Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => 411 & 450 Himalayan & Scram => Topic started by: Necromenta on September 08, 2021, 06:08:35 am

Title: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: Necromenta on September 08, 2021, 06:08:35 am
Hi forum,

Im looking for the connecting rod for my Himalayan 2018, in my country you can only buy the whole crankshaft, but in fact I only need the connecting rod, do you know any place where I can buy it online that ships internationally?

I also need the piston without the cylinder

Thank you all in advance!

(I live in Colombia)
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 08, 2021, 03:29:08 pm
Even Hitchcock's show the crank/balancer as an assembly, so you are out of luck. You'll need to be a machinist & adapt parts, but way better is to just save up the money. Did you check the oil pumps? the crank had to frag for some reason.

https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbook-pages/5261
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: Bilgemaster on September 08, 2021, 04:35:17 pm
Welcome to the Forum! Perhaps you might be interested in this complete used assembly for $249.99 or best offer with free 3-day delivery in the USA (the seller is in the state of Rhode Island, our smallest--kind of like your Atlántico Department). Perhaps your "best offer" might be to ask for free economy shipping to Columbia? It couldn't hurt to ask: https://www.ebay.com/itm/18-Royal-Enfield-Himalayan-410-Euro-4-Crankshaft-Crank-Shaft-/154595115096

I've never done crankshaft work on any vehicle, so would defer to those more knowledgeable. But could it be that these Himalayan assemblies were somehow balanced as units at the factory? If so, then perhaps a full replacement of the entire assembly might give best results?
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 08, 2021, 07:57:13 pm
One real issue is that this is the deepest of deep motor parts. The nominally $200 you save on a $430 new assembly can really bite you in the ass here. The H's unit comes with the actual tuned counter balancer shaft assembly for that production run of crankshaft. It's driven off from a gear machined into the crank, so these parts have "worn in" together. The E-Bay item is advertised as used, no counter balancer is shown, you are 4,000 miles away, so if it frags a day or so after you get it back together you'll never really know why; at that point you are really out of luck. The good news is that the second or third time in things are easier.... :o

I assume you are planning to do all the work? What is your experience level? What tools & workspace do you have access to?

Your new piston /barrel assembly is about $380 from H's, and even more on e-bay for some reason. Just a premium piston for my Bullet is close to $240 by the time it gets to me, plus there would be $60 - $100 for cylinder boring charges. $380 may not be such a bad deal for all-new, properly fitted top-end parts.

All up you are easily looking at $800 - $1200 worth of parts & machine work. Start saving up for that or possibly look for a complete running used engine for similar money. At least than you'd have spares. Once you have to replace bits that require splitting the cases, things get pricey real fast. Short-cutting deep motor work only leads to heartbreak and more broken equipment.
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: Necromenta on September 09, 2021, 04:34:59 pm
One real issue is that this is the deepest of deep motor parts. The nominally $200 you save on a $430 new assembly can really bite you in the ass here. The H's unit comes with the actual tuned counter balancer shaft assembly for that production run of crankshaft. It's driven off from a gear machined into the crank, so these parts have "worn in" together. The E-Bay item is advertised as used, no counter balancer is shown, you are 4,000 miles away, so if it frags a day or so after you get it back together you'll never really know why; at that point you are really out of luck. The good news is that the second or third time in things are easier.... :o

I assume you are planning to do all the work? What is your experience level? What tools & workspace do you have access to?

Your new piston /barrel assembly is about $380 from H's, and even more on e-bay for some reason. Just a premium piston for my Bullet is close to $240 by the time it gets to me, plus there would be $60 - $100 for cylinder boring charges. $380 may not be such a bad deal for all-new, properly fitted top-end parts.

All up you are easily looking at $800 - $1200 worth of parts & machine work. Start saving up for that or possibly look for a complete running used engine for similar money. At least than you'd have spares. Once you have to replace bits that require splitting the cases, things get pricey real fast. Short-cutting deep motor work only leads to heartbreak and more broken equipment.

MY mechanic is doing all the work, I know him for more than 10 years and its a friend of the family, sadly, in my country this bike is very rare to see, no parts or used engines for sale, and buying an engine from other countries would be more expensive due to taxes, I will have to buy the entire crankshaft and also piston + cilynder, at least they will be full new
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 09, 2021, 07:01:58 pm
OK, we've struck new parts and have an experienced mechanic, so far so good. The next question is why did it die in the first place? Oil pump failure? Drain plug fell out? Loaned it to a friend? It takes something drastic to zorch a Himalayan crank & piston simultaneously. If we knew why/how it failed, we might be able to give a heads up on what else to double check. Different failure modes propagate collateral destruction differently.
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: Necromenta on September 13, 2021, 08:30:59 pm
OK, we've struck new parts and have an experienced mechanic, so far so good. The next question is why did it die in the first place? Oil pump failure? Drain plug fell out? Loaned it to a friend? It takes something drastic to zorch a Himalayan crank & piston simultaneously. If we knew why/how it failed, we might be able to give a heads up on what else to double check. Different failure modes propagate collateral destruction differently.

I bought the bike at it's 18,000KM and I think the last owner destroyed it using bad quality oil, in fact, I have only used it for 7.000Km and never in bad roads and I never had an accident, Also, changed the oil every 3.000 KM, Im very sad about that, I have had the bike for around 8 months.

Also, it seems that is impossible to get the Connecting rod, Im thinking of using other Connecting rod made for another models, but I'm too unexperienced and worried to damage the bike.
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 14, 2021, 12:11:21 am
Have the mechanic double check the oil pump, cam gear & rocker arms for wear. Dirty oil is abrasive. A good clean out & careful reassembly & you're probably OK. Disassemble the clutch & clean the plates while you are at it. Pictures of the internals?
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: oldphart on September 14, 2021, 07:31:59 am
I bought the bike at it's 18,000KM and I think the last owner destroyed it using bad quality oil, in fact, I have only used it for 7.000Km and never in bad roads and I never had an accident, Also, changed the oil every 3.000 KM, Im very sad about that, I have had the bike for around 8 months.

Also, it seems that is impossible to get the Connecting rod, Im thinking of using other Connecting rod made for another models, but I'm too unexperienced and worried to damage the bike.
It's unusual to throw a rod.
Is it practical to sell it for parts and buy another one?
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: Necromenta on September 14, 2021, 06:52:38 pm
Have the mechanic double check the oil pump, cam gear & rocker arms for wear. Dirty oil is abrasive. A good clean out & careful reassembly & you're probably OK. Disassemble the clutch & clean the plates while you are at it. Pictures of the internals?

Attaching you some photos
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 15, 2021, 02:51:57 am
Nice cooking job on the rings/piston! Looks like the PO was playing in the mud, likely over revved & overheated the engine. The piston rings
 scored the cylinder. If the oil got too hot & thin, that would explain the crank damage. The rest was probably OK after the piston seizure removed the heat & stopped the motor. Check that the rubber of the cam chain tensioner guides hasn't cooked to crystal. Check the cam bearing surfaces in the head for scoring too.

I think these Himi motors are pretty Japanese-like, tough enough to withstand some abuse. The rotating/oscillating bits will all be new. Make sure the oil pump & oil passages are clean, no chunks. The oil pump is chain driven, find a way to spin it while it's apart and verify pump operation. As long as the oil pump is working properly and the system isn't full of crumbs, I'm thinking once you get the new bits installed it'll be back to 100%.

How about the Himalayan gurus here, anyone cooked their Himalayan motor? Any ideas as to what else may need close scrutiny?

Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: Necromenta on September 18, 2021, 02:03:27 am
Nice cooking job on the rings/piston! Looks like the PO was playing in the mud, likely over revved & overheated the engine. The piston rings
 scored the cylinder. If the oil got too hot & thin, that would explain the crank damage. The rest was probably OK after the piston seizure removed the heat & stopped the motor. Check that the rubber of the cam chain tensioner guides hasn't cooked to crystal. Check the cam bearing surfaces in the head for scoring too.

I think these Himi motors are pretty Japanese-like, tough enough to withstand some abuse. The rotating/oscillating bits will all be new. Make sure the oil pump & oil passages are clean, no chunks. The oil pump is chain driven, find a way to spin it while it's apart and verify pump operation. As long as the oil pump is working properly and the system isn't full of crumbs, I'm thinking once you get the new bits installed it'll be back to 100%.

How about the Himalayan gurus here, anyone cooked their Himalayan motor? Any ideas as to what else may need close scrutiny?

YEah, I was really mad as I lost a lot of money and never used the bike a lot... it's so sad... but well nothing to do, we ended up replacing valves, cylinder, piston and the whole crankshaft, the price was about 1000 dollars, and I'm still waiting the cylinder to be delivered from India.
Title: Re: Can't find the connecting rod for himalayan
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 18, 2021, 03:35:21 am
The upside is that you now KNOW what is good & solid in your motor. Some careful assembly and it's likely to be better than new. Break it in carefully, lots of oil changes, you should ultimately be better off. I feel the experience will be an advantage to you. You are acquainted with the motor guts, you'll have more confidence in the hardware than a guy that just got it new and it's all mostly a "black box" to them. You'll have a more well-rounded perspective; that has value. You aren't intimidated by the hardware, you have seen it laying on the bench. Spend some time shadowing the mechanic during reassembly, you'll learn a lot.