I remember you saying bill personally helped you install the 1st big bore, but it failed due incorrect material... Who did the 2nd and 3rd? Crazy to think you could have burned through them that fast.

 

keep us updated on how things turn out.

 

laurie, after reading through this thread, I think you have an undiagnosed issue with your bike, and I think you might continue to have this problem with bore kits no matter whose setup you use. Your bike's inability to hold a proper valve clearance for a decent mileage is also not right. No, I don't have any idea from afar what the problem is, but it really sounds like something is wrong and it may only be manifesting itself in your top end failure.

 

He installed the kit each time himself. I have no doubts that it was installed correctly.

Needing a valve adjustment every 4k miles seems to be the norm, according to Kawasaki. Every Kawasaki I've owned has had this issue of needing more frequent valve adjustments than comparable models of other brands (Ninja 250, KLX250, ER-6n).

The valve adjustment thing in no way affected the stock cylinder/piston/etc. I actually have the stock piston sitting right here on my desk. I could show it to you: it's perfect, even though I put 25,000 miles on it, including a whole season of track days. No, the erratic idle, poor compression, etc., has all been since installing the big bore. And, actually, it's ever since the sleeve cracked on the first kit. It's never worked right since, even with the new (again) top end kit. Compression has been rather rapidly declining since the second 351 kit. I ignored this problem on Bill's own advice, telling me the issue had to be with poor jetting.

So, I kept tinkering with jetting, taking his word for it that the kit was designed intentionally to have low compression when cold.

Now it has low compression when hot, too. Thankfully (never thought I'd say this, lol), I started having some transmission issues from my wreck on the ice. Bike liked to pop out of gear every now and then. Gave the bike to a friend to have him completely tear down the motor, split the case, and inspect everything. Here's what he found:

There's noticeable wear on the shift drum, but it's not bad. Still, it could stand replacing. The shift forks *seem* fine with very minimal wear, but there's no way to really tell if they're true/straight anymore, so I may as well replace them while we're already in there. Grand total for 3 new shift forks and shift drum: $170. Not bad.

Of course, he torn down the rest of the motor to get to that point, and figured he'd give everything (I mean everything) a once-over while he was at it. He's aware of all the issues I've been having. When he torn down the top end, that's when he discovered the really bad scarring on the cylinder wall, etc. It's nearly worn through the sleeve in a couple places. I think I'm repeating myself here, sorry. LOL It's Sunday evening and I've been enjoying myself.

Anyway, all that to say that I think I've just got a lemon on my hands. I don't think the issue is necessarily with Bill's kit. However, eat one too many lemons and you get leery to try a third. I'm hopping tracks over to Kustom Kraft. I intend to explain my situation and the history of my bike to them and see what they say/recommend. I will, of course, keep you guys posted.

 

How is the oil pump? Relief valves if any? Brand of oil filter? Weight of oil?

I'm thinking that something got messed up with the oiling system.

Just thinking out loud.

 

Faithfully changed every 1,000 to 1,500 miles since brand new. Kawasaki filter. Repsol 10/50 synthetic (after each break-in. Run regular 10/40 for break in).

That said, *please* don't turn this into a "which oil is best" flame war. Ugh. I hate those.

For the last few oil changes, I have noticed a significant increase in metal shavings. Oil pump is perfect. Oil lines all flow perfect.

 

Ok that's covered/eliminated. Just trying to think of something that might be the cause. So weird that stock was fine then nothing but problems after the change to big bore, yet lots of others ......

 

Yeah, no such thing as a bad idea when brainstorming. I appreciate that.

Well, the first was the cracked sleeve, which Advanced Sleeves admitted was their own fault due to a bad batch of sleeves (my kit wasn't the only one affected) and there was a recall.

This time, who knows? From the get go, the rings never seemed to seat right with this kit.

Like I said, I think I just got a couple of lemons. My last car was a lemon, with random things always breaking on it (like the radiator just randomly quitting from the inside, etc.). Of course, it was a '95 Ford Escort...

Anyway, I'm thinking it's a lemon issue.

 

Good luck with kustom kraft. Hope everything works out and you will be riding again.

 

Thanks, mate! I hope so, too. I have nothing against Bill's kit. I really think I just got a lemon, so as a consumer, I'm going to try something different.

Here's to hoping I'm riding again before winter! Well, riding the KLX, I mean. I'm also rebuilding a little 50cc (potential 125 project, if I can't get it running... LOL Chinese motors are sooo cheap... both in quality and price), and I still have my ER6.


Oh, and here's me rambling about the KLX saga: