I started riding motorcycles this late winter/spring of 2013. My first bike was a 200cc Qlink Xranger that I got in a trade. I got my permit and rode it around for awhile in the winter when the roads were clear, and rode it till spring. I then sold it and got a 1994 Seca II. I rode the Seca around for awhile with my permit, probably put 1000 miles on. I then took a basic rider course and got my license in April. I had plans to visit my brother in Idaho so I decided to ride the Seca out to Idaho. When I got the Seca it had about 15,000 miles on it, so was due for a valve adjustment, or at least check the clearances. The Seca was due for some new parts, so I put on a chain and sprocket set, new rear tire, new brake pads, bled the brake lines, changed the oil and had the valves adjusted. I also made my own 2-1 pipe and put a Danmoto exhaust on. The engine ran fine and didn't seem to take an excessive amount of time to warm up, I don't know if it was already re-jetted or not but the engine still ran well with the exhaust I put on so I didn't re-jet. I read a lot on motorcycle touring and started packing.
I planned to get to the Black Hills the first night and camp, then head to Yellowstone and camp, then on to Boise. I started out on a Tuesday. The first mistake I made on the trip was burning a hole in my saddle bag. I checked it the first time I stopped and it seemed to be far enough away from the exhaust and wasn't getting hot. The next time I stopped it had burned a hole, melted or let drop out most of what I had in it. So I salvaged what I could from the burnt bag; I packed what was in the other bag into my backpack, tossed both the bags in the garbage and continued on my way. The bike handled a lot better without the saddlebags, which probably meant I didn't have them loaded evenly. By the time I got to Wall SD it was getting late and I wasn't going to make it to the Black Hills before dark, so I rode out to the Badlands, about 8 miles to the edge of the park. The campground happened to be 12 miles off the paved road and by the time I got onto it it was nearly dark. It wasn't a terrible nice gravel road, a lot of washboards, pitted hard packed or loose gravel, and very curvy and winding. So 12 miles of that in the dark was not what I had in mind, but I it was manageable. There were signs warning about aggressive bison, and I rode past a few that were 10ft from the road but apparently I didn't bother them. I set up my tent and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and packed the bike and headed back towards pavement. Riding the gravel road in the light was a lot easier and the scenery was fantastic. As I was riding out of the badlands Wednesday morning I heard a knock in the engine at certain rpms, I checked the oil level and it was fine. The engine still ran fine and didn't sound abnormal other than at around 3,000rpm. I talked to a guy and he said there was a Yamaha dealer in Rapid City, which was about an hour away. I got back on I-90 and headed to Rapid City. I talked to one of the mechanics at the Yamaha dealer and he said it was probably a rod or piston knocking, he wasn't very helpful but I asked him if the bike was ride-able for awhile before the engine had to be fixed and he said it would eventually be a problem. I stopped a few places in Rapid City then headed out on the interstate. I didn't get half a mile before my oil light started flashing, so I got off the highway and headed to Napa to get oil and, I had been running Amsoil sine I got the bike. The local Napa's carry it but the one in Rapid City doesn't, so they suggested a few places that might so I ran around to a few places but none carried it. I eventually go to a motorcycle mechanic and talk to him, he doesn't have much selection of oil but I don't want to ride the bike much further with low oil, so he says he has some synthetic oil that would work, 20w-50 I think was the weight. I put a quart in and head to find somewhere with Mobil 1, which the mechanic said would work. I pick up a few quarts, get the oil level back up and start the bike. Now the engine leaks oil and sounds terrible, it sounded like to large ball bearings were knocking around in the engine. I realize I probably shouldn't try getting to far. I have a few options of what to do at this point, I could keep going and see how far I get, turn around and see how close to home I can get, find somewhere to leave the bike for a week and a half and get a bus ticket to Boise and then a bus ticket back to Rapid City and deal with the bike from there, or stay in Rapid City and wait till a friend or family can come pick me and the bike up. I ended up staying where I was and getting me and the bike picked up and headed home on Friday.
I made plenty of mistakes, hindsight is 20/20 and I learned a lot even though I only made it 500miles. Any thoughts or advice,comments/criticisms are welcome. This question likely belongs in the troubleshooting section, but what are the possibilities of what is wrong with the engine?
