Old member back with an almost running bike

[pete weaver]

Hi guys,

I was a member up until 4 years ago or so (more lurker than poster).  I was
living in AZ going to school.  4 years ago I graduated, got married, and
moved to DC.

I left my 95 GPZ in AZ with the shop that had done some maintenance on it
and had told me that he was interested in buying it but didn't have the
money.  So I left the bike with him, kept the title and left the state.  He
never paid me the money so I recently was back in AZ and got the bike from
him.  Someone had ridden it, layed it down, and scuffed/dinged it up a bit.
I was just glad to get it back.

I got it started over the weekend (it had been sitting unused for most of
those 4 years) and noticed that it had a bad knock.  Sounds like the lower
end.  When I changed the oil I didn't notice any metal in the oil.  When at
low RPM's especially under a bit of a load the knock starts to really
hammer.

It sounds to me that I have a rod bearing that has gone out.

I guess that I have 3 options and would really like some input

1. Sell it/part it out, move on with life
2. Find a replacement engine and swap engines (will any zx-11/gpz1100/ZRX11
engine work?)
3. Open the engine up and fix the bearings/crank

The bike has 38,000 miles on the clock and the tranny was in good shape when
I last ran it.  I am reasonably mechanically inclined, though most of my
internal engine work has been with automobiles and not bikes.

If anyone can comment on my diagnosis and options I would appreciate it

Thanks for the help

-Pete

BTW is there a good way to search through all the archives without going
through them month by month?