This engine is from an 08 ATK 450MX that was only run for a couple hours when the tranny seized 5th gear. It's been in my basement as a spare for my 450 Enduro which ran (and still runs) strong after 4 years but must be on borrowed time now.
My original plan was to sent this MX engine out for updates and then swap it into the Enduro, but now I'm leaning toward using it as-is for a season or 2 while I get the original engine rebuilt and updated.
Can I get a quick rundown on what ATK did to the Cannondale engines, ie: welding a plug into the crank, this engine I assume has a falicon crank in it, what other stuff was done? Can someone tell which cams are in it and are they the "good" ones? Was ATK doing anything with the buckets?
I am no expert on this but if I remember correctly, they didn't do much, if anything more than saying it was updated. from what I remember they didn't even use the "Z" bearing unless it was requested. and as far as I know falcons were not used.
I myself wouldn't run it, but I guess that makes me a hippocrit. I have a 02 Speed that still has not been opened-up but I had many hours on it when the "Z" bearing was proved as the fix. first time the moto was tore down after the "Z" bearing was proved it got one installed
Thanks! I did get one PM response. I know ATK isn't super popular here, although far as I'm concerned they're just Cannondales that got molested a bit and now on the road to recovery.
Awhile back I spoke at length with one guy at ATK, unfortunately I didn't know too much about the engine issues at that time so I wasn't asking the right questions. He did say they didn't believe the Z-brg theory and instead (I think) ATK was welding a plug or something like that in the crank. As for the Falicon cranks I'm not sure but this one does say "Falacon" lol so we'll see what's inside it.
Some specific things I'm wondering what ATK did are cartidge plate bolts, ECU's & programming, suspension setup, checking buckets?
So the falicon crank still needs the z-brg upgrade? Also it's been mentioned the falicon cranks may have other issues like the oiling hole in the wrong place?
It looks like you have a good intake and bad exhaust cam( the 03 solid lobe) . The falicon should just be run until failure or tossed in the scrap bin as they cannot be updated with a z bearing. If it has a WWE 450 piston then that also goes in the scrap bin or at the very least use a extra thick tool steel wrist pin and you might get some hours on it but failure has proven inevitable even with that. You can at least use the sleeve and bore it up for a cp piston. Id also at the very least nitride the exhaust cam and use dlc buckets on it . Of course the buckets will need to be checked as well as the decomp and all the usual updates . I had a brand new motard 5th gear seize on the mainshaft. Perhaps some were a bit to tight out of the box.
Well this project went on the back burner for the last few months but I'm finally getting back to it. Got the whole engine torn down over the weekend.
The crank says 63.4 so assume it's the Falicon one. Cylinder liner has some scratches that I'm not sure happened when the motor was still running or when I started messing it with more recently for the teardown. Piston appears to be the stock one.
Anyway just wanted to update the thread with the new progress, if you have any comments shoot.
Motor looks good. The crank is a Falicon and as is can not be trusted. The piston kit is stock Cannondale (ASSO). ATK does not build bad motors. In the beginning, maybe. Now, the issue is just a few things. They do not do the proper work to the head for the dreaded sticking bucket and they use stock valve buckets. The crank is usable with mods, but be planned to wait a while to have it looked at. The only person I trust looking at it is Tim. It has been documented that Falicon has been very poor at checking specs as they go and there are at least 10 different possible issues. Most are fixable, some are not. I would figure out which way to go on the crank and add DLC valve buckets at the least. Ultimately I would make a few other changes but those mentioned would make you reliable.
I can't believe the "couple hours" of runtime this motor, regardless of what the dealer may have said, and no matter how clean it may be on the outside.
Note the extreme shimmy-fuzzing of the crankplate seal, the crusted valves, and the very dark oil sediment in the sump... and far too much sleeve scoring.
The good news, is that both cams have done well under obvious duress, and there appears to be no lobe-wear indication of a sticking bucket -- the buckets are probably just fine.. But I would agree to just nix the Falicon and replace the jug also, and give attention to the mainbearings, crank, one-way, decomp, and head internals if a porting dissection is desired. Better bolting and with some studding, and/or a couple of more threads of penetration each bolt.
In spite of ATK going with flangehead versions of the crank bolts, and presumably paying better attention to Loctite -- that motor has seen plenty of plate movement... and might have closer to 50 hours with lengthy oil change intervals. And the Cannondale version of the Falicon is famous for shaking apart plates and flywheels anyway.
