Connecting Rods (Choice and Why)

[Polar-Bus]

I never claimed cast pistons were stronger than forged. I commented that the "average" rider, with a "stock" engine does not need a Forged piston. Cast pistons have the advantage of being more stable from a cold, to hot warm up expansion standpoint. Wiseco forged pistons expand in a different manner than cast. Forged pistons have to be set up with a looser piston at wall tolerence, so adequate engine warmup  is critical.  I am by no means telling folks that forged pistons are no good, they are in hi-performance applications,  i'm simply stating they are not necessary...

[Lawnmowerman]

Oke i want to hook up in this topic. That's easier than making a new one. And i hope it's oke with the topic starter.
My main question in this is,why ore when is it wise to change the connecting rod? Are there things to look for? Are the rods known to snap? (weak spot)
Or is it better to be safe than sorry?

[JohnJr]

Yes thats fine,when my motor exploded,I dont know if it was a piston failure(Cast) Pro-X type or if the rod snapped the bottom bearings are still good no upwards play little side to side play, rod was OEM top end was about 4 months old, overrev ?

[GREENKAW24]

Oke i want to hook up in this topic. That's easier than making a new one. And i hope it's oke with the topic starter.
My main question in this is,why ore when is it wise to change the connecting rod? Are there things to look for? Are the rods known to snap? (weak spot)
Or is it better to be safe than sorry?

It is wise to change the connecting rod kit when there is too much play/clearance between rod/thrust washers/crank wheels, and when there is up and down play from the lower bearing/lower rod hole I.D. The bearing and lower rod ID could be worn and the side to side play could be from wear, or the rod kit was assembled with too much clearance. Too much or too little clearance is asking for trouble.

[Lawnmowerman]

Oke. I know that with to much clearance you should change the bearing. Atleast that is what i alway's do.
But why putting a new connection rod in? I think it's the bearing that's couses the play..

[GREENKAW24]

Most of our engines are built for racing, so why not change the rod also. Heat ,stress, wear. Better to be safe than sorry. If you had all the inspection equipment to fully inspect the rod when it was new, record the numbers, and then inspected it again after disassembling to change the bearing, and it turns out that the rod did not physically change at all, then ok might as well reuse it.

[sandblaster]

WOSSNER WOSSNER WOSSNER!!!

Did I mention Wossner???
Yeah, best KX500 rod on the planet...
I spin them up hard... Yes, over 11K RPM

[KXDINO]

Wossner the go , i use wossner on nearly every bike we have and what they do i notice is they improve on stock , like in some areas there slightly thicker where they have breakage on oem stuff , especially around the big end and beam side of things, they might be a smidge heavier but who wants a broken rod and cases.