Lutz wrote:I'm just catching this now. I just can't believe it...it looks terrible in the pictures. I guess if your cylinder was sleeved, you may have got a lemon - were you charged extra for a core? When Eric did mine, my cylinder came back with the OEM threads, no issues. Also no pitting issues like on your deck (well there was some pitting in the bottom of the cylinder, but that is often inevitable in replate jobs - it does depend a lot on the quality of the original casting). Mine was done in 2002; Eric was based in his own shop in Beaver Dam and US Chrome was doing the plating at that time.bmiller wrote:I just got off of the phone with Eric.
He seemed real nonchalant about the condition of the cylinder. He said the pitting is normal after an acid wash and he recommends just using a little sealant. He also said Kawasaki's material is '****' which is why he always helicoils the threads. He missed a few threads which were damaged and I'll have to do them myself.
He also said the damaged/stripped cylinder plugs where like that when he got it and he had a hard time removing them.
Also, he did send me a different cylinder. My cylinder had a sleeve installed and couldn't be bored to 225. So,... it explains a lot.
I'm not sure how I feel about the whole situation.
Is 225cc worth the pitting and helicoils? I'm feeling it is,.. what do you guys think?
Anyway, my experience with the 225 from a performance standpoint is it was TOTALLY worth it. I guess it was a plus that I also had no quality issues, and received above average service (honestly) from Eric.
He didn't charge me anything for a different cylinder. I sent him mine, and he sent back what you saw in the pictures. The plate and bore/hone job is beautiful. In the end, I painted it, replaced 4 helicoils that were installed incorrectly and had to install 2 additional helicoils because the OEM threads were completely stripped out.
He used the wrong bolts for the KIPS exhaust valve and destroyed the threads on two more bolts that hold on the KIPS exhaust valve cover. I ordered new OEM bolts/washers for the entire top-end to replace what he destroyed.
Oh,... I forgot to mention this crap...... I paid for a piston kit--well he sent the correct piston, however the top-end bearing is waaaay too small. I had to use my old top-end bearing (It only had at the most 10 hours on it).
That pissed me off the most. I spent all this time and money on the engine and am forced to use my old top-end bearing. (I'm hopefully finishing the bike tomorrow night and going riding this Sunday).