2001 m900ie, big end failure. How likely?

Hey all, been a while.
I've been without a monster for a while and keep looking at picking an older one up. I just came across one that's not silly expensive but they are saying it possibly has big end on it's way out.
They describe it as having a wirr noise when started from cold but tends to go once warm. How likely is this? Bike has done 37k. Could it be something simple, but if not how expensive are the parts for these?
Would be nice to have a monster again.
Thanks for any thoughts on this.

[Mr Gazza]

Hello mate.. Pleased to hear that you're on the trail of another Monster.

First, M900ie is a bloody nice bike, as good as the Monster got in my opinion.
2001 could be hoop or rod rear suspension as that's the year they made the transition.
Could also be the early, nice simple ECU with mechanical speedo or the later ECU with immobiliser and all electric instruments (diagnostic sweep on start, I think?)

Big ends don't usually whirr, they hammer, and get louder as it goes on!
In the (g)olden days we used to put the front wheel against a wall and see how much clutch you could let out, to test the big ends... ! A bit brutal to say the least, but it would certainly show up any hammering from below.
To be honest my gut feeling would be the starter motor sprag clutch, which wouldn't be a major problem, although they can be a bit of a bitch to do, I am told. Okay if the bike was cheap enough.
Another suspect would be the clutch, but that is more a rattle than a whirr.. You've heard them, so you'd probably recognise that. You'd replace most of the clutch for circa £200, an easy job.
A whirr is going to come from a bearing somewhere. If it's in the gearbox or primary drive, it's going to need an engine split to fix it, so it gets complicated as you have to check everything before it goes back together. If it's a dry belt tensioner bearing(s) then that's easy and relatively cheap.
Worst case scenario would be to budget for a replacement engine, which could be anything from 500-1000 quid, then you have to know the provenance of the donor engine.
So it's a game of chance unless you can have a really good listen and look yourself.. How far away is it? Could you make or get a good recording, so we and say Carl Harrison could hear it?
I am unexpectedly available for the foreseeable, so I can look at it with you if it is viewable and not in Scotland or summat.

Well is sitting at 790 on ebay atm. I was the same thoughts as you as to big end knocking and not going to be a whir. Could be a dry timing belt bearing, that would be nice. I dont think its sill far away but only has 2 days left to run so prob wont be time to look. The rest of the bike looks sound so I think it would make a great bike.
Thanks for the offer of coming to look at it though

[Mr Gazza]

No worries. If you can pick it up sub grand, then it's a fair risk, as you'd get your money back breaking it if it turned out to be a lemon.

[Jez900ie]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

First, M900ie is a bloody nice bike, as good as the Monster got in my opinion.

2001 could be hoop or rod rear suspension as that's the year they made the transition.
Could also be the early, nice simple ECU with mechanical speedo or the later ECU with immobiliser and all electric instruments (diagnostic sweep on start, I think?)

Mr Gazza is correct on all three accounts, bloody nice, 2002 diagnostic sweep, and as good as a Monster gets.

Hope it all works out for you!

PS. Some might say I am biased -in the way that Mr Gazza might be- but pay no attention. That said if you buy one you will be the same.

[Darren69]

The early 900Sie are better than the later ones, better spec etc. and the M1000S or S2R1000 would trump the Sie. they were the top 2v air cooled monsters but the 900Sie runs a close 3rd imho.

[Jez900ie]

Originally Posted by Darren69

The early 900Sie are better than the later ones, better spec etc. and the M1000S or S2R1000 would trump the Sie. they were the top 2v air cooled monsters but the 900Sie runs a close 3rd imho.

Though the purchase cost of any of those bikes means that most owners could afford -if so inclined- upgrades to the suspension & engine to put original spec versions of them all euphemistically in the shade...

[Mr Gazza]

Nathan I've sent you a couple of PMs about M900ie.

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Nathan I've sent you a couple of PMs about M900ie.

I've tried replying, but says your inbox is full.

Thanks for the heads up, I guess I was getting excited as it real cheap. But then like you say if its gonna need alot of work then it's not worth it unless it stays well cheap.
Thanks for the offer of Steve's bike but I cant stretch to that much yet, the 1k was going to be a bit of a stretch. I'm currently considering sticking the ktm up for sale but have a feeling it wont sell for what I need until the better weather gets here.
Thanks, I should be at the next breakfast

[Mr Gazza]

Sorry about my inbox.. Trimmed the chitty chatty down now and ready to receive..

Understand what you're saying mate, I'm hoping I can persuade Stevie to come to the next meet so we can all say hello.. See you there..

[Dukedesmo]

At 37k miles, I wouldn't expect the big ends to be gone unless very poor maintenance/excessive abuse etc.

But there are many things that could make the noise you describe, ranging from fairly minor to pretty major but as Gazza says if under a grand you should be OK.

Well it made just under 1k but I decided to give it a miss as didnt want to risk it being too much to repair with the poorly painted bits too. Thanks for all the input.

[Mr Gazza]

Well I reckon you are the best part of a grand and a whole load of grief better off today..

You have to kiss a lot of frogs if you want to marry a Prince..