Plating vs. Sleeving

[nayther]

Need to fix a 2004 CR250, should I sleeve it for 275 or replate for 170? Only platers I've found are back east, I'm in CA. Anyone know a plater in CA?

 

[Jeromeo]

what's the difference between the two. I've heard of sleeving but what is replating?

 

[TimberPig]

Stock cylinders on most bikes made in the last 20 or so years, have a very hard layer of electroplated material lining the aluminum cylinder to provide a hard bearing surface for the rings, rather than an iron liner (sleeve).

Replating produces a near original or sometimes even better than new cylinder. Sleeving produces a highly useable, but somewhat poorer product than new. The plating allows much greater heat conduction than an iron sleeve, and is the preferred method for dirtbike cylinders.

When damaged, which often occurs during a blown engine, the plating is scored or chipped, thus removing it from the cylinder or causing other physical damage. Replating is simply sending it to a company to have the plating stripped, the damage repaired, and a new layer of plating applied. Sleeving is boring the clyinder to fit an iron liner to do the same job less efficiently, but somewhat cheaper.

Plating is also much more durable than an iron liner.

 

[snb73]

Replate!

This should explain it for you:

http://www.forwardmotion.com.mx/nicomcylinder.html

U.S. Chrome replates and has a few different locations. Contact them directly, you will be dealing with the plater not a middle man.

http://www.uschrome.com/

 

[22703]

oh yeah don't forget to mention the sites most talked about d*nk.mrwonderful dumd as$gore.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Sleeving is what you do when you need to bore out the cylinder but it has already been bored out as far as it will go.

Boring is what you do to the cylinder when it has been scored (scratched) to the point that a simple honing isn't sufficient.

If the cylinder is supposed to be plated then you need to have the cylinder replated after you bore it. I don't have any experience with sleeving, but I would expect the process would be sleeve, then bore, then plate.

Rod

 

[SpeedyManiac]

Sleeving is what you do when you need to bore out the cylinder but it has already been bored out as far as it will go.

Boring is what you do to the cylinder when it has been scored (scratched) to the point that a simple honing isn't sufficient.

If the cylinder is supposed to be plated then you need to have the cylinder replated after you bore it. I don't have any experience with sleeving, but I would expect the process would be sleeve, then bore, then plate.

Rod

The idea of sleeving is to not need to electroplate. Aluminum cannot tolerate the heat produced in the cylinder and is too soft for the rings, so you either electroplate the aluminum cylinder or put an iron sleeve in the cylinder. But methods work, but electroplating is preferred.

 

[nayther]

Found another plater, Langcourt, recommended by someone I respect and their turn around is only 4-5 days and $150.00, I'm sending it to them tomorrow. Thanks for the input, the general consensus is that plating is a little better than sleeving.

 

[griffbones]

Not to stir up crap, but all platers are not equal! I would make darn sure that who ever you are using does work as well as US Chrome or just send it to US Chrome.
Just my .02 worth

 

[jason33]

sleeve it- get a kit from midwest action cycle-
take it to a local machine shop and have them do it - or send it to kustom kraft in elgin illinois-
i sleeve all my bikes-
there new metals in the sleeves these days they last longer- dont flake
if you break a ring- just bore it out for 30-50 bucks
if you gouge the aluminum cyl it has to be welded,then honed,then coated
and still isn't as good- there just a couple ounces lighter-
and yea- not all platers are the same- as - mr bones said-
steel liners have been around since the start they have gotten better ,and lighter-

you would think that we could use a stronger metal these days- mabe tungston?
,titanium ect...or something really strong, we can put someone on the moon but cant get better coatings, and steels?
what is the strongest metal we have these days????

 

[skiboyracing]

I would use US Chrome.. They did a great job on mine.
I was tossing the idea of useing a sleeve. From all the calls I made I determined that the Iron sleeve may give up a little bit of power and since it expands and contracts at a different rate of aluminum cylinder, I was told that it will sometimes move around inside the cylinder.

Possitives of a sleeve though is that you can start with a standard bore, then for about 40 bucks a pop you can have someone bore out the sleeve .010-.030 every rebuild and up the pistons sizes. If you tend to destroy cylinder walls by letting a rebuild go to long, you could get a bit more out of a sleeve. In the end I replated mine with a 265 cc kit and will just make sure I replace the piston and rings long before it garnades and ruins the cylinder wall.

 

[mtk]

Since stock bikes are all plated, so good luck finding oversized pistons. Steel sleeves also don't last as long as a plated cylinder.

Sleeving is an answer to a question no one is asking. There is no good reason to sleeve a factory plated cylinder.

 

[glad2ride]

nayther, let us know how it turns out. I once looked on the internet for someone to say they got a bad job from Langcourt and I couldn't find anyone. I only found good reports.