Here is the full story of the recent failure of my CBX250RS (1983 50,000K):
An oil leak caused the engine to run dry (150ml of thick black oil in the sump)
A split washer in the head broke and found its way into the sump, luckily only damaging one gear in the starter system.
The head gasket has been leaking allowing soot to blow by as visible in the photo.
Oil has been leaking somewhere but I believe it to be at the pump and with the addition of a paper washer it is now fixed.
There is evidence of oil leaking down the side of the cylinder from the head gasket, which possibly suggests rings or the oil seal.
The cam-shaft bearings feel sloppy and probably should be replaced.
My questions are: Is this bike worth reassembling? I have a new starter gear and head gasket already paid for. Is running the bike dry going to have stuffed anything else? Should I just reassemble it and ride it anyway? Should I fork out more money for rings and seals at this stage seeing as it is all apart?
I have brought the XL/XR manual which covers the RFVC engine but only the single camshaft version. Does anyone know the correct torque to tighten the head bolts? I want to avoid the blow by problem again.
Could the oily residue down the side of the cylinder (starting at the head gasket) be from something other than worn rings or seals?
Do I need to clean the piston and cylinder head or have the cylinder re-surfaced due to the blow by? I have my own mill I can do this on but don't want to risk removing too much material. There is a bit of build up on the piston top as visible in photo.
Thanks to all who give me advice.
Timmay
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