the engine if needed. This is a track bike for track days only, not into racing...yet. The reason ism y 2009 R6 died during my last track day at AutoClubSpeedway. I felt it loose about 25% of the power and as i pulled into the pit it started smoking out the exhaust. The temperature stayed at around 195F. I took the spark plugs out to check compression and saw damage to the spark plugs from cylinder 1 and 4 so i tore apart the engine and found way more damage. I still dont know what caused this because the cam timing was correct, no valves are bent, and i didnt find any loose pieces in the engine. I bought the bike used about a year ago so i dont know if the tune is correct. I know i will need a new (used) cylinder head and new pistons. But i dont know if the block can be saved. There is some small scratches on the cylinder walls that can just be felt when dragging my finger nail over them. Another option might be looking for a used engine but i havent found one yet and dont know if i would just be getting another engine with problems also. Thanks For the advice in advance.
Looks similar to my Zx10 head/piston that head detonation issues. I’d say the tune needs to be looked at, particularly the ignition timing. What fuel were you running? And did this happen on a particularly hot day?
I’m running 91 octane and it was 100f out when this happened. The guy I bought the bike from said it was tuned for 91. But I’m beginning to think it’s not. I’m going to get it tuned as soon as I get the engine fixed or replaced. I just need to find machine shops that are willing to work on motorcycle engines
My R6 did something similar at Fontana. A piston melted and a chunk of ring bounced around, damaging the head, valves, seats, and bore. Mine was a bit worse than yours. So I bought a used engine from my builder and had him build it for pro racing. If you are closer to San Diego, I can't recommend him enough - NextLevelCycles in Lakeside, CA. If you are north of LA, a lot of people are going to Bryce Prince at BPR Tuning.
pull the map and see. I would never take someones word on how it was tuned... There are lots of machine shops capable...with the 2-4 month back log to match.
From the photo of the combustion chamber it appears a piece of piston ring bounced around in there. Detonation might have been the origin of the problem, softening the upper ring land. As suggested above, I'd look at ignition timing; could perhaps be too advanced. Head damage like that and perceptible groove(s) in cylinder wall can be repaired fully by Millennium Technologies https://www.millennium-tech.net/. They did a fine job with an FZ/MT 07 head and cylinder worse than what I see in the photo, where detonation led to piston ring breakage. They replaced the valve seats, welded and cleaned up the combustion chamber, and bored and replated the cylinder. You just have to be patient; they're very busy these days.
Wow i didnt know they could save a head that damaged but by the pictures on their website they can fix even worse damage. I dont mind the wait time, that will give me time to order the rest of the parts i need. Roughly how much was the cost to repair the 2 cylinder head on your Fz?
My head was well-ported, so saving it was a priority. Repairs to head and cylinder, replating the latter, new valve seats with 5 angle valve job, fitting pistons and rings, $1200 including shipping. You'll need to send them good valves and pistons, or arrange for them to get what you want and bill you. Next Level can handle assembly but they will need to outsource the cylinder repair and likely the head repair as well. They should know of Millennium.
I got a good condition used 07 motor from a fellow beeb member for $1200; pretty close . Next season I'll have two motors, which will assure that I won't need but one.
Check ground strap on spark plug. I seem to recall the stock plug has two ground straps although this one for sure only has one now.
FYI there are many midget & legend shops in the midwest capable of building a motor mail order. The R6, of all gens are popular powerplants...
AJ Amman at Paradigm racing in Phoenix. He's also supports the CVMA series so you could probably drop it with him out there. Also Gary Dean at Speed Demon in Vegas now I believe?
Honestly, for the OP's stated purposes of track days, you're far better off buying a stock engine and having it installed and tuned correctly. Will be alot cheaper than even the most basic rebuild by a competent shop.
After doing a lot of research and thanks to the recommendations for rebuilders and machine shops on this forum, i am leaning towards just finding a "good" used engine. I would still like to build a race engine if i decide to get into racing so i will be saving all the engine parts thats are good. So now i just have to find a decent engine to swap in and after that take the bike straight to get tuned.
good luck with that... Ive been all over the country at various trackdays/races and just when I thought Ive seen the most hack work ever... here comes somrone who paid a shop good money for easy work and its like Shervins retarded cousin was let loose with SAE tools...lol My fav is the cracked block syndrome that occurs in colder climates... usually found by the end od first practice or session
Most 600's are running some kind of supersport legal build anyway. Thin head gasket, cam timing, and a tune. Make sure you find a good tuner, sounds like @stangmx13 knows some tuners in your area. Seems pretty common that a lot of these poorly done flash tunes run lean on pump gas and eventually melt a piston.
