Suzuki cylinders...to hone or not to hone

Originally posted by placelast
The grit sounds correct but the sizing isn't - it's ~20% larger or so, not smaller.

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No it's not :silly:

Here are Eric's EXACT words:

All of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers caution against using any type of hone in a plated cylinder. Its not that its an impossible task, its just because it’s a difficult thing to do correctly. Here are some basic rules for honing light scratches, burnt oil, and minor aluminum scuffs on nickel-plated cylinders. 1) Use a ball-hone with a diameter that is 10% smaller than the cylinder bore size, 240-360 grit, and made of aluminum-oxide material. 2) Never ever use a three-shoe stone hone because they will chip the port edges. 3) Coat the cylinder and ball-hone in oil before honing the cylinder. 4) Chuck the ball-hone in a drill and put the hone in the cylinder completely before turning. 5) Run the drill at a slow speed and stroke the hone back and forth in the bore for about ten strokes. Cylinders that are nickel-plated are very hard (83 Rockwell C Scale) so you can’t remove any metal with a ball-hone. I usually hone a cylinder every time I change the piston assembly. Ball-honing polishes down high spots and sharp port edges without damaging the plating. Ball-honing will insure that the piston and rings have a smooth cross-hatched surface to mate with. Kawasaki cylinders use a different bore material and plating method. The tungsten material is very thin and vulnerable. For those cylinders I suggest using a piece of Scotch-Brite to hand strip the cylinder bore of burnt oil. Whenever you hone a cylinder you should clean the cylinder in mineral spirits solvent and then hot soapy water. Spray the cylinder with penetrating oil to displace the water left over from cleaning.

Originally posted by Rich Rohrich
Kawasaki cylinders use a different bore material and plating method. The tungsten material is very thin and vulnerable. For those cylinders I suggest using a piece of Scotch-Brite to hand strip the cylinder bore of burnt oil.

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Sorry to hijack your thread los but a quick question in regards to this statement for Rich as I'm about to do the top end on my son's KX 80. Do I need to be careful about how aggressive I am in cleaning the cylinder with a scotch brite pad or is it safe to give it a real good scrub? 1st top end I've ever attempted so I'm trying to get all my questions asked before it's in pieces :)

The Kawi plating is pretty suspect but you won't hurt it with Scotchbrite pads. I use the #7447 which is a medium aggresive pad. If you do tear up the plating with these pads then you needed a re-plate to start with.

Thx Rich!