Thanks for all the input guys, and it makes me feel good to know that this has started a whole new topic. I will say based on the reading I've done on this site I did get the feeling that plated was better than sleeved, but we'll see how that discussion turns out. In case anybody is wondering I took a look at the bike today and I came home with my money and no bike. It was actually an easy pass. These poor guys had no clue what they had. They traded a small utility trailer for the bike knowing nothing about it. The chain was junk and had chewed up the swingarm and subframe, and it had a major carburetor problem. It started up very nicely but then the idle speed just kept getting higher and higher with no limit in sight until you hit the kill switch all without you even touching the throttle AND gas was pouring out of one of the vent lines. I'm guessing a bad needle/seat or possibly a leaky float but who knows? The scariest thing was what I just described combined with the fact that I swear they had straight gas in the tank. The first time I started it I didn't see any smoke from the exhaust and I asked them if they put mixed gas in there. He told me yes, but I insisted that we drain the gas tank and put in some fresh 40:1 Maxima K2 I brought along with me. The gas we drained out didn't look or smell like premix. It didn't fix any of the other problems, but sure enough she started to smoke and smell like a 2 stroke. Who knows what damage has been done already? So, the search continues and I keep reminding myself I'm not in a hurry, this riding season is pretty much over here anyway and I have all winter to scan the classifieds.
