Particles in oil

Hey guys, bought my first bike last week. It's a kz650 with a kz750ltd motor. I changed the oil in it almost immidietly and the oil smells heavily of gas, and had a glittery sheen to it. So I opened up the oil filter and found some gray particulates in the filter. Some silver pieces too, very small in size and maybe 15-20 slivers total. The clutch feels to be slipping as well whic would lead me to believe that's the gray color material in the filter. My real question here is, should I be worried about it, and how long do these motors last?

That's a tough one. I had the same thing.


That's the old roller that had been ground up by the cam chain and a new one beside it. Later I was having problems with my clutch. In this clip you can see particles of aluminum on the plates. I think they came from the pressure plate and maybe some from before.

You should check your valves anyway and while you at it inspect the cam chain guides too.
Steve

Well apparently the valves had been adjusted prior to me purchasing it. And some has clearly been messing around on the top end because there is gray RTV all over the place.

Check your air box & filter for gas or gas smell, could be one or more of your floats of your carbs is sticking or not adjusted correctly & fuel is going thru the air box & in to your crankcase, it could also be a faulty petcock, you should make a habit of turning your petcock to the off position when the bike is not running, if the P O. used regular car oil that is not JASO certified, that can make the clutch slip , buy a gal. of Rotella oil .from Walmart, & can you post some pics of the particles/ slivers that you found
Pete

Wishful thinking on the petcock "off" position, it doesn't exist. The petcock should close when the vacuum is removed (engine shut off), but if the diaphragm has failed it can leak internally and/or fuel can go back down the vacuum line and into the carbs that way. It's a good idea to verify the proper function of the petcock on any old bike purchase for just such reasons.

Regarding the valves, did you measure the clearance and found them in spec? That's good if that's the case. Don't assume they are adjusted based on what the previous owner says though. To measure is to know.

It would worry me quite a bit. The clutch is not silver or gray, and it doe not shed any particulate matter that can be seen or any silver pieces. As stated, make sure the carbs are overflowing, and change the oil using the correct oil. Most modern automobile oil WILL lead to the clutch slipping. Find oil that shows the designation "JASO-MA" on the label.

The KZ750 4 cylinder engine should go 100,000+ miles. Ed

Can't get the damn pics to upload. Might need to wait till I'm on wifi. The gray material really does look like clutch material to me. And the oil I changed it with was Lucas motorcycle oil 10-40. Bottle said specific for wet clutches.

Pics

Could be some of the "grey" silicone squished out and mixed with the oil....... and what has been stated so far.... Not thinking the pieces of alum are to bad as most of us do not go that far into checking a filter ..... want to hear more from others on that though.

Unfortunately those pictures are horrible do you can really see a lot in them. I really just don't want it to blow up the clutch slips under heavy acceleration so I'm really hoping the gray particles are from the clutch.

Hopefully a adj would help out the clutch and replacing the springs has just been talked about on another 750.........

I just bought an oem manual for it as well, planning on doing an entire overhaul o the clutch while I'm in there.