How long should a top end take

[toalco-kdx]

How long should it take a dealership to do a top end on my kdx 220. He said about 2 to 3 hours and I think thats bs. what do you think?

 

[chowder6]

actually, he's pretty close....figure 30-45 minutes(roughly) for tear down....20-30 minutes to install new parts, then 30-45 minutes to put it back together...ofcourse the dealer will pad these times, so i'd figure atleast 2hrs of labor....u should try it yourself, they are not hard at all..

 

[Robcolo]

You have to take half of the bike apart just to get to the cylinder ! Installing a circlip in the stock piston can take 1/2 hr. if you don't chamfer the hole. removing, cleaning and reassembling the KIPS is quite time consuming. I don't think I could do mine in 3 hours. Now my KX is another story -- I'llbet I could do it all in 1 1/2 hrs.

 

[toalco-kdx]

thanks for the advice. but i have another quetstion.
i'm planning on getting my engine ported and the dealership is about an 1.5 hours drive. and since its really cold out and icy and snowy its not the best conditions to be hauling my bike on the trailer. i am thinking of removing the whole engine from the frame and disconnect it from the transmission so i dont have to haul the rest of my bike. would it just be easier to just bring the whole bike or is it not very hard to disconnect the engine froim the tranny? thanks alot.

 

[fatty_k]

I would take the whole engine out of the frame and take it into the shop. Im not sure what you mean by disconnecting it from the tranny? If you bring the whole engine into the shop, it will save time and money because the mechanic will not have to strip the bike down to get at the cylinder (plastics, coolant, tank etc.) Labour times will depend on if the mechanic will clean the power valves too. That could take some time as well.

 

[Matt90GT]

Originally posted by toalco-kdx
thanks for the advice. but i have another quetstion.
i'm planning on getting my engine ported and the dealership is about an 1.5 hours drive. and since its really cold out and icy and snowy its not the best conditions to be hauling my bike on the trailer. i am thinking of removing the whole engine from the frame and disconnect it from the transmission so i dont have to haul the rest of my bike. would it just be easier to just bring the whole bike or is it not very hard to disconnect the engine froim the tranny? thanks alot.

Well I am going on 3 weeks now. But I had to tear down the motor to measure the bore first on the KDX250 since there are different sized pistons you can run for the production tolerances. Oh, I painted the frame and did some other upgrades like V force II reeds and fixed the dents in the pipe. another story.

For me, tear down was about 1 hour. That was from a running bike to the bare frame, motor on the work bench and the rest of the bike in plastic totes and zip lock baggies.

Cleaning the motor up with the kips and all took another hour. Ultimately I ended up buying new RH and LH valves for the motor. SO waited a week for those parts, new piston and other misc parts required. Installing things taking my time was 1 hour. Then I still have about another 2 hours as I am cleaning, tweaking and making things right on the bike here as I put it back into a working unit.

 

[toalco-kdx]

this was my first big bike that actually needed to be maintained alot, my last bike was a fourstroke and i never did anything except clean the air filter and grease the chain and small stuff like that. so tearing down the engine and removing it from the frame is all new to me. i dont know exactly how the engine and clutch and tranny all fit together, thats kinda what i was asking when i mentioned 'disconecting the engine from transmission'. so is it pretty straight forward on how to get the whole engine off the bike? thanks.

 

[KenR]

The engine and transmission are one assembly. Pulling it from the bike isn't hard - once it's accessible (seat, tank and plastics off) disconnect the chain, electrical, carb and exhaust connections, and the mounting bolts will be obvious. I recommend getting a repair manual for the bike, which will give you torque specs on all the bolts when it comes time to reassemble.