Metal reeds???

[1989kawasaki]

so here was the deal, i recently bought a used reed cage for my 89 kx, but the screws were seized into the block. so i bought a v force, but thats besides the point. so one day i was looking through ebay and found that a guy sells metal reeds that his brother was using on his race bikes since 1981, (his bro was on team kawasaki). yeah and i didnt see any for the 89 kx250 so i asked him if he had any . he said no and he said he is going to have to buy a cage for it, and i said ill give you my old reed cage for free (i only paid $0.99 for it) as long as he paid for shipping (which he did ($10) ) . oh yeah he also said the standard reeds warp and dont make a tight seal. and the metal one make a tight seal and that gives better throttle responce?? can someone fill me in on that??

so the reed cage got to his place and he said the reeds were the same as the cr500. so then he sent me a FREE set of metal reeds for myself. i told him to toss the cage because the bolt heads were stripped and seized into the cage.

here is a pic of the reeds.   tell me if you think i should use em

[jonny500]

reeds need to be alot of different things. at low revs flexibility is good, at high  revs stifness is good. if a reed seals tight when in equilibrium it will not open as well when it is required to. if a reed has a gap when in equilibrium it will not seal as well when it is required to. the point i am try to make is that if a reed material is very good in 1 aspect then it will suffer in another. it depends on the tune of the motor and your riding style as to what is good. i seem to recall seeing metal reeds in some older engines. i think a metal reed would be cheaper to make then a carbon fibre reed so if they were better all reeds would be steel.  i would say give them a go but bare in mind if they break the result will be messy

[1989kawasaki]

reeds need to be alot of different things. at low revs flexibility is good, at high  revs stifness is good. if a reed seals tight when in equilibrium it will not open as well when it is required to. if a reed has a gap when in equilibrium it will not seal as well when it is required to. the point i am try to make is that if a reed material is very good in 1 aspect then it will suffer in another. it depends on the tune of the motor and your riding style as to what is good. i seem to recall seeing metal reeds in some older engines. i think a metal reed would be cheaper to make then a carbon fibre reed so if they were better all reeds would be steel.  i would say give them a go but bare in mind if they break the result will be messy

i dont think i will try them

[alward25]

old tech vs new tech.  There is a reason they were put in old bikes an not new.  There is also the catastrophe factor too.

[sandblaster]

+1
I would think long and hard before I put those into my bike.

[kaw rider]

well most carbon fiber reeds are junk after 10 hours on time. There are good carbon fiber reeds from carbon tech. If you what a reed to last you will have to go to a glass reed. A thin carbon fiber reed will not last long.

[1989kawasaki]

i am pretty solid on that my 89 kx came with the stock oem reeds (carbon fiber) when i got it. the guy said he never ever changed the reeds before and he had the bike for 8 yrs.

a i will not use the metal reeds, i will sell them off

[1989kawasaki]

here is what he said on his listings


MY NAME IS STEVE BENOLKIN. I AM A 56 YEAR OLD BUILDER AND COLLECTER OF VINTAGE BIKES I HAVE A BOX FILLED WITH AT LEAST 70-80 REED CAGES FROM EARLY 70 TO EARLY 80 BIKES AND THEY ALL USED METAL REEDS THAT ARE ALL STILL PERFECT. WHEN BOYESEN STARTED PUSHING FIBER REEDS IN THE LATE SEVENTIES , I KNEW THAT THEY WERE NOT ALL THEY WERE CRACKED UP TO BE. THEY GAVE NO REAL INCREASE TO YOUR MOTOR AND THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY WARP, CRACK, CHIP AND WEAKEN. GOOD CRISP TIGHT REEDS MAKE THE BIKE START BETTER , AND GIVE YOU BETTER BOTTOM END THROTTLE RESPONSE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN METAL REEDS GO THROUGH A MOTOR, BUT FIBER REEDS WILL IF RAN TO LONG. IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR REED CAGE AND SEE THAT THEY ARE NOT SEALED, YOU WILL LOOSE CRANK CASE PRESSURE BACK THROUGH THE CARB. CAUSING HARD STARTING CR500 NOT FUN....

IN 1980 I BUILT A CR125 THAT MY BROTHER TOM BENOLKIN RODE TO TOP PRIVATEER IN THE 125 AMA PRO NATIONALS. I ALSO BUILT THE MOTOR ON THE  A 1980 CR250 THAT A RIDER NAMED JOJO KELLER RODE AND BEAT ALL OF THE FACTORY TEAMS AT SOUTHWICK. JOJO BECAME THE FIRST PRIVATEER TO BEAT THE FACTORY RIDERS AT AN AMA PRO NATIONAL.  ALSO THAT YEAR, I BUILT THE CR 250 THAT WON THE AMATURE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS HELD AT MILLVILLE, RIDDIN BY MY BROTHER JIM BENOLKIN.

SOON I WILL HAVE AVAILABLE METAL REEDS FOR EVERY MAKE AND MODEL 2 STROKE. THESE REEDS ARE MADE OF THE SAME GAUGE ONLY HIGHER QUALITY METAL THEN THE FACTORIES USE TO USE. A RAD VALVE IS A NICE REED BLOCK UNTIL FIBER REEDS WITH TOO MANY AREAS TO FAIL ARE INSTALLED, BECAUSE THEY LOSE CRANK PRESSURE DURING START UP. IT IS MY BELIEF THAT FACTORIES WENT FROM METAL REEDS TO FIBER REEDS BECAUSE THEY PERIODICALLY NEED REPLACING. I HAVE NEVER NEEDED TO REPLACE A METAL REED.

IN MY DAY, I ALSO HAD MY PRO LICENSE. I RODE THE 500 CLASS. EVERY BIKE I HAVE EVER RIDDEN WAS MODIFIED. MY BEST FINISH AS A PRO WAS 4TH AT MILLVILLE.   P.S.THE OLDER I GET THE FASTER I WAS !

THANK YOU STEVE BENOLKIN. 763-434-3646

[1989kawasaki]

well most carbon fiber reeds are junk after 10 hours on time. There are good carbon fiber reeds from carbon tech. If you what a reed to last you will have to go to a glass reed. A thin carbon fiber reed will not last long.

does this mean that the v force is junk??

[byron909]

the vforce stuff wears good because there are 4 petals doing work of 2. so basically each petal doesn't open as much as a 2 petal cage. i am not a fan of the vforce stuff, but that doesn't mean they are bad or anything either. in general the vforce seems to  help low to mid, the rad valve mid up. i am more of a revver than a torquer, so all my bikes have rad valves.
also, if you are looking for a good long lasting reed, give the boyesen pro series reeds a go. they work well, seem to perform good, and last a long time. i think i may have a few sets for stock cages for kx500s, might fit your 89 250 also. for a while the 500 and 250 had same reed. 
a rad vlave will definatly make your 250 run better, i have had a bunch of kx250s over the years, helped all that i ever rode.

[1989kawasaki]

low to mid is just what i want  i like torque and revv. the 89 250  apparently is known to have a very tourquey motor which is quite true. i did quickly try the kx on the road for 1 min with the v force. , and i think the difference is the bike pulls HARDER through acceleration.   i got a sick deal on the reed cage (v force) for $22.50 and it came off a 2001 kx250

[kaw rider]

10-15 hours out of a set of carbon fiber reeds is not good since they dont give then away. changing your reeds before your spark plug sounds crazy.

[greencannon]

Im no reed expert but in my experience with metal vs carbon - It  seems the metal is not as resilient as the carbon and kind of develops a "memory" and stays open and does not lay flat after a short time. I stick with aftermarket carbon. Im currently running Boyesen Pro series carbon and have had great luck. Going on my 4th season with the same set with no signs of lift or chipping after close periodic inspection.

[hughes]

so here was the deal, i recently bought a used reed cage for my 89 kx, but the screws were seized into the block. so i bought a v force, but thats besides the point. so one day i was looking through ebay and found that a guy sells metal reeds that his brother was using on his race bikes since 1981, (his bro was on team kawasaki). yeah and i didnt see any for the 89 kx250 so i asked him if he had any . he said no and he said he is going to have to buy a cage for it, and i said ill give you my old reed cage for free (i only paid $0.99 for it) as long as he paid for shipping (which he did ($10) ) . oh yeah he also said the standard reeds warp and dont make a tight seal. and the metal one make a tight seal and that gives better throttle responce?? can someone fill me in on that??

so the reed cage got to his place and he said the reeds were the same as the cr500. so then he sent me a FREE set of metal reeds for myself. i told him to toss the cage because the bolt heads were stripped and seized into the cage.

here is a pic of the reeds.   tell me if you think i should use em

Is that one big reed? I can't see how that would benefit at all being one solid reed. I love the Boyesen power reeds and they last.

[don46]

yamaha used metal reeds clear into the early 90's in some applications. Are they any good, that would be in the eyes of the beholder, for me the answer is no. you could try them, I doubt you'd hurt anything.

1989, I doubt your 89 bike came with carbon fiber reeds, it surely did come with fibre reeds.

I like the V force and I also like the Boysen Carbon/fibre reeds, don't remember what they call them. Don't really like the Boysen Rad valve.

Carbon tech reeds are OK, and as a bonus you can either get low end or top end reeds.