Honda Click with no oil in it - should I buy it?

[ClareQuilty]

Was offered a rather nice five year old Honda Click at the dealer yesterday - it looked good, drove like new. Price oddly cheap at 8,000 baht.

However I thought the engine was a bit loud during the short test drive, so I stopped at a mechanic I know to have it checked out. He discovered that there was no oil in the engine. I asked if he thought the engine was ruined, but he suggest we change the oil and see. I sprung for the 100 baht despite the fact that the bike wasn't mine yet, and sure sure enough when he removed the plug nothing ran out at all. Amazingly after filled up it ran perfectly and without any smoking from the tailpipe. The mechanic pronounced it a case of 'lucking out', and said the engine was fine and the bike a good deal for 8,000 baht.

What do you fellows think? I suppose one possibility is the previous owner simply never changed the oil. or that the bike has a serious oil leak. Finally I do know the bike was 'shipped' from another town in a truck, don't know if that could do anything to cause the oil to run out.

[MadMac]

If it stays in, there is no leak. Perhaps they wanted to change the oil and just forgot to put new in. Or it was removed for transport, who knows. I'd drive it a bit longer, then change the oil again and look for any metal in the filter and old oil. If all clean, perhaps you were just lucky.

[thrilled]

A friend of mine took his HD to A Harley shop for servicing,and change tranny oil.About 3 months later he checked the transmission oil and nothing on the stick.They had drained it and forgot to put new oil in.It didn't go bad.This was in the U.S.

Anyway running without engine oil,the rod bearings are going to go bad.The damage is already done.Who knows how long before it does.8000,maybe take A gamble,or not.

[Paangjang]

฿8000, worth the gamble in my opinion.

[ClareQuilty]

Ah, the rod bearings. Yeah thanks guys, good advice. I am more familiar just with the rings problem - which leads to the visible smoking - having had it on a couple of bikes. But the rod bearings are a pretty big deal I guess (the 'bottom end' of the engine as they say).

Anyway I've put a thousand baht deposit down on it so I think I'll go ahead and get it tomorrow and see what happens.

[ll2]

8000 thb is a small amount. Most probably you pay for beers more in a month.

Just get a mechanic checks it one more time and buy it.

[VocalNeal]

Clare the Click like Wave etc is splash lubricated and has roller bearing crank and rods, so to an extent they store a minuscule amount of oil. If not ridden far without oil whilst not good, will not cause metal to metal contact like a car or a big bike. Same goes for the camshaft which is also roller bearing. Apart from the piston rings the real potential damage would be where the camshaft activates the valves so if you hear valve noise or what is called tappet noise, a rapid ticking/clicking sort of sound then there is wear there which can, to a certain extent, be adjusted out.

Next would be to check the gearbox oil at the rear.:-)

Take it for a 30min ride and come back. If there is no smoke and no untoward noise then it is probably no worse than any of your other bikes!

Edited January 6, 2014 by VocalNeal

[ktm jeff]

No worse than your other bikes!, 555. Hows the brake pulsing problem on your other bike Clare ? I would take the chance on this bike , how many have been run low on oil during their life ,many i suspect , but they still seem to "chug on". Engine fix in the future ,if needed , not a big expense . Keep us informed on your growing fleet of bikes.

[brfsa2]

My neighbour, a chinese girl, has a scoopy or something like that, with 30,000 KM on the clock, NEVER changed OIL until a week ago when I pushed her to do it.,

It was leaking oil like crazy everywhere in the parking lot, the sound was horrible, like a drilling machine.

Surprisingly the bike now runs fine and sounds better after the oil change.

It's not the same as running without oil, but after leaking almost half of the oil and 30K on the odo, it should still run if proper maintenance is done afterwards...

[scubascuba3]

Give us an update once you've bought it so we know how you get on

[ClareQuilty]

8000 thb is a small amount. Most probably you pay for beers more in a month.

Hah, Not really. I don't drink beer, and only indulge in wine very rarely. 8,000 is about what I spend on food each month though.

Give us an update once you've bought it so we know how you get on

Yes, glad to - actually the update is rather amusing. I had put a 1,000 baht deposit down on the bike, so I went back two days later and checked underneath it - not a drop had leaked. When he saw me feeling around on the concrete under the bike the saleman was saying 'mai pen lai, krung dee, krung dee', but he soon stopped when I started it and tremendous clouds of suffocating smoke emanated from it! It was a bit funny, but to their credit all the staff were immediately assuming the sale was off and were offering to give my deposit back without my even mentioning it.

What happen next was pretty cool - the owner came out and said, 'why not just buy a different cheap Click, I have several' - so, I shifted my deposit over to another one that was only 5,000 baht! This one had a quiet engine - I didn't have a chance to check the oil, but it was smoke free and quiet, and so cheap. However it did have a slightly slippy automatic drive belt when under hard acceleration, and as far as I know that might be more expensive than rebuilding the engine. Anyone ever replace one of those auto belts?

[scubascuba3]

Nice to have an update thanks. They weren't particularly honest with you, funny that..would have been better if they'd told you about the faults hence the low prices

[VocalNeal]

Anyone ever replace one of those auto belts?

For a PCX about 600B, small Click will be less , 125 will be same.

[ll2]

8000 thb is a small amount. Most probably you pay for beers more in a month.

Hah, Not really. I don't drink beer, and only indulge in wine very rarely. 8,000 is about what I spend on food each month though.

Give us an update once you've bought it so we know how you get on

Yes, glad to - actually the update is rather amusing. I had put a 1,000 baht deposit down on the bike, so I went back two days later and checked underneath it - not a drop had leaked. When he saw me feeling around on the concrete under the bike the saleman was saying 'mai pen lai, krung dee, krung dee', but he soon stopped when I started it and tremendous clouds of suffocating smoke emanated from it! It was a bit funny, but to their credit all the staff were immediately assuming the sale was off and were offering to give my deposit back without my even mentioning it.

What happen next was pretty cool - the owner came out and said, 'why not just buy a different cheap Click, I have several' - so, I shifted my deposit over to another one that was only 5,000 baht! This one had a quiet engine - I didn't have a chance to check the oil, but it was smoke free and quiet, and so cheap. However it did have a slightly slippy automatic drive belt when under hard acceleration, and as far as I know that might be more expensive than rebuilding the engine. Anyone ever replace one of those auto belts?

wow 5000thb ?

Scotts really lose their value fast and a lot.

Honda wave is holding its value the best, hard to find one lower than 15 k and 30 k for fuel injected 5 year old ones!

I asked teh price of my around 10 years old wave 125 x and they said they can give 18 k THB which is cool and i can put 10 k on it and can buy a 2013 model honda click125 with low km and no rental!

[ClareQuilty]

I've driven this 5,000 baht Click for a while now, and its fine in terms of the engine and everything - except for the transmission. It seems a little bit like its hunting or slipping slightly sometimes, though overall it gets the job done.

I'm wondering, is a problematic transmission in an older automatic like this likely to be just the belt, or are there a lot of other more expensive possibilities in there? I want to be prepared for eventualities if I take it in and have the mechanic crack it open. Has anyone ever 'rebuilt' an automatic? Whats involved other than the belt, and what might it cost?

Edited January 15, 2014 by ClareQuilty