To HONE or not to HONE

[MikeT]

My 1996 YZ125 is due for a top end and I'll be doing it this week. I know it has a nikasil type coating on the cylinder walls and my question is this. Should I hone the cylinder before putting the new top end in or not? I have NEVER had it honed before and not sure if this is something that needs to be done or not.

What do you guys know about this?

 

[Rich Rohrich]

General purpose Scotchbite pads (maroon #7447) are a safer and cheaper choice for breaking the oil glaze that builds up over time. If you are going to use a hone, a 320 grit ball hone the size of your bore is your best bet.

 

[jmics19067]

At the risk of people shakin' their heads at me and sounding silly this is what I do.

I have one of them old style hard stone spring loaded hones , you know the kind that is a complete no-no for plated cylinders. I chuck that into a variable speed drill and then wrap a Scotchbrite pad around the stones carefully. Making sure that the stones are completely covered by Scotchbrite, I slide it into the jug , spray wd40 liberally and with a slow to medium speed on the drill in a smooth up and down motion. In less than a minute I am ready for the shop dedicated toilet bowl and baby bottle brushes to scrub clean.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Originally posted by jmics19067
At the risk of people shakin' their heads at me

:| :confused:

 

[jmics19067]

:eek: see told ya :cool: