Split cases on 72 just for peace of mind?

[Cafebrat]

Hey guys,
I recently bought a 72 T500 that's had a little inconsistant knock noise comig from the cylinders, so I pulled them off and found a head gasket that it too small a diameter to allow the piston to travel through. I order new gaskets and piston rings to re-assemble.

My question now is, since these bikes from 69-74 had an issue with 4th and 5th wearing from lack on oil, should I take the time to split my cases and inspect the gears while I'm this far into it already? The bike has about 22k on it. Based of other members experience, and what you know, would you split the cases for peace of mind? Or just if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Ive rode it in forth and fifth and it's didn't seem to have any issues.

Thanks in advance guys!

[ConnerVT]

What state of disassembly is the motor in now? Motor currently on or off the frame?

Splitting the cases is not that hard. But it is a bit of work, if the engine is still on the frame, and the only thing pulled is the cylinders.

I would go with the "ain't broke/don't fix" thinking, unless you really need to see what's behind the curtain.

[Cafebrat]

The motor is currently out of the frame with the cylinders off.
I'm really curious what the percentage of pre 74 bikes had their 4th and 5th go bad. If its like 50% then I would obviously split the cases to make sure they weren't worn. But if it's like 10% actually had problems I'd be more incline to just leave it together because it ran/shift fine.

Has anyone actually split their cases to find gears stripped and worn out badly?
I've seen plenty of people on here doing the crankcase mod to raise the oil level and figured I wouldnt hear so much about it if it wasnt a common issue