Who is the Go TO shop for LC8 rebuilding?

Im broke down in Phoenix and it looks like a bottom end rebuild is in order. I live outside of Seattle and need to ship the bike. Any referals for a West Coast shop that you would recommend?

Sorry to hear about your situation. Personally, If I lived in Woodinville, Wa. I would be emailing Ken at ADVmachines.com, he's just north of you, in Bellingham. He knows the 950/990 inside and out. Pick his brain. You can't go wrong there. He bleeds orange! (advmachines@advmachines.com) Let us know how it goes.

Saw you have a 2007 990 Adventure. Here are a couple of used 2007 SuperDuke engines on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KTM-Superdu...Parts_Accessories&hash=item19ce514066&vxp=mtr (Looks like they had to do some case repair. I wouldn't buy this one.)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KTM-Super-D...Parts_Accessories&hash=item20be7f3151&vxp=mtr

They are both for about $2300. I'm pretty sure these motors would be compatible. You may want to ask the wisdom of the forums to be sure. Not sure if the clutch is the same. The cams are a little different, so you may need a bit of a tune, but you would gain some HP. The cams in these motors are actually the same as what is put in later 990 Adventures.

I'm sure you could part the good parts of your existing motor out and defray some of the cost. Probably what I would do instead of paying someone else to rebuild the bottom end. Plus, much less screwing around.

And give Ken time to return your call. He can be busy, but he's great.

Trailtricks.com is here in SoCal and does great work.

I think the gearbox is a close ratio one on a SD:eek1. It might be too revvy on the road if you gear the bike down with the front sprocket for off road use.

Call: http://liorsmotoride.com/

His number is (951)415-5668

He has a mobile service and might be able to come pick up the bike? He does great work and knows the 950's and BMW's

That would suck. I retract my suggestion.

Well hows this for an interesting turn of events? First off, thanks to you all for the advice. I was on the phone with KTM NA and they recommended Scuderia West in San Fran so I called them and talked to Niles. We talked about symptoms and what was going on just before, etc etc. I had dropped the bike at a shop here in Phoenix last week for a full service before heading out for a month long ride. Just a couple miles before I got to that dealership the bike started overheating. Apparently the water pump failed at the perfect time -instead of the New Mexico back country-and dumped its coolant into the oil. So they did a full service and a water pump. When I rode away yesterday there was enough residule water that the new oil filter failed and collapsed which turned on the oil pres light. I shut off the motor and coasted off the road and the same shop sent a trailer to recover.
Niles recommended another oil change and new filter and that fixed the issue. Now I'm back on the road, the bike sounds as healthy and happy as always. I went from a $3500 repair bill to a $30 one.
A valuble lesson: preemptively replace your water pump before it fails. Every 15K?
I do love my 990

If you're wanting to get it fixed here in Phoenix then call Dillon at Zen Moto in Mesa. He does a lot of the LC8 work for many inmates here in the forum and rides a 950ADV himself.

http://www.zenmotostore.com/

How good did that make you feel??? I bet there wasnt a sigh of relief - just relief...

Flyred is one lucky bastard!

I love a happy ending...

I am always curious as to how people get to the "It needs a new bottom end" point without having done some exploration first.

Glad you got it sorted without paying someone to tear into the motor Flyred.

As a matter of reference I have an 04 950 with over 40K miles on the original water pump.

From what I've read the water pump failures are the result of residual casting sand in the coolant cavities. This sand gets to circulating in the coolant and eventually eats up the shaft and seals where they contact.

If you have the pump changed and haven't had a very thorough flush performed, using long skinny brushes and such to get in the nooks and crannies to knock loose any sand, then you very well could be in for another water pump failure.

Check the H.O.W. for more info.

With this in mind it may not be so much a matter of changing the shaft and seal often as it is of getting the casting material out of the passages that contribute to the failure.

Reasonable assumption in my book.

The bike had a water pump replacement, and then the oil pressure light came on so he shut it off and coasted to a stop. So it is reasonable to assume the motor needs a bottom end? You and I live on the opposite ends of the 'panic' spectrum.

So which dealer did you bring your bike to? I wanna be sure to avoid them at all costs.

Niles is the man!