'99 KX250 Rehab (Budget Rebuild)

[MXonaKawi]

I run light weight rim locks from Motion Pro



Then, I balance my wheels....  

Cleaning?
There are many methods discussed on this forum.
Boiling, baking, oven cleaner, soda blasting, sand blasting, acid washing, hot water pressure washing, scotch brite... ect...
I use vapor blasting

Dude the shine of that motor makes me hard.

[umberto]

If I lived closer to Sandblaster, every bike I own would be apart and at his shop being cleaned up. Oh, and I would broke.   

[ecdeyzel]

Hey guys. I have finally got around to cleaning my cylinder to reassemble the KIPS system. I saw on another forum that guys suggest using oven cleaner to loosen the carbon in the compartments and it worked quite well. After I cleaned my entire cylinder i made sure everything was nice and clean of chemicals then dried it and used a hair drier in the hard to reach areas to make sure there was no water left behind. After I dried it all the machined areas of the luminium turned dark grey. My gut tels me that its nothing major to be concerned about, but, is it it something to be concerned about?

[SOHC]

its good to spray them with WD40

[ecdeyzel]

its good to spray them with WD40

Thanks SOHC. I've given the cylinder a coat of 2 stroke oil, will give the other machined areas a coat of WD40 as you suggested. Appreciate the feedback, thanks.

[sandblaster]

After I dried it all the machined areas of the luminium turned dark grey. My gut tels me that its nothing major to be concerned about, but, is it it something to be concerned about?

Not sure... Probably not but pics would sure help..

[Foxx4Beaver]

be careful where you use wd40....it has an abrasive in it, and will tear moving parts up quickly if you're not careful where you spray it....keep it away from your cylinder walls and the slots for the KIPS valves in the cylinder.

[sandblaster]

I didn't know that about WD-40.
I don't use it for assembly but that's good to know...

[Foxx4Beaver]

I didn't know that about WD-40.
I don't use it for assembly but that's good to know...

JoJo Keller's mechanic made me aware of it back in '85-'86...he saw me using it on my chain, and said..."never use wd40 on your chain, always use certified chain lube"...then he said, "why do you think it cleans so well?, and why do you think it frees things up so quickly?"....I said "I have no idea"....that's when he said "it's because it has an abrasive in it".....and he knew that, because he claimed he knew a guy that worked at a wd40 plant in Cali.

They could've changed the formula by know...I have no idea...I know it still cleans and frees things up like it always has, today.

[ecdeyzel]

Great advice, thanks for sharing Foxx. Luckily I didn't spray any on yet as I want to mask off any holes to touch up the outside of the cylinder as it is looking a little bit ratty. I have noticed what you are talking about. It's almost like it has a "grippy" feeling instead of slippery. I will try and take a photo of it tonight. Basically all the exposed areas where gaskets go have turned a dark grey instead of silver.

Ed

[SOHC]

I thought it was diesel and silicon like CRC spray, I must say I have never used WD40 as its not very common in my neck of the woods

[LukeG]

WD-40 is mostly fish oil from what I have heard.

[Foxx4Beaver]

could be....as I stated, they could've changed the formula from 30 years ago....but...as rule of thumb, never use rust inhibitors or penetrating oils on working internal engine parts, unless of course the engine's been sitting for years and you need to free something up.
I know I've never seen any top engine builders using wd, crc, pb-blaster, or any other rust inhibitors or penetrating oils as a coating on internal engine parts...they use assembly lube, and/or motor oil...I myself use 2T oil...the same oil that I use in my pre-mix.
Everyone's got their own preference and method, so use what you want...but I don't advise wd-40 or any other aerosol spray.

[ecdeyzel]

Sheesh, sorry for the delay guys. Here is a pic of the darkened machined part on the top end. Happened after cleaning. Anything to be concerned about or is it just some basic discolouration?

[Foxx4Beaver]

I wouldn't be too concerned, oven cleaner has a tendency to do that to some extent. As long as there's no pitting on the cylinders deck surface, it'll be good.
I would pull the studs though, and lap the cylinders deck surface, and the head as well...just to be sure everything is nice and flat, so you don't have any blown/leaky head gasket issues.