Mystery Bolt Killed my bike!
 

I was out riding and my bike died in a turn. I kick it over, it starts and immediately dies. The kickstarter won't move so recovery efferts are started. What started as a dirt bike ride ended in a bit of minor four wheeling with a two wheel drive truck.

Get it appart this weekend and find this:

http://lh4.google.com/image/gtsnowcr...4/IMG_2924.jpg

After some digging around with a magnet in the crankcase this bolt is discovered (razor blade for scale):

http://lh6.google.com/image/gtsnowcr...4/IMG_2922.jpg

Don't know where it came from but it killed my bike! At this point I'm probably going to part out the bike. :( :(

That looks like a crank stuffer bolt,, crank stuffers are peices that bolt/screw onto the crank to "take up space" basically changing the crankcase volume too achieve a desiered "tune/power". Check on the parts breakdowns. I used one from gasgasec.com for an 07,, listed as a 6x16mm screw.

Steve is right, its a crank stuffer bolt. Whats funny is its not bent. I would think the rod would have caught it before it came all the way out, as it goes in from the inside of the crank half. Is the plastic crank stuffer busted up in the lower end? Case and/or head damage?

There's some damage to the crank stuffer, not completely mangled though. Doesn't appear to be any case damage and there's nothing wrong with the head. At least I can now be sure that I didn't drop it in there somehow...

Doesn't seem catastrophic enough by itself to part the bike out. Other reasons or new bike fever are another story.

Yeah... definently new bike fever. If I was planning on riding this bike for the next year or two I would probably fix it. But I was already thinking about a new bike when this happened.