83 kz1100 50kmi top-end service

When I first started reading this thread I was going to suggest renting a storage unit to work on the bike. Looks like now you'll have to. Take it apart yourself, inspect everything including the new valve guide seals. (should have been Viton) but new ones would work for a long time if installed. I always use store brand oil the first 500 miles, then put in good oil and ride the piss out of it. What you might try is dump your good oil in a clean container, put in ATF to clean the rings and lands before tearing it apart. Dump that and put in cheap SB oil and see of it stops smoking. I don't think it will. I suspect they didn't even install the seals. That appears to have been the problem at the start.
I started as a lot boy at a used car lot at 14. I know the tricks and have worked at sleazy shops and quit because of these kinds of practices. You told them you are moving out of state, no time to do it yourself, etc? They saw you coming and bet you would be long gone by the time trouble started. If you have to open it up again, this is what I'd do.
inspect rings and bores, if still good corse cross hatch the cylinders.
Take the valves out and inspect them, the guides and seals.
Take time/date stamped pics of everything.
New gaskets.
Put it together with help from your friends here.
In California we have the BAR. If you do too, leave after filing a complaint with pics and figures and give them something to worry about while you are leaving them behind.
If you can't afford to fix it now, then pack it up and move to where you can with no hurry.
Life's a bitch at least. She's gone but the bike's still here.
Steve

Synthetic oil during break in is the problem here. If the owner had used a mineral based or brake in oil the rings would be seated and he would be happy.
Synthetic oil is great stuff, I run it in all my bikes after they are broken in.

Well, the dealer's giving me a refund on the labor ($530). I'm riding it to Portland, smoke or not - my lease is up this week and I don't have the time or tools to tear down and do it all over again - or the money, really.

Guess I'm just going to dump the synthetic, get a new filter, ride about a thousand miles to Albuquerque, and change the oil again once I get there. I'm pretty pissed my already rough-looking bike now smokes when it only leaked (and now it leaks out of the 'alternator' cover gasket pretty bad...sigh). Maybe once I actually get to Portland I can find a place to work on it. I stopped looking for apartments once I realized I wasn't sure when they were even getting my bike done in the first place.

As for the dealer intentionally screwing me, I don't think that's the case, I think they just fucking blew it when it comes to service knowledge. I felt them out for the btter part of a year before finally just deciding to get the work done, and this is why I was hesitant. I asked all the kinds of questions that should have been asked and sat there to go over the work being done before ordering the parts. I didn't think I'd have to dig through literally hundreds of threads and thousands of personal opinions for technical information on a process that is routinely done, a requirement any time you so much as crack the top end open. It's astonishing. I told them from the start I've worked in dealerships, too, just to head that off before anyone got any ideas (it's the truth. Granted, it was a Harley dealership, but the same rules apply).

I did approach them calmly and reasonably, though, for what it's worth they seemed to realize that it'd be best if they just handed me a refund and said nice things like 'sorry'. I didn't come here to shame them...I'm just going to have to try to mitigate the issue for a couple thousand miles before I can fuck it up all on my own. At least I won't have any tailgaters for a while. They trotted out the 'your parts were cheap, that gasket set was cheap' line at one point and I just stared at him like 'Really?'. I know people have opinions on parts but come on, they don't fail that quickly unless they're installed wrong. 'Non-factory rings' blah blah - again, I ordered from Z1 ent, I'm not even going to second guess the parts, the 'factory' ring set they wanted to order was $85 per cylinder and I cannot even fathom a $50 difference in materials or function between the two choices.

Live and learn. I know there are tons of decent motorcycle shops in Portland so, ehh, screw this place. The pigs can have it.

Had syn in the motor before the rebuild. was simply changing the oil, not changing to another type of oil.

UPDATES! PICTURES! VIDEO!

Sooo I went and tried to make the trip to Albuquerque on this recently, poorly rebuilt, smokey-as-fk top-end. I made it just a few hundred miles before my oil consumption became more than just a minor problem. In about 250 miles of highway riding (70-80 mph) I blew through more than 4 quarts of oil. Learning this meant I was 250 miles into a 1,300 mile leg to ABQ (final destination Portland in a few weeks' time).

I came to rest between Bethany, MO, and Cameron, MO, on I-35 south when the motor lost power and I knew it was terminal. I had stopped about 60 miles previous to pour 2 full quarts into the case, and when I got the chance to examine things I realized I may have run her dry (!). I had my reasons - I knew I was in the middle of literally fucking nowhere (I will do my best to censor myself in this post but there are times I will fail). If you care to look I was stranded near mile marker 86, I believe. Anyways...the cause of my dismay:

I was saved by Rob of Rob's Cycles, I highly recommend them for all your northwestern Missouri Polaris side-by-side needs : He picked me up and ended up dropping me off in Lathrop, MO at the uhaul joint. Very nice guy, large dealership. Got lucky finding him, if I'd had the time and patience I could have probably had it rebuilt there but I made the call and got a 10' box truck. One of the ones without a ramp. Yeah...heh. CLIFFHANGER!

I'll be back with the thrilling middle part in this trilogy of woe soon. Once I get my blog setup right I'll have more images and video there, too. As you might imagine, a hole blown through one piston and melted aluminum from said hole finding a home on another cylinder wall were terminal occurrences on this trip. A u-haul was involved at great expense to get myself and this heavy lump of ancient metal 900+ miles to Albuquerque. I spent my deposit and rent money to get my broken motorcycle halfway across the country. And now, I have to fix it.

I've got a gofundme page if anyone's interested. I have to buy all new parts and get some work done (update: cylinders honed ALREADY!) and just getting to the halfway point of my trip has eaten more than half of the money I'd set aside to live when I get to Portland. I figure it'll take a couple weeks to get the parts together so now I'm trying to get my dad's old 250 Super Sherpa to run again, lol paint thinner for gas and a DOA battery go figure - I was the last one to ride it 3+ years ago (sadface). Now I've got to find another $50 for a new battery and plug so I can get around while I'm here - and OMG do I need to hit the single track on the mountain and find a nice camping spot while I wait for parts.

At least I have beer!

Perhaps it is time to cut your losses :pinch: .

I will not ever be heard to say "I wish I hadn't sold/lost that motorcycle", especially when talking about a bike that is perfect iin so many ways for the life and times of gravit8.

NEVAR!

Come back in 3 weeks when I'm stuck in Boise and offering the lifeless carcass of this bike for a ride home and a hot meal.

I'd sue the bastards! Giving your money back has nothing to do with the total loss of this engine and I bet they have a liability insurance policy you can collect on with a couple $100 lawyer letters and threats.

Ah SHT.
Steve

I do sympathize with you. It sounds like life has been dealing you some crappy hands lately. I'm not trying to defend the dealer who did the work, but they really are an exception now a days.
1. Very few "dealers" will work on a bike over 20 years old. They probably no longer have the service manuals or any specialty tools that may be required. Most of the techs are young guys who never touched a "vintage"bike. Any work will have to be done by their older and more experience mechanics, who are also probably their highest paid. I had a dealer tell me my 74 H2 failed a State safety inspection because the headlight didn't work. I asked the tech if it was turned on and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He had never seen a bike with a headlight switch. Next he said it failed because the light didn't stay on the when the engine wasn't running. It wasn't required for the headlight to stay on with the engine off in 1974. Eventually they got an older tech who immediately passed the bike (after taking it for a "required" road test and coming back grinning from ear to ear)
2. Even fewer shops will use your parts, especially a dealer. Besides the mark-up profit they are losing, who's to blame when something goes wrong? Was it your parts or their labor? If it's their parts and their labor, the answer is simple. It's their fault. They need to make it right. What happened to you is exactly why they don't do it.
3. They gave you a full refund of the labor cost based on a civil discussion. Dealers want to keep their customers happy, but they've still got to pay the mechanic and shop expenses to keep the doors open. I'll bet 90% would not give a refund and would probably win in court because of the bike's age and you providing the parts.
I know you're never going to be happy with them based on the final results, but that dealer is pretty rare these days.

MDZ1RIDER is correct, you will not win if you take the shop to court. You did ride it into the ground after you received a full refund on their labor. If you want to ride a vintage motorcycle either learn how to keep it running yourself, or start robbing banks so you can afford to have someone ealse keep it running.

It's not that bad. More time than anything else. If you were burning that much oil, why didn't your plugs foul? With my bad valve guide seals, mine were fouling every 400 miles.
Steve