Hi All,

Just been to view a 01/02 290 and the engine seems very mechanically noisy to me. Unfortunately, I've no frame of reference to what's normal since I've only ever had gassers. How mechanically noisy should a 01/02 290 be in comparison to a similar age gasser. I know sound is very subjective, but any pointers would be useful.

The bike and gearbox ran fine, but it was hard to hear myself speak over the chattering of the engine. Its didn't sound knocky, just generally noisy!

One thing I did find strange is that at one point, I cut the engine and it almost just stopped instantly without any spin down. Are the flywheel weights small on these motors or is this a sign of some kind of mechanical issues with the motor. I almost thought it had seized, but it kicked up happily again.

Cheers guys for any wisdom,

Wayne.

It should be similar to the gassers you are used to.

More than likely the main bearings are shot, plus the silencer packing is burnt out.

I would not rush to buy it.

I had the Crank Bearings go bad in a 2000 2.9 and if you hit the end of the handlebar in a downward motion with the bike off you could hear the crank moving and banging around in there.

Ran good, shifted fine was "rattley" when running.

(rumor has it that Shercos are known to have the Crank Bearings go bad)

Thanks for the replies guys.

I walked away from buying, I don't think I'll be rushing back

Cheers,

Wayne.

Crank Bearings are not horrible to change if you are comfortable completely dissassembling the enging. Splitting cases etc..

Also if you tear the engine down that far you may as well do a total rebuild to save having to do it later.

such as:

Crank Bearings and seals, various gaskets, Rings, Piston (if out of tolerence), small end bearing on con rod, reeds, etc.. etc.. you get the idea. It can be a bit expensive that way.

But on the plus side you would have a "new" engine!

(I would probably have looked elsewhere also )

But do bear in mind all used bikes will have a few things that need "freshening up" to make the new owner happy with the bike. The key is how much you want to deal with and how much more $$ you want to throw at it to make yourself happy with it.