Archive for the ‘Top End Rebuild’ Category

This bike was brought to me with the cases split and all parts in a boxes.  From the beginning, I had my doubts about being able to safely put it all back together since I was not present for the disassembly.  It took a long time and a lot of replacement parts, but it finally started to take shape.  I had to start with the service manual and follow it step by step while taking notes.  Fortunately, Suzuki service manuals are in my opinion some of the best manuals out there and fairly easy to follow.

The major parts replaced included:

• Cylinder
• Valves
• Cam Journal repair
• Crankshaft
• Crank Bearings
• Replacement 1st and 2nd gears
• Various thread repairs

The 07-09 RMZ 250 had problems with the transmisison, and this one was no exception.  There were worn gears that had to be replaced.  The gears were worn in the areas where the shift cog slides over to engage the gear.  It was concluded that without replacing the gears, the customer could experience false neutrals and jumping out of gear. Read more about it here:

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/933894-07-rmz-250-worn-gears-pics/

All in all, it was a tremendously grueling rebuild to take on, but in the end I feel it was well worth the experience.  The owner has approximately 12 hrs on the bike since rebuild and everything seems to be holding up well.

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I decided to trade my long-loved Husky for this CRF 450R Supermoto.  It has many nice upgrades on it, however it is definitely in need of some TLC and service.  The most attractive part of this bike is that it is TAGGED!  It may not seem like such an amazing thing, but in the state of NC, it is near impossible to tag a bike that started life as an off-road only machine.  This bike came with a clear VA title.  Once the vehicle has been titled in another state, NC will allow you to transfer it in with no problem.

The electrical was a complete mess, so I basically removed the baja designs dual sport kit and started over from scratch trying to sort the electrical all out.  Now that I have that mostly under control, I moved into the motor, chassis, and suspension.  I removed the clutch cover, and much to my suprise I found an STM slipper clutch installed on this bike.

Since the internals of this bike are unknown, I removed the entire top end down to the connecting rod.  The cylinder is on its original bore with the factory cross-hatching, the forged piston looks like it was installed recently, all top end measurements are still within factory spec.  After some cleaning, and installing a new wristpin, circlips, and gaskets, its going back together.

Inside the carb I found a clogged pilot jet which is fairly common on any FCR carb that has been sitting a while, but more disturbingly I found the needle clip position in the top position.  Perhaps this in conjunction with the clogged pilot jet was causing the popping and backfiring prior to me tearing it down.

The suspension is being serviced and re-valved by Fast Bike Industries and should be done later this week, so hopefully I can have it road-worthy by the weekend.  More pics to follow.

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This 125 belongs to one of my regular customers.  Over the last year, I have installed a new clutch, trued wheels, replaced fork seals, re-packed the silencer, etc.  Recently the owner had accidentally put non-mixed fuel in the tank and ran it for a while.

The pictures show the galling of the piston and the cylinder.  This may have been caused by the non-mixed fuel.  I removed the seat, tank, exhaust,  and  radiators to access the cylinder.  I then removed the cylinder.  The crank has some minimal side-to-side play but has no vertical play, so we are going to send the cylinder off to Millennium Technologies for repair and also replace the piston, ring, and wristpin.

Update 3/8/12:  I finally added some more pics of the bike going back together.  I powder coated a few parts for some added bling.  The owner of the bike TJ Maher, went on to take a win at the WNC ag center that weekend.

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to buy this beauty.  Its a 97 Suzuki Savage with 29k miles and a clear title.  It needs a few things, but for the price I paid for it, I figured it will be a fun build.  I don’t normally have any interest in cruisers whatsoever, but this may be fun to ride around on for a while and then put it up for sale.

First things first, it needs a head gasket.  The previous owner made me aware of this before buying.  I didn’t think that would be a big deal, but when I got a service manual for it, I was disappointed to find out that the motor has to be removed from the frame in order to remove the head.

Also, I was told that it needs a clutch.  Well I assumed that meant it had “worn out” plates or a basket and not “the clutch assembly was stolen off the bike then the cover was put back on”  So I have sourced a used clutch assembly and a few other things that are on the way.

Other items it needs are:

• Gaskets for the clutch cover, stator cover, head, valve cover, and cylinder
• Speedometer cable
• Battery
• Starter solenoid

There are probably a few other things I am forgetting, but ill get to those later.

If anyone is interested in buying it when its complete and restored, contact me.

Edit:  I lost interest in the project and sold it to a friend.  He has finished it and you can see how it looks in the final picture.  I think I will stick to dirt bikes!

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