DATA POLL: Top Ends

Q1 Inspection every season, new piston & rings every 2 or 3 years. Never had a piston outside factory specs.

Q2 Off road with some light MX

Q3 Four hours a ride, three or four times a month. Ride about 5.5 month/ year.

In the newer water cooled bikes an OEM piston will last along time even under full race conditions. We hammered a 95 and 97 KDX200 for a full hare scramble championship series (14 races) and pistons looked excellant at end of season. I bought new pistons just because I thought it was time but upon tear down the old ones looked so good I just put in rings and used the old ones. We run Motul oil 50:1. Was having plug and power valve fowling problems before Motul. Have not had same results in air cooled models. We have determined the Wisco pistons are soft and do not hold up. They are also lighter causing a balance issue. We get the best service life from OEM pistons.