I'm helping a friend of mine rebuild the motor on his 1996 XR400R. He decided to tear it down after hearing faint bottom-end "knocking" in low RPM situations. Turns out his connecting rod is worn about .003" over the service limit on the piston pin end and probably at least that much on the bottom end (lots of up and down slop).
Anyways, the crankshaft and connecting rod is sold as a one piece unit and honda wants well over $400(!!!!!!) for one. After a little searching on the net we have found two alternatives to a new OEM crank: Al Baker's XR's Only and some place called "Mr. Crankshaft" (www.mrcrankshaft.com). Both places claim to be able to rebuild the crank. I've dealt with XR's Only before but I'm really curious about the "Mr. Crankshaft" place. They claim they can rebuild the crank on a XR400 for $120 and have a 1-2 day turn-around time; this is about 1/2 the price of XR's only when using a wiseco "hot rods" kit.
Any input and or suggestions would be appreciated. I'd really like to hear from someone that's had to rebuild the crank on their 400.
Anyways, the crankshaft and connecting rod is sold as a one piece unit and honda wants well over $400(!!!!!!) for one. After a little searching on the net we have found two alternatives to a new OEM crank: Al Baker's XR's Only and some place called "Mr. Crankshaft" (www.mrcrankshaft.com). Both places claim to be able to rebuild the crank. I've dealt with XR's Only before but I'm really curious about the "Mr. Crankshaft" place. They claim they can rebuild the crank on a XR400 for $120 and have a 1-2 day turn-around time; this is about 1/2 the price of XR's only when using a wiseco "hot rods" kit.
Any input and or suggestions would be appreciated. I'd really like to hear from someone that's had to rebuild the crank on their 400.
