Crank issues on the M8? Um, not really.

 

nowhere near as bad as the twin cam , there have been some .

 

Moonshine HD did a video about a customer's bike that grenaded before he took it to them, and it was because of a piston oiler jet that came loose, and the balancer hit it and blew up the engine.
Bout the only other time I've seen a balancer as the reason why an M8 engine explodes.

Since were on the topic of the shredded brass from the oil pump system, it reminded me of the SE pump and it's brass bushing like the SE one.

I put the SE Oilpump system in my bike which I couldn't find any run out limitations stated on it.
But just for the most cautious possible install. I did several rotations of the crankshaft at every step of tightening it down to make sure it was as zeroed as possible on the crank shaft.



IMO, SE's instructions of rotate the crankshaft once is just pure stupidity.
Once is not enough to get a proper center. with everything very lightly but firmly snugged down so the parts can move, rotating the crankshaft several times is how you get a proper centering of everything and then let it hold down.

 

That's how I've always done it as well. I'm sure the HD instructions are good for 95% of the bikes out there, but I always assume I've got a bad one and go the extra mile. Especially in the cam chest.

Zach

 

Took about a month but the bikes back. New motor with power cam. Only threw around 350 miles on her last weekend but she’s running great.

 

Good to hear. Many immediately throw their warranties away but its part of the value of buying a brand new bike. What seems odd to me is that for no more power than most get their is no need to throw the warranty away. I used the same exhaust as you as its far better than stock and is 50 state and warranty complaint. I did the stage 3 so the SE-498 cam plus SE Ventilator extreme, SE TB & intake to get rid of the plastic intake and SE tuner. To compensate for more air in & out and to give it more fuel & timing we tuned from the stage 4 117 map. Instead of the stage 3 114. And I have installed a larger Db reducer which doesn't affect warranty anyway 118 HP 122 TQ. I routinely see people throw out their warranty only to get far less.

 

any aftermarket m8 cam will put out just as good or better numbers with the right exhaust (118-122).well in a 114 that is. The flip side to your logic is when your warranty is up and you stayed warranty compliant it hits you that you could have got more with aftermarket! It’s a gamble either way. Your way is definitely the wiser. I rolled the dice after a couple thousand miles and I am very satisfied with my choice.

 

Where did you get those panniers/brackets?

I still think they FUBARRED the original cam install. But all's well that ends well, you're just out a month of riding.

 

Glad to hear they got you all squared away with your engine build @Breaker80 . Rest assured you are not the only one to have a similar issue.

My 2021 LRS is currently awaiting parts - I had a build completed at 421 miles. One of the counterbalancers let go, losing the gear alignment pin and circlip retaining ring. It took out the entire lower end - cases, crank, both counterbalancers, etc.

I made the call to replace the cases, oil pan, oil cooler, and then decided it was an opportunity to expand my build.

The shop is currently awaiting the counterbalancers, as they recently had a part number revision/update and are on backorder until 01/08/2023. Not like it's warm enough to ride anytime soon anyway...!

It wasn't the shops fault, and I'm glad it happened when it did as it would have happened regardless of any engine work. If it had let go while I was riding at highway speeds, that would have been a certain disaster.

 

I don't believe much in coincidence, seems odd that both of you had work done.

Not to mention, to determine the actual cause of a catastrophic failure usually requires quite a bit of forensic examination.