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?
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.
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).
Posted: 01:56 pm Oct 27 2010
by Indawoods
When something goes wrong... it goes REALLY wrong!
Sorry to hear of this horror story...
Posted: 02:00 pm Oct 27 2010
by scheckaet
and you kept that POS???
WTF?
No way i'd pay untill I got MY cylinder back. If it didn't say anywhere you were getting a different one I'd cancel my credit card and fight it...
This is plain BS, especially since he butchered the helicoil and kips bolts.
I considered using his "services" when I did my hybrid, and now I'm glad I didn't.
Posted: 02:24 pm Oct 27 2010
by Lutz
Again...all I can say is wow. Sucks when you don't get what you are expecting and pay for.
Let me ask you this. Is he still stamping cylinders with an identifier? When I got mine back, it was marked LAT-70 or something like that, which I assumed was for Latvala-70mm bore (last name and 225 bore size). I believe it was stamped on top of the intake on the cylinder.
Posted: 03:05 pm Oct 27 2010
by bmiller
scheckaet wrote:and you kept that POS???
WTF?
No way i'd pay untill I got MY cylinder back. If it didn't say anywhere you were getting a different one I'd cancel my credit card and fight it...
This is plain BS, especially since he butchered the helicoil and kips bolts.
I considered using his "services" when I did my hybrid, and now I'm glad I didn't.
I don't have much of a choice. I worked as much as my own magic as I could to make it usable. I don't have ample time to fight with him. I've accepted my losses and polished the hell out of that turd.
Posted: 03:05 pm Oct 27 2010
by bmiller
Lutz wrote:Again...all I can say is wow. Sucks when you don't get what you are expecting and pay for.
Let me ask you this. Is he still stamping cylinders with an identifier? When I got mine back, it was marked LAT-70 or something like that, which I assumed was for Latvala-70mm bore (last name and 225 bore size). I believe it was stamped on top of the intake on the cylinder.
I didn't see a stamp. I'll take a look tomorrow night.
In one of your pictures it looked like there was a sticker on the bars were the throttle goes. If so did you take it off? I have seen people leave them on and the first wet ride loosens the sticker and makes the throttle stick.
Bike is looking great!
Posted: 10:32 pm Nov 01 2010
by bmiller
rbates9 wrote:In one of your pictures it looked like there was a sticker on the bars were the throttle goes. If so did you take it off? I have seen people leave them on and the first wet ride loosens the sticker and makes the throttle stick.
Bike is looking great!
Interesting... No,.. I didn't remove the sticker. I'll be sure to before I take it out. Thanks for the advice and being so observant!
rbates9 wrote:In one of your pictures it looked like there was a sticker on the bars were the throttle goes. If so did you take it off? I have seen people leave them on and the first wet ride loosens the sticker and makes the throttle stick.
Bike is looking great!
Interesting... No,.. I didn't remove the sticker. I'll be sure to before I take it out. Thanks for the advice and being so observant!
It seems that you have alot going on and with a pile of new parts sometimes people tend to get a little anxious to put them on.
Its kind of nice to put the pictures up at let others check out were your at and mabe catch or learn something now and then. Good luck with the rest of it.
Posted: 01:42 am Nov 03 2010
by bmiller
It runs!
First start
[youtube][/youtube]
It sounds great at 720p.
Posted: 01:49 am Nov 03 2010
by Indawoods
You did good!
Posted: 01:51 am Nov 03 2010
by bmiller
Indawoods wrote:You did good!
Posted: 12:44 pm Nov 03 2010
by Coop
Looks great! I dig that rear fender more every time I see one, I might have to break down and buy one before spring.
or something. 