Ollie.T's Aprilia RS250 rebuild and restore

[Ollie.T]

Blatant rip-off of Fast Eddies thread!


Bought a 1996 Aprilia RS250 mid last year with 13000km on the clock. Rode it for a couple of months then put it in storage while I was overseas for 6 months.

Now that I am finally back in NZ (and have a bit of time off work) I think its time that I pull it to bits, fix a few things up and then somehow put it back together with (hopefully) minimal parts left over!

This is pretty much the first time I have pulled a bike to bits - the most mechanically minded thing I have done before this is probably take off the front wheel, adjust the chain tension and occasionally change the oil! So yeah, its probably going to be a bit of a learning curve...

Like Fast Eddie said:


Comments, advice, ideas and motivation welcome...

[Ollie.T]

And here is the 'Prila all in one piece!
Bets on how long it will take to get it back looking like this?

[Fast Eddie]

wicked! haha I'll keep an eye on this and see what u get up to. we can pinch ideas off each other.

did u check out my wheels after polishing the lip a bit? it looks sharp haha..

getting my front forks anodized gold and going to try to blueprint the engine once I have all the pieces back in my shed..

enjoy! sweet bikes eh. does yours have an Aprilia Works Division plate riveted to the frame? left hand side by the head stock. was just curious.. mine claims to be number 408 built.

[Fast Eddie]

haha funny, is that a gn250 behind it? guess what my shed looks like.. aprilia and a gn250 as well haha!

bromance in the making :facepalm:

[Ollie.T]

Yep that's the mighty GN! My missus is learning to ride on it - and this one actually works! :woohoo:

I was thinking about anodizing forks, they have to be taken apart and stanchions replaced anyway, but I quite like the plain black... Seen the rims, I'm not really a fan of the two tone look, if I was to do anything I would strip them back and get powdercoated (red perhaps?)

[Fast Eddie]

meh, powder coat or paint. I was going to do red with black rims or red with polished rims but the black with polished lip is gonna be a go for now.

my fireblade has bright yellow rims so i get my fix with that haha!

my forks are anodized purple already.. but they have seen better days. Gold is going to look mint I recon.

look forward to pics of yours as you progress - have you stripped it down yet?

[Ollie.T]

Man, the power valves are really a pain in the ass to remove... Think i need a impact driver and a blowtorch to heat the bolts in order to remove them. So thats not gonna happen this weekend :(

With inspecting pistons and stuff, reckon I can just get away with removing the cylinder heads? or take off more to be on the safe side?
Its kinda scaring me how easy it is to take things off! Im writing notes and labelling things the best I can, and so far things are seeming pretty logical but we will see in a few weeks when I try to reassemble the bike!

Here is the racing division plate - E445

[Fast Eddie]

Man, the power valves are really a pain in the ass to remove... Think i need a impact driver and a blowtorch to heat the bolts in order to remove them. So thats not gonna happen this weekend :(

With inspecting pistons and stuff, reckon I can just get away with removing the cylinder heads? or take off more to be on the safe side?
Its kinda scaring me how easy it is to take things off! Im writing notes and labelling things the best I can, and so far things are seeming pretty logical but we will see in a few weeks when I try to reassemble the bike!

Here is the racing division plate - E445

yip same plate, mines a few bikes earlier than yours I assume. H408

yea power valves are a pain, I have an impact driver and blow torch.. lol but! the little allen bolt that holds the actuating arm/shaft in place was even worse. a real nightmare I had to drill to get an engineering shop to drill them out.

I just took the whole cylinders off and took engine out of frame etc as I'm rebuilding it anyway, but you can prob just take the heads off and look down. won't be able to see the sides of the pistons or the rings tho.

yea take heaps of photos and notes etc. I have the manual scanned to pc on pdf if u want

[Fast Eddie]

just saw your front stand, mint! where did ya score that from.. I need a couple for my bikes they look handy as.

[ducatilover]

Another one? Cool! Will be watching this ;)

[Ollie.T]

House of Custom, via Trademe. Front stand was $145.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/parts-for-sale/stands/auction-462976967.htm

They forgot to send bolts with it! though when I gave them an email, they sorted it out pretty quick!
Made life a lot easier! Though it wouldn't really fit while i had the front mudguard thing on - not too much of an issue as I was taking the whole front end off, but perhaps it might get annoying later on if I'm just using it for smaller things.

[Ollie.T]

More pics!

We got any piston fortune tellers? Im hoping that these pistons are gonna have a long and happy life! (and retire of old age in approx 6000km rather than explode into many bits destroying the engine)

There is quite a bit of carbon buildup on the upper cylinder, what do people think?

The guy before me said that the owner before him seized it when the oil pump broke - so the engine was rebuilt at approx 8000km (though he had no proof of work done). Like I said before its done 16000km now, 14-16000km is ok for a pair of pistons right?

[Fast Eddie]

Another one? Cool! Will be watching this ;)

traitor! ;)

[Fast Eddie]

sweet cheers for the link, gotta get me some of those. perfect for taking the forks out etc.

yea carbon build up is kind of normal for a 2 stroke I think. But dunno its my first one too and my pistons looked a hell of a lot worse. did u see the pics? hehe.

but cylinders and crowns look good bro.. who knows how much longer they last but if u open it up every couple thousand kms and have a look u should avoid a catastrophic failure.

check the oil pump is working ;) hook up the feed line to a container with millileter measurement marks or something and time how long it takes to drain x amount of oil when running.

pdf manual has the method. pm me if u ever need the manual aye if u dont have it. its half in italian but also have rgv manuals that are handy.

[ducatilover]

You seem to be missing valves, cams and 6 cylinders mate.

[Ollie.T]

You seem to be missing valves, cams and 6 cylinders mate.

I had some of those, but I never could get them working with my RED POWERBAND!!! Though I might of had the two stroke wheels on it still...

[gammaguy]

You seem to be missing valves, cams and 6 cylinders mate.

some would call that missing

i would call it a recipe for happiness:innocent:

[tigertim20]

More pics!

We got any piston fortune tellers? Im hoping that these pistons are gonna have a long and happy life! (and retire of old age in approx 6000km rather than explode into many bits destroying the engine)

There is quite a bit of carbon buildup on the upper cylinder, what do people think?

The guy before me said that the owner before him seized it when the oil pump broke - so the engine was rebuilt at approx 8000km (though he had no proof of work done). Like I said before its done 16000km now, 14-16000km is ok for a pair of pistons right?

they dont look too bad, but really you cant predict the life expectancy of a piston by looking at it.
You have it open and apart, just replace them anyway, then you KNOW how old they are, and whats been done and when.

looking forward to reading this thread, loving all the rebuilds going on at the momment!

[eelracing]

but you can prob just take the heads off and look down. won't be able to see the sides of the pistons or the rings tho.


Cheap bastards smoker tip...don't throw away good money by replacing head gaskets unnecessarily.RGV cylinder base gaskets are half the price of head gaskets...you know it makes sense.

[Ollie.T]

Cheap bastards smoker tip...don't throw away good money by replacing head gaskets unnecessarily.RGV cylinder base gaskets are half the price of head gaskets...you know it makes sense.

NOW you tell me :p

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?15557-Tuning-How-to-get-70-BHP

Does anyone know anyone who has done the 1.4mm base gasket/ O-ring mod?
How much do you reckon it would cost to get someone to machine it?

It seems like a fairly straight forward mod, and although it would be fucking sweet, I'm not really after some sort of fire breathing beast (if it leads to a rebuild every 5000km or so...) How do people think it would be reliability wise....

[Fast Eddie]

Cheap bastards smoker tip...don't throw away good money by replacing head gaskets unnecessarily.RGV cylinder base gaskets are half the price of head gaskets...you know it makes sense.

hehe yea, I just take the whole cylinders off and leave the heads on eh.

[Fast Eddie]

NOW you tell me :p

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?15557-Tuning-How-to-get-70-BHP

Does anyone know anyone who has done the 1.4mm base gasket/ O-ring mod?
How much do you reckon it would cost to get someone to machine it?

It seems like a fairly straight forward mod, and although it would be fucking sweet, I'm not really after some sort of fire breathing beast (if it leads to a rebuild every 5000km or so...) How do people think it would be reliability wise....

was planning on doing it myself, I don't think it will effect reliability at all if you do it right. Don't up the compression, just machine the heads to take o-rings and then adjust the base gasket to keep the compression standard. Just means u can take the heads off and not need to replace the head gaskets everytime. I think when you do this o-ring mod you redo the squish clearances again etc. Will prob lead to a nice running motor. Get into it!

[ducatilover]

Less chit chat, more work.

[Ollie.T]

Ok, in the last couple of days i have:

-Sent forks up to Kiwi suspension solutions to see what Mr Taylor can do with them
-ordered new rubber circley bits
-got laser eye surgery (which costed more than my bike!! :blink:)

When i was taking the carbs apart, I saw the choke guide bit (little plastic nut thing which holds the choke cable into the carb) has broken on one of the carbs (and i imagine with the plastic being 16 years old, the other one is pretty brittle.)
Does anyone know if it is the same as the RGV one?

[ducatilover]

Mikuni P/N is 13418-43410

http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/products/548461-suzuki-13418-43410-hard-parts-holder-guide
http://www.ultimateparts.net/aprilia/c.php?id=18051
http://www.plenternz.com/product_info.php?products_id=239656&osCsid=u3kjn78gl6b1p329o4f1a0nt65

How has the laser surgery worked out for you?
I am chasing the plonkers in power up to correct my homo lazy eye, then I hope to get laser done.

[Fast Eddie]

Ok, in the last couple of days i have:

-Sent forks up to Kiwi suspension solutions to see what Mr Taylor can do with them
-ordered new rubber circley bits
-got laser eye surgery (which costed more than my bike!! :blink:)

When i was taking the carbs apart, I saw the choke guide bit (little plastic nut thing which holds the choke cable into the carb) has broken on one of the carbs (and i imagine with the plastic being 16 years old, the other one is pretty brittle.)
Does anyone know if it is the same as the RGV one?

how much did KSS quote you for front forks? he quoted me about 1,500 for my fronts.. I think I'll do it another day haha.. u can buy Race Tech Gold valve kits and springs etc to redo ur own suspension.. looking at about 300 US (about 350NZ at the mo) plus ur own labour time. I'm gonna go for that i think. it wont be as good as KSS obviously but i might learn a thing or two and keep the jew in me happy

my plastic choke nuts were also buggered. let me know where/when u find replacements urself and I'll grab some too hehe.. been too lazy so far to get em. got other things to do

[ducatilover]

my plastic choke nuts were also buggered. let me know where/when u find replacements urself and I'll grab some too hehe.. been too lazy so far to get em. got other things to do

Hopeless fuck, look at the links in my last post :bleh:

[gammaguy]

Cheap bastards smoker tip...don't throw away good money by replacing head gaskets unnecessarily.RGV cylinder base gaskets are half the price of head gaskets...you know it makes sense.

try that on an RG400........

[Fast Eddie]

Hopeless fuck, look at the links in my last post :bleh:

ahh, haha i just read thru a thread until I see a line that I want to respond to.. ya miss out on a lot haha.. chur

still keen to know what KSS is charging him for his forks tho.. if its 1,500 thats a fair amount to throw at an old smoker haha

[Ollie.T]

Choke nuts were $12 each from local bike shop, which is only a couple dollars more than online so I'm ok with it

They quoted me $86ish per cylinder head gasket though, which is crazy (seeing that they are approx $80 for a pair online, including postage) Im wondering if they got confused and quoted me for a pair? might ring another bike shop tomorrow (or if Pete from wgtn motorcycles sees this, he might let us know :p )

Im getting KSS to replace stanchions, cos they were pitted and going through seals like a Canadian with a club (ordered them online from emoto.com, came to just under $400 for both together including postage) and rebuild. He estimated it would cost $250ish in labour. He's also hopefully gonna measure up the spring and see what he can do in regards to getting a new shiny one put it. I did ask him to give me a quote before he starts doing anything too expensive!

Laser eye surgery is pretty damn good. Eyes still feel pretty irritated and are bloodshot though, sight has definitely improved and is meant to be still getting better as they heal. No longer need glasses/contacts for riding!

[Fast Eddie]

oh mint the choke nuts are cheap, did you get em from a suzuki dealer? I'll go check em out tmoro see if my suzuki shop charges the same.

86 bucks a head gasket! shit.. I just bought a complete set of gaskets, every gasket on the bike, but it was under 200 im pretty sure for every single gasket on the bike, exhaust, heads, base etc etc

u decided not to do the o-ring conversion? at 86 a head gasket it could be worth it after all haha!

[Ollie.T]

I was gonna wait a bit on the O ring conversion until i saw the price they wanted for the gaskets!
Now I'm seriously considering it again... the 1.4mm base gaskets are pretty pricey too (about the same price that the shop wanted for the head gaskets!) and I also have to track down some of those O rings and find a machinist type person I trust in Wgtn to do the job.

With the gold valve emulator kit thing, will that work with our forks? I never asked but I imagined as we had one fork leg, doing twice the amount of work than normal, the specs would be all wrong. Though if it would work, and we did only need the one emulator, we could go halves on a set :p (that is, unless there is a left and right emulator? Truly i have no real idea of what I am talking about....)

[Kickaha]

Truly i have no real idea of what I am talking about....)

That's ok, neither does he:yes:

[Ollie.T]

Which is why I sent the forks to Rob Taylor for him to look at. He makes youtube videos - he MUST know what he's talking about!

[Fast Eddie]

That's ok, neither does he:yes:

haha too right ya bastard :motu:

[Fast Eddie]

With the gold valve emulator kit thing, will that work with our forks? I never asked but I imagined as we had one fork leg, doing twice the amount of work than normal, the specs would be all wrong. Though if it would work, and we did only need the one emulator, we could go halves on a set :p (that is, unless there is a left and right emulator? Truly i have no real idea of what I am talking about....)

yea the front forks on these mk1s are retarded, I will have to enquire a bit more - I think the kit includes valves for the one leg and springs and whatever for the other leg - otherwise a swap to normal symmetrical forks might be an option for me..

the 1,500 quote I got from KSS was for some serious tuning I believe, close to ohlins quality.

[gammaguy]

http://www.motoparts-online.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2493973

[GSW]

Hey dude I dont know if you have a good manual, but here is a link to a direct pdf download for an "Aprilia_RS250 Service Manual - 1995-1997"
http://www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=102.

[Ollie.T]

Cheers, though I dont know if there is such a thing as a good manual for the Aprilia, they are all half in Italian and with next to useless diagrams :p

Finding a manual was the first thing I did - even before buying the bike!

Man, I hate waiting for the post. And getting out broken bolts. And finding replacement bolts for the broken bolts...

And I have to get up fucking early tomorrow... But thats all part of the fun!

[Ollie.T]

Anyway whats been going on it's been a little quiet of late?Do you two need some inspiration?kick up the rear?..i'm hoping to have her all together and run in by sunday.

Been pretty busy with life & everything else, so have not been able to even touch the bike for the last week and a half.
However, I got a parcel in the post from the tuning works, containing a gasket set and various carb and power valve screws.
Also, got a email from Rob Taylor on Thursday, saying forks are done and are in the post!
I guess this served as a kick up the bum as I managed to get back out into the shed today and got a bit done.

Still can't get the power valve screws out, and one of them is looking a lot worse for wear due to my efforts, so I took the whole cylinder off, gave them a clean and gonna take them round to a engineering place if I get the chance tomorrow, let them have a crack at it.
Also, this let me check out the piston skirt and have a look right through the cylinders. The bottom one looks sweet as, but there is a bit of scuffing on the top one. Normal piston wear or something to be a bit more concerned about?

Also, as I was taking the top cylinder off, I found the source of that constant buzzing noise that I can hear when Im riding - I always thought it was a normal two stroke noise! :p

[Ollie.T]

Also, took the carbs apart to give them a clean - Though I have no idea how they work.

Ok, well i got a vague idea how they work and what all the bits do, but I have no idea how to make sure they are set up right so my bike doesn't explode (which I am trying to avoid)

It looks like there is some sort of paint or mineralization? in the bowl, someone has had a go at it in the past with some sort of scrapey thing, should I continue on where they left off and get it as close to spotless as I can?

There is also a little bit of rust in places which I will get off - just ran out of time today (any advice on the best way to do this?)

Lastly, it looks like the overflow pipe has been soldered up. Is this normal?

At the moment I'm thinking of just cleaning them up, putting them back together and taking it in to a bike shop and getting them to actually set them up properly - unless someone here can guide me through what to do and what to look for?

[Ollie.T]

Also, how do people clean brake calipers properly?

I have got mine cleaner than they were, but they still have black crud on them which is resisting my best efforts (and I have not used anything too strong on them because I don't want to destroy the seals round the pistons, I have heard they are hard to find replacements for....)

Should I split them open carefully, clean and reuse the seals? or just clean them while together?

[eelracing]

Still can't get the power valve screws out, and one of them is looking a lot worse for wear due to my efforts.
An impact screwdriver will have those puppies out no probs

[QUOTE=Ollie.T]Also, this let me check out the piston skirt and have a look right through the cylinders. there is a bit of scuffing on the top one. Normal piston wear or something to be a bit more concerned about?[QUOTE]


Photo is not the best but it looks like at some stage it has had a slight seizure...don't panic yet as a light rub down with very fine sandpaper and kerosene should remove what looks like a bit of melted piston on the cylinders nikasil lining.Lets hope the nikasil has not been scored up at all especially on the exhaust port bridge,coz then you will be looking at re-nikasiling...not cheap.

Of course I would be replacing the piston and rings as well,just for peace of mind.[COLOR="#FFFF00"]


[QUOTE=OllieT]Also, as I was taking the top cylinder off, I found the source of that constant buzzing noise that I can hear when Im riding - I always thought it was a normal two stroke noise! :p

Haha better there than buzzing around your helmet.

[QUOTE=Ollie.T;1130323114]Also, took the carbs apart to give them a clean - Though I have no idea how they work.

Ok, well i got a vague idea how they work and what all the bits do, but I have no idea how to make sure they are set up right so my bike doesn't explode (which I am trying to avoid)

It looks like there is some sort of paint or mineralization? in the bowl, someone has had a go at it in the past with some sort of scrapey thing, should I continue on where they left off and get it as close to spotless as I can?

There is also a little bit of rust in places which I will get off - just ran out of time today (any advice on the best way to do this?)[QUOTE]



Strip down carbs one at a time so you can always use the other as a reference source if you get stuck or forget what went where...altho your manual should have it covered.
A really good cleaner is CRC's Clean.R.Carb...it is powerfull stuff so make sure your work area is well ventilated and don't smoke around it.Its also good for cleaning/scrubbing brake calipers and all that gunk in your powervalve housing.Carbies are pretty basic and easy to get your head around once you've done it a few times,but just make sure your running standard main jets (manual again)and give all the jets a good blow-out with compressed air.


[QUOTE=Ollie.T]Lastly, it looks like the overflow pipe has been soldered up. Is this normal?[QUOTE]


No and is indicative of a munter previous owner.Get it off and if carb is still overflowing then it is either a float height issue or worn float needle.All an easy and cheap fix and once again your manual should have it covered



[QUOTE=Ollie.T;1130323147]Also, how do people clean brake calipers properly?[QUOTE]

As above and an old toothbrush...now get to it.

[Ollie.T]

Tried the impact driver, no luck, tried butane pencil torch then impact driver, no luck. My bro is mates with a few engineers, so just get one of them to do it.

I'll try and clean up the cylinder... Was really hoping that I wouldn't have to get new piston... it means a few more weeks and less money, which Im trying to save...
I was planning on trying to get ~2000km more out of this set of pistons and then doing the 1.4mm gasket mod when I rebuild again. You reckon this is asking for trouble?

And how to remove the solder? heat it up with butane torch and try and use something to wick it out? I guess it depends how deep it is...

And I shouldn't worry to much about getting solvent type stuff around the brake pistons? I thought that was something to avoid?

[tigertim20]

Tried the impact driver, no luck, tried butane pencil torch then impact driver, no luck. My bro is mates with a few engineers, so just get one of them to do it.

I'll try and clean up the cylinder... Was really hoping that I wouldn't have to get new piston... it means a few more weeks and less money, which Im trying to save...
I was planning on trying to get ~2000km more out of this set of pistons and then doing the 1.4mm gasket mod when I rebuild again. You reckon this is asking for trouble?

And how to remove the solder? heat it up with butane torch and try and use something to wick it out? I guess it depends how deep it is...

And I shouldn't worry to much about getting solvent type stuff around the brake pistons? I thought that was something to avoid?
you have it all apart now, do as much as possible while its apart now

[Kickaha]

don't panic yet as a light rub down with very fine sandpaper and kerosene should remove what looks like a bit of melted piston on the cylinders nikasil lining.Lets hope the nikasil has not been scored up at all especially on the exhaust port bridge,coz then you will be looking at re-nikasiling...not cheap.
Muratic acid is easier and what most people use, to replate will be $550-600 at least

sort your quotes out will ya, you missed the / out, makes it a prick to read



The esiest way to remove aluminum from the wall of a nikasil
plated cylinder is with muriatic acid. I believe muriatic acid is just diluted hydrocloric acid (HCl). You can get it at most any good hardware store or swimming pool supply store. Muriatic acid is used to clean lime deposits
in swimming pools, etc. It is commonly available and only costs a few dollars per quart. A quart is roughly a lifetime supply. CAVEAT: be very careful! The acid eats aluminum very quickly! You must be very cautious when using it near cylinder ports...it can eat the aluminum at the edges of the ports. It can also eat aluminum through any nicks or holes in the plating. I usually use a cotton tipped swap to apply the acid precisely where I want it on the nikasil liner. If it causes bubbles, then it is eating aluminum from the surface of the nikasil. I leave it on for about 20 seconds and then wipe off thouroughly. I usually repeat the process two or three times to be sure I have removed all of the aluminum from the plated cylinder wall. Then I rinse the cylinder *very* thouroughly with water to make sure there is no remaining acid. Then drench the cylinder in WD-40. Then a little work with a scotchbrite pad. Then a final cleaning and ... viola! Ready for assembly - good as new.

[eelracing]

Tried the impact driver, no luck, tried butane pencil torch then impact driver, no luck. My bro is mates with a few engineers, so just get one of them to do it.

Fair enough

I'll try and clean up the cylinder... Was really hoping that I wouldn't have to get new piston... it means a few more weeks and less money, which Im trying to save...

And you send shit to RT???

I was planning on trying to get ~2000km more out of this set of pistons and then doing the 1.4mm gasket mod when I rebuild again. You reckon this is asking for trouble?

Not replacing piston?...yes.1.4mm mod?...I look forward to seeing your results.

And how to remove the solder? heat it up with butane torch and try and use something to wick it out? I guess it depends how deep it is...

Sounds sound.



And I shouldn't worry to much about getting solvent type stuff around the brake pistons? I thought that was something to avoid?

I've never had a prob with CRC Clean R Carb.



Muratic acid is easier and what most people use,

Cheers for that.


to replate will be $550-600 at least

Tell me about it.

sort your quotes out will ya, you missed the / out, makes it a prick to read

Hows that?

[eelracing]

For OllieT. and FastEddie...start-up today.Gotta love that Eu De Two Stroke eh?

[Fast Eddie]

For OllieT. and FastEddie...start-up today.Gotta love that Eu De Two Stroke eh?

its my favourite cologne!

mint bro, can't wait til I'm doin that with my 250!

[Fast Eddie]

good work Ollie T - let us know how u go with cylinder clean up - they look worse than mine and u shud see the pistons i pulled out of mine haha..

id be interested in a diy clean up tho..

I had same problem with powervalve screws and also the little allen retainer screws for the actuating shaft and arm. an engineer did 1 allen screw for me, had to drill it out and had to buy new shaft and arm after I made a mess of it trying to get it out with an easy-out.

The rest I did myself with a heat gun.. beefed up blow drier lol.. warmed the whole area up for quite a while, heaps of penetrating oil, gave everything a solid crack with a solid screwdriver/allen head and rubber hammer and then they came out fairly easily. I used an impact driver for a couple but mine wasn't that effective compared to just a normal rubber mallet and a solid screw driver and just give them a crack. heaps of penetrating oil aye. I got the allen head powervalve screws etc from TTW. they rave about them so hopefully they are better for the next removal.

the manual has all the info for setting up the carbs - fairly easy - its probably just the float height which is straight forward and the idle and a synchronisation that you'll do and cleaning the jets - my overflows are not blocked off. and inside of carbs should be nice and clean - I had what looked like sand in one of mine, gotta clean it all out and clean all the fuel and air pathways/jets out too. I used thin wire and air. Havent had them running yet so i might have stuffed em up. who knows.. they look cleaner ;)

have u got the rgv engine manuals? better to go off than the italian RS one.

[Fast Eddie]

oh and what did robert taylor do to your forks and how much was the final bill? I need to do something with mine as well, can't just anodize em and leave the internals shite haha

[Ollie.T]

Final bill from him was $556. He switched the stanchions round with the ones I supplied, modified the spring (he didn't have anything aftermarket that would suit :( ) replaced all the seals, fluids etc and set up for my weight. Price wise it's about what bike shops quoted me, so I'm cool with that.

[SVboy]

To get the hard to shift crap off your caliper pistons use the edge of an old credit card-no chance of scratching a piston, although yours might benefit from a split, clean and new seals. You could probably use your existing credit card because it will be well f#@ked after your buy new pistons,rings and power valves!! Loving these threads!

[Ollie.T]

Yeah they probably could do with new seals, however from my trawling through of old threads, they are as rare and as hard to find as.... A two stroke with no mechanical problems?

Brembo or Aprilia or someone prefers you to replace the entire caliper rather than rebuild them. Some liability thing or bollocks like that.

And yeah, it's looking like it is replating or new cylinder time, god damn it. And if I'm doing the pistons, I probably should do both. Now to save up another $900ish right?

I havnt even seen the power valves yet. I think it may be off the road a wee while longer...
Perhaps I shoulda bought a H***a!

[Kickaha]

Brembo or Aprilia or someone prefers you to replace the entire caliper rather than rebuild them. Some liability thing or bollocks like that.


You can get rebuild kits for a lot of Brembo stuff, what size are the pistons? and what is the spacing between the mounting holes onto the forks?
This is one of the most common kits https://store.bevelheaven.com/brake-related-parts/brembo-30/34-piston-seal-kit/

hmmm you might be right going by what he is saying

[tigertim20]

And yeah, it's looking like it is replating or new cylinder time, god damn it. And if I'm doing the pistons, I probably should do both. Now to save up another $900ish right?

I havnt even seen the power valves yet. I think it may be off the road a wee while longer...
Perhaps I shoulda bought a H***a!

isnt there a 300cc kit available?

[Ollie.T]

You can get rebuild kits for a lot of Brembo stuff, what size are the pistons? and what is the spacing between the mounting holes onto the forks?
This is one of the most common kits https://store.bevelheaven.com/brake-related-parts/brembo-30/34-piston-seal-kit/

hmmm you might be right going by what he is saying


So, now I need to save up another $1050ish...

I was hoping to get new pipes later this year, they probably off the cards now...

[eelracing]

This is pretty much the first time I have pulled a bike to bits - the most mechanically minded thing I have done before this is probably take off the front wheel, adjust the chain tension and occasionally change the oil! So yeah, its probably going to be a bit of a learning curve...:


Yeah they probably could do with new seals, however from my trawling through of old threads, they are as rare and as hard to find as.... A two stroke with no mechanical problems?

And yeah, it's looking like it is replating or new cylinder time, god damn it. And if I'm doing the pistons, I probably should do both. Now to save up another $900ish right?

I havnt even seen the power valves yet. I think it may be off the road a wee while longer...
Perhaps I shoulda bought a H***a!


So, now I need to save up another $1050ish...

I was hoping to get new pipes later this year, they probably off the cards now...


Ollie the education you've given yourself already is something that 90% of motorcyclists will never do so congrats for getting this far.
Realistically you have a nearly 20 year old bike and in a world where mugs like me are paying close to $600 for a years rego it is a small price to pay in the long run.

Your RS when on the pipe will carve up back roads with the best of moderns and not many 20 year old bikes will do that...hell don't even mention modern 250's,but that's so called progress for you eh.
Lay her up for winter,treat her to all of the above (forget about the 1.4mm barrel mod for now unless you want to go racing,these bikes really don't need it)and remember you have a performance stroker in your garage and not a plug in and play, ride and forget toy.

[Ollie.T]

Ollie the education you've given yourself already is something that 90% of motorcyclists will never do so congrats for getting this far.
Realistically you have a nearly 20 year old bike and in a world where mugs like me are paying close to $600 for a years rego it is a small price to pay in the long run.

Your RS when on the pipe will carve up back roads with the best of moderns and not many 20 year old bikes will do that...hell don't even mention modern 250's,but that's so called progress for you eh.
Lay her up for winter,treat her to all of the above (forget about the 1.4mm barrel mod for now unless you want to go racing,these bikes really don't need it)and remember you have a performance stroker in your garage and not a plug in and play, ride and forget toy.

Yeah, im gonna forget about the barrel mods right now...
I do enjoy the fixing side of things - I just wish it wasn't quite so hard on the pocket!

Here are a few photos of the forks... Im away (fucking AGAIN!) for a bit, so progress is gonna slow right down (though I have taken the carbs with me :D)

[Clivoris]

Great read mate. Keep at it.

[Ollie.T]

A really good cleaner is CRC's Clean.R.Carb...it is powerfull stuff so make sure your work area is well ventilated and don't smoke around it.Its also good for cleaning/scrubbing brake calipers and all that gunk in your powervalve housing.


Note to future Ollie.T... Don't try and clean carbs in bedroom after a few beers... It may seem like a good idea at the time, but it makes everything smell a bit funky...

[Ollie.T]

Im not dead!!

(I've just been away lots!! And unfortunately I'm going away again tomorrow for another month or so...)

But new bits!!

[Ollie.T]

Measuring everything up, everything is within service limits, except for the "piston ring free end gap" (which is the measurement of the gap between the ends of the piston rings when they are sitting neutral on a bench) manual says service limit 4mm (doesn't say max or min), mine measure approx 5.5mm. what do people think?

[Fast Eddie]

have you been stretching or twisting the rings?

good to see your making as much progress as me on the 2 stroke build ;)

I'm about to get back into mine since my sidecar is on the north island and I can't tinker with that (someone else is tho! Cheers Nev ;) )

Lets hope we are luckier than Asher when we get ours back together.. hehehe :innocent:

nah mine'll blow up.. I can feel it

[Asher]

You will have trouble being un-luckier than me. I had to put in a few bottom end after the flywheel decided it would try leave me. Now im chasing an electrical gremlin as its only running on one.

[Fast Eddie]

You will have trouble being un-luckier than me. I had to put in a few bottom end after the flywheel decided it would try leave me. Now im chasing an electrical gremlin as its only running on one.

haha, the bonus is when I have a problem I'll just ask you for the solution as you may have already gone through it :D

[ac3_snow]

Measuring everything up, everything is within service limits, except for the "piston ring free end gap" (which is the measurement of the gap between the ends of the piston rings when they are sitting neutral on a bench) manual says service limit 4mm (doesn't say max or min), mine measure approx 5.5mm. what do people think?

You will lose some compression if the ring end gap is to big. May want to go to an bike/kart/engineering shop and get them to measure the clearance of the bore and piston to cheque you don't need to next size up (I'm assuming you can get oversize pistons etc I don't actually know with these)

[Ollie.T]

good to see your making as much progress as me on the 2 stroke build ;)


Well between work, getting married, buying a new house and going to Samoa for a month, there hasn't been that much spare time!

In regards to the piston rings, the clearances are correct while in the cylinder - it's just that the measurement when it is sitting on the bench (which I guess is a indicator of spring tension when it's in the cylinder) is greater than it states in the manual. I figured that it would only matter if the spring tension was less that stated specification as that would lead to blow by and loss of compression?

So yeah, pistons and cylinders are back on, torqued down - now it's just the carbs I need to try and understand... That and I hope all the bits made it across in the move - cant seem to find the exhaust pipe flange bits! Anyone got any spares?

[ac3_snow]

ahh I missed the 'free' part of your statement. Never even knew that was something that had a measured tolerance, I only ever thought the clearance in the barrel mattered.
Good to hear your getting close though!

[imdying]

There's nothing to understand in the carbs, just give them a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner, confirm all the jets are as listed in the manual, and set the idle stop. Then fire her up!

Given that you're taking a methodical approach and checking/measuring things, you'll probably have no trouble. Generally it's only when you take a rough n ready she'll be right approach that things come bite you in the arse.

Make sure the plastic 'nuts' that go into the carb body for the choke cables aren't broken; common source of an air leak that melts pistons. Use the airbox, filter, and lid, and make sure the little filters on the solenoids are clear.

[Ollie.T]

There's nothing to understand in the carbs, just give them a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner, confirm all the jets are as listed in the manual, and set the idle stop. Then fire her up!

Given that you're taking a methodical approach and checking/measuring things, you'll probably have no trouble. Generally it's only when you take a rough n ready she'll be right approach that things come bite you in the arse.

Make sure the plastic 'nuts' that go into the carb body for the choke cables aren't broken; common source of an air leak that melts pistons. Use the airbox, filter, and lid, and make sure the little filters on the solenoids are clear.

And there is the probable source of my seized piston :D I had been worrying a bit about why it had eaten itself, and that it would do the same when it's back up and running - however one of the plastic nuts had split (so actually the very first thing I did was replace both of them...)

And what are the little filters on the solenoids?

Managed to get home for a day, powervalves are in and set up according to markings, pipes are on, radiator is on and connected up, brakes are on (except reservoir, which needs replacing).

So it really is just finish the carbs and replace fuel lines, carb filters!

[imdying]

They are nothing more than a round plastic cap with a piece of foam inside. It's the round part of hte solenoid... that's the air inlet, and that round bit is the filter. If you look closely, you'll see how to take them to bits (just the round bit, although you could give the solenoid 12v and blow through it).

[Ollie.T]

Does anyone have a spare front brake reservoir? Bike shops say there is nothing in the country that will fit and I don't really wanna order it online by itself...

[imdying]

So long as the outlet pipe is the right OD, you can use anything, doesn't have to be RS250. Just get yourself whatever you like from a wrecker and order one up next time you're getting some bits. Eurowhatsit is the NZ Brembo guy, he'll probably have a universal fit one in stock. FWIW, my RGV one was the same as GSXR750, so don't neglect looking at things like 916s etc.

How did you get on with the solenoid filters? Had they decomposed?

[Asher]

Are they the same as a RGV? i have a spare

[Fast Eddie]

Are they the same as a RGV? i have a spare

dunno, did your RGV come with Brembo brakes :D :D hehe

[Ollie.T]

RS250 has the mounting hole horizontal coming off the side of it, brake fluid outlet is coming off the bottom with a right angle thing

looks exactly like the one below.

I did say at the shop it didnt have to be OEM... so they ordered me a clutch reservoir off a RSVR? and now they are saying there is nothing that will fit in the country (which i find slightly hard to believe?)

[sugilite]

RS250 has the mounting hole horizontal coming off the side of it, brake fluid outlet is coming off the bottom with a right angle thing

looks exactly like the one below.

I did say at the shop it didnt have to be OEM... so they ordered me a clutch reservoir off a RSVR? and now they are saying there is nothing that will fit in the country (which i find slightly hard to believe?)

Dude did you read the post I've quoted below? This guy knows what he is talking about.


So long as the outlet pipe is the right OD, you can use anything, doesn't have to be RS250. Just get yourself whatever you like from a wrecker and order one up next time you're getting some bits. Eurowhatsit is the NZ Brembo guy, he'll probably have a universal fit one in stock. FWIW, my RGV one was the same as GSXR750, so don't neglect looking at things like 916s etc.

How did you get on with the solenoid filters? Had they decomposed?

[Ollie.T]

Dude did you read the post I've quoted below? This guy knows what he is talking about.

Yeah I did, I have contacted the local wrecker in wgtn, just waiting for them to get back to me. I posted the image on here in case anyone had a spare one lying round in their bucket of bits - preferably one with the mounting bracket horizontal so I dont have to scrounge around for something in order to mount it.

It just seems strange that the dealer are saying that there is nothing in NZ that will fit (OEM or aftermarket) when, as imdying said, all that really matters is the outlet pipe OD... Might give a different shop a call, see what they say...

[imdying]

What was the OD in mm? I think I have a Tyga one that's 6mm.

[Ollie.T]

OD is 7mm

and its up and running!! (who thought i would never make it? Be honest...)
Bodged a reservoir on there with zip ties (might have to get a reservoir cover thing for it when i take it in for a warrant...)

Hopefully get the running in finished tomorrow, warmed it up and let it cool a few times, took it for a short ride (keeping it under 6-7k rpm)
any advice on making sure it doesnt go boom?

there are still a few things i want need to do on it in the next week or so, so its still not finished yet... and it needs another clean already!

[Fast Eddie]

mint bro! the mrs and I did a few hours on mine today. I just pointed n told her what to do haha, good havin an assisant.

there is a run in procedure in the manual.