Topic: catcstophic fail on the road...maybe?

[asom]

think something bad happened on the road today. had to get a tow home. I was traveling at +60mph and all the sudden the motor dropped down to 6k rpm then there was a crunch and clanking and the sound of chain grinding. Hit the side of the road to find my chain very loose and now oil leaking out of the back of the engine. What should I check first? I'm assuming this is real bad.

[GammaFlat]

Sounds like your chain entered your "oil space" in a violent way.  A loose chain that was trying to climb off of the sprocket maybe?  Broken cases from an errant chain are events that happen.  With today's chains it's not that common.  The cases can often be repaired. 

[Spanner 1]

Without the chain breaking it should have not smashed the casing to cause a leak IMO. The 'clanking' sound may be a very loose chain hitting the mainstand on its bottom ( loose ) run, that's common with a loose chain. You will have to remove the cover to see the sprocket/casing area to see if that's the leak source......

[seanbarney41]

...broken countershaft? ...can that even really happen?

[Tim2005]

I wonder if the bearing behind the gearbox sprocket has failed, causing the noises etc and damaging the oil seal to cause the leak. Remove the sprocket cover & things should become much clearer. You've already done the right thing by getting a tow rather than trying to ride it back.

[Bakeoff]

Could be as simple as a front sprocket coming loose.  Don't waste your time thinking about it until you can get a chance to inspect it.

[asom]

the kick start is seized and it wont even try to turn electrically. I've found a new motor locally and will replace this one. then I'll tear into it and see what all went wrong.

[ekpent]

Sounds all pretty dramatic for sure but I will say that a chain can gain a tooth on the counter shaft sprocket and create a large kink that can impact a case. Could happen on a railroad crossing,chuck hole etc,especially if the chain may be misadjustded or kinked,old etc. or involved in an accident. Again don.t ask me how I know     Yes I healed up  BUT get in there and take off the sprocket cover and see whats up and report back to the folks.