Siezed?

[Goat]

I have never had any issues with customer service at US Chrome. I have personally been dealing with them for 16 years. 3 of those years I worked for a cycle shop but I was the one talking to them and shipping everything out. I have only had 2 cylinders come back that were unsatisfactory and they took care of the issue right away. Last summer I sent my friends kx250 cylinder to them and told them to call if there needed to be anything done besides re-plating. 2 days after I shipped the cylinder they called and said they received it and stripped it. The intake bridge was cracked on top and bottom. I told them to fix it. He said everything else looked good besides the spring mount for the exhaust was worn right through. He ended up fixing that as well and didn't charge me for it. It's always been a pleasure talking with them and never thought about going to anyone else. Everyone has their preference though.

[meangreen]

Not sure if it has already been stated, but make sure that the folks you send it to for plating inspect the bridges between the ports.   My $.02

Ben

[littlewing78]

Ok very excited today.  I just ordered a new cylinder and a new wiseco piston kit.  When I get this back together what steps should I take for break in?  Also I am having a hard time finding torque specs for the clutch bolts.  Anybody happen to know what the torque is for a 99' KX 500?  Thanks.

[1989kawasaki]

if your talking about the spring bolts it should be 8 foot pounds

[littlewing78]

Yep, the spring bolts.

[Friar-Tuck]

There is alot of info in this user gallery pgs. 1-30 
  http://www.kxriders.com/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=259&pos=0

And Here,  http://s69.photobucket.com/home/Friar-Tuck/index

     \o/

[greencannon]

Be sure to thoroughly wash your new cylinder and re-oil everything before assembly.  I like to use plenty of yamalube R  in my cylinder and piston, rings, powervalves, ect when assembling a top end. I like to use premix because it will burn off and not stick around and gum up like some assembly lubes.
everybody will have there preference on what they use. just be sure not to overlook that so you have a happy cylinder and top end

[littlewing78]

IT'S ALIVE!!!!
Okay I got it all back together and its running like a champ...in 1st and 2nd gear.  I got something together wrong.  It wont shift higher than 2nd gear. I didn't take any of the transmission parts of gear shift parts out when I had it apart.  The only thing I can think of is the clothes pin looking spring that sits just below and to the rear of the clutch basket.  That fell out by accident while I had it apart.  I wasn't sure of how it went back in.  I am hoping that is the problem.
I bought clutch plates but didn't replace them yet.  I wanted to fix one problem at a time so I could figure out what happened to start with. 
There is also a little knocking going on.  I am guessing that has to do with my piston / head clearance.
Very excited that is is actually running though since this is my first attempt at working on a bike.

[delphipro5]

Yikes that looked bad! Hope that dont happen to me! Glad to hear it's running sort of... There are many sites to referance the part blow-ups for this bike, I went to service honda and printed every blow-up they had for my model and made a binder with them. Now I have the whole bike on paper. Makes it VERY easy to see WHAT goes WHERE and HOW it goes in! Just putting one small part in backwards or upsidedown can be catastrophic in an engine build. BE CAREFULL   Keep us informed on how it goes.

[littlewing78]

I was right about the spring.  It popped out while I had it torn down and I put put it back in the right way but it must have popped off again while I was putting it back together.  Its in the right way now and every thing is working fine.
Just has that knocking sound that worries me.  Is that possibly something that will go away with break in?

This is the spring I was talking about that was in wrong.


Here's the bike all back together.

[kaw rider]

You hope its not the piston knocking, hopefully its just the kips

[Goat]

Glad you got it up and running. Good job. 

Is the stud that holds the spring apart chewed up on the end or is it just reflection? Also if the spring comes off like that again flip it over. Sometimes the work better one way than the other. I don't really understand it but it's worth a shot.

[littlewing78]

Its just a reflection. 
So any ideas on what would cause the knocking.  I'm sure the piston is not hitting the head.  My manual list all kinds of things it could be.  Possibly timing is a bit too early?  How can I check to see if its the Kips valves?

[Goat]

Kips valves are quite noisy especially in a new or clean cylinder. Once it gets a nice cushion of carbon built up it will quiet down. If you followed the install directions on lining up the marks on the kips rod with the gears then there should be no issues. Did you put assembly lube on the valves when you put it together?

If it starts easy, idles and runs good then your timing should be fine. You can play with it a little and fine tune it though. Just make a mark on the stator plate and case so you know where you started from. That way if it gets worse you can go back to what it was. Just keep an eye on the spark plug. It will give you an indication on whats actually happening inside the cylinder.

[littlewing78]

Thanks Goat.  I did lube lube the valves when I put them in and I did make sure it was all lined up good.  One thing I am not sure of with the Kips is the Lever that actually moves the valves.  I loosened it during install.  I can't seem to find any directions on where the valves should be set in relation to where the lever gets tightened back up. Does that make sense?