Larry, here's a link on Nikasil,(electrodeposited oleophilic nickel matrix Silicon Carbide coating
)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikasil It's alot cheaper to bore and add a liner the cyl. as apposed to re-Nikasil (re-plate)
To check endplay/ worn bearings.
Warm up the engine. Switch off the engine. Remove the left side cover (the flywheel sits behind).
Grab hold of the flywheel and very firmly try and move it up and down and front to back.
Feel for any slight movement or clicking. (service limit is 0-0.10mm or 0-0.004") not much...
If you feel any thing excessive the crank needs a re-build (since the generator is bolted to the end of the crank)
* Using a dial indicator and comparing reading changes with manual specified end float and radial movement tolerances will give a more accurate idea of the significance of any play found.
* If there is no movement it doesn't mean the crank is healthy,just that it's not really worn.
* This is more a test to see if the crank is bad rather than a test to see if it's good.
Stewart has a link on the subject of crank being "Out of Clock"
Swingarm, put the bike on a stand (rear wheel off the ground) facing either the side of the bike firmly grab hold of the swingarm and push/pull back and forth. Look at the movement at the shock linkage and engine/ swingarm mount.
Before leaving the side grab the wheel and try "Twisting" back and forth This will give you an Idea of both the wheel bearings and the condition of the spokes.
Go to the back of the bike, grab the swingarmand lift-up and down. Check the linkeage & shock bearings.
While the rear end is up off the ground give the rear wheel a spin look for wobble (runout) in rim & sprocket.
Is the chain really riding on the center of the sprocket?
Look closely at the rollers on the chain is it centered or is it favoring a sideplate. and condition of both sprockets.
Have someone hold the rear wheel down and get the front wheel off the ground. give her a whirl. Look for runout, (rim and brake disk) condition of brakes. grab the forks at the bottoms near the axel, push/pull towards bike this will give you an Idea of steering stem bearings. Have someone hold the handlebars and "twist" the front wheel to check bearings and spokes.
Whew...
The bearings in the suspension and wheels aren't too awfully expensive,however the can be a challenge to replace.
crank bearings...well they are not overly expensive but the process is...
Shock / fork re-build kits are not too bad, but again the process..
Hang in there,
Tuck\o/
