Well here is what I've got. The inner race on the main bearing (water pump side) was being chewed up. The metal that it was producing is what was getting into the combustion chamber. That metal is what you see on the piston. Fortunately, I caught it early enough to not mess up the cylinder or head. Lesson here is, if something doesn't sound right...shut it down before further damage occurs. Crazy thing is, the bike was still running normal.
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It was also pointed out that the cases were not flush in some areas allowing pressure to move around in the bottom end where it shouldn't. Here is the image from the mechanic showing those areas. I guess it was a casting flaw from Kawi since this is the first time the cases have been split. He's going to clean that up and should have it back in a week or so. So... new top end, crank rebuilt, new rod, new bearings throughout...should be good to go for years.
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