I'm An Idiot (damage to kz550 motor?)

I have a 1981 KZ550 that was burning oil pretty bad last summer. I was riding it quite a bit and was trying to keep an eye on the oil level but got complacent and ended up running it without oil (D'OH!). The motor made some awful clanking noises and I shut it down right away and refilled the oil. Tried restarting it and it runs, but still sounds horrible. I parked it in the garage and have hardly even looked at it this winter. I learned my lesson on keeping a much closer eye on the oil level...

My question is this: I'm looking to most likely do a rebuild on the engine. What should I be looking for as far as damage when I tear down the engine and what work will need to be done to reverse the damage I did? I'm assuming the engine is basically a bomb waiting to go off in it's current state...

If you ran it low on oil and it started making noise you prbably did some damage. The last thing to get oil in these engines is the head. The cam runs on journals machined into the head, no bearings. Since the cam is the last thing to get oil it is the first thing to starve from oil when it is run low and starts making noise. Once the cam journals are ruined they cannot be repaired cheaply. You are better off to get another one. Good luck.

Crank could be toast too. Might be new (used) engine time.

Tear it apart and start checking everything.

Sorry don't hate me and welcome aboard anyone that finds this site and joins are my brothers and sisters..

But.......

It's a 550 and maybe dead.. I might go parts bike with title and go bigger.. With kawis I've seen myself and others go so far just to find themselves wanting the next project..

Sorry to the whoms.

But a possible dead 550 I gotta jump up to the long term big idea and wishes.. I feel the bigger the cc the more you respect the dangers and power..

J

I wonder what it would cost to just stuff a kz650 motor in it?

Thanks for all the replies and the welcome.

I have been keeping an eye out for another 550 engine but I live in a pretty isolated area so I'd have to have it shipped to me and that's pretty cost prohibitive.

Shortly after I blew the 550, I purchased an '81 kz650 in much better shape/lower miles and am in the process of rebuilding the carbs. After I get the 650 going I'm planning on going back to the 550 and either replacing the engine or doing a rebuild. It was a great little bike for the twisty mountain roads up here so I'd like to get it back on the road at some point. Sounds like my best option is to just swap the engine.

Thanks guys!