Hey Eric, should not be a problem with paint on the head and cylinder, most of the manufactures painted their engines black at some point. The only thing I would not do is powder coating. I think that would cause heat issues.

@@montana2strokeracer Good point, thanks.

Thank you, a lot of work, and we are not done yet, still needs a bore.

You would have to do it the same way, it would have to be cut out with mill or lathe, because it is installed when they pour the lower casting. I have replaced the inner part of the bushing with a commercially available flange bushing to get the crankshaft back in position and installed a bearing below it in the case of this one. I honestly would not replace with a bushing in the lower part like I did with the bearing here, because the wear in the crankshaft will still be there. Replacing with the bearing as done here you are now riding on a virgin area of the crank that has seen no wear. This is how you can now keep seals in the lower end. If you just replace the bushing, you would need to spray weld or sleeve the wear area on the crank to get rid of the slop. Thats a lot of expense as compared to this procedure.

Thanks so much!

In this video I never mounted the cylinder in the lathe. I only made the threaded inserts in the lathe and installed them while the cylinder was mounted on the milling machine. If I was to install it in the lathe, I would use an expanding mandrel. I have in the past made an adapter to hold the cylinder for boring in the lathe.

My mistake, I was watching several different videos and got this video confused with the video where you had welded the base gasket area and was machining it back down. Again, my apologies for the mistake. Keep up the excellent videos

Thank you, Mark, this is a really neat machine.

Not enough movement in my 8-inch 4 jaw, had to use the 4-jaw offset and the Jig. Believe me I really didn't want to make a Jig to do this, I exhausted every avenue before making the Jig.

@ ahhhh, that makes sense! I was really baffled while watching the video as you had the jig running off centre, thinking surely there’s something up. Great video, love to see it!

Thanks Greg, nice to have you along for the ride.

@@montana2strokeracer I never miss a video 😃😃

Thanks, buddy, yes, I had a TS400 that I had one stripped on, it was a pain to remove and had to repair like this.

​@@montana2strokeracerI have had a difficult time finding studs for the 250 and 400 cylinder heads as well. Had to resort to fabricating some on the lathe.

@davidleland8729 Dave partzilla has 6 in stock for ts400.

@@montana2strokeracer Thank you!

Thanks Mark, nice to have you along for the ride.

Hey Pete, to be quite honest, I repair mostly with Helicoils, but in this instance on the exhaust the 6mm holes had been tapped oversize to 5/16 so this would not work. So, since I had no Time serts, I made my own. The repair on the cylinder head studs was primarily done with the Keen serts because they had previously been repaired that way, and I was sure that replacing the inserts with Rocksett would be a good repair. For that repair I would prefer Time serts. I am moving more toward Time serts for repair if you have room for them. Sometimes you just don't have the room, so Helicoils are more prudent. For me I have been doing Helicoils for so long and have all the inserts and tools to do them, so if I need another type insert, I have to buy them and wait for them to come in, while Helicoils I have just about every size on hand with the proper tools to install them. More and more though I am moving more to Time serts. Many times, I have to make my own inserts when they have been hogged too far oversize to repair and there is not enough room for a commercially made inserts.

I remember when the 370 came out, it was a beast, then they made the stroke longer on the 400 in 79 and it was a torque monster. I really don't know the HP difference but probably 5 or 6 more.

Hey Jim, I thought you would remember that. It's fun to save this old iron to run another day. Yes sir, Maico saves the day otherwise this cylinder would need a sleeve.

I am not that well versed on Kawasaki's, probably the least experience of all of them, but I believe the kick starter should turn the pump, are you holding the pump lever wide open when you kick it. These pumps deliver a very small amount of oil at idle. You need to pull on the cable or hold the throttle open to be able to see oil move through the lines.

@ I understand. I appreciate your help regardless. Yes I spent a good couple minutes turning the bike over with the kickstarter by hand and holding the pump all the way open and saw nothing. I verified the pump was receiving oil from the oil inlet line. I’ll open it up and make sure it’s clean and working properly inside

Thanks, I was a little scared to make it too thin, worried it would pop when I pressed it on.

Great to have you in the shop Larry, nothing like a big 2 stroke to get the juices flowing, I enjoy the machining aspect of this hobby a lot. Nice to be able to keep the old iron humming.

Thanks Darren, sure appreciate you taking the time to stop by the shop.

Thanks Cain, and thanks for the shirt......one of my faves

Well then, its official, I have heard it from Suzuki guys, now I have it from the Maico guys, I'm all set, lets bore this thing.

Not my favorite either Earl. I would rather use Time serts in this situation.

Thank you, Gerald, glad to have you stopping by the shop.

Thank you, my friend, more than frosty here, but the shop and the coffee is warm. Prayers for healing, you are so right James.

Spoke too soon...snow has started!

Oh my, we are at zero Fahrenheit and a foot of snow, think that is about enough, I'm ready for spring.

Yes, us yanks and our imperial stuff. LOL. I agree, these threads are indeed stronger than just threaded aluminum. Thanks for hanging out with us.

Hey Jack, so far, I am digging the ZV-1F. There are a lot more buttons and functions that I am still learning, compared to the GoPro. You really don't need your phone for this, it has a touchscreen, and it moves out and swivels so you can always see your shot and start and stop your recording. With both of us learning the same camera, I bet we can help one another out. Take care buddy.

Thanks Dave, bet its nice and warm where you're at.

I know man, I still wish all that stuff would just go away and leave me with my beautiful fractions, and decimals.

Hey Johnnie, thanks man, yes, I am new to Rocksett, have been trying it out and it is fantastic around high heat. It sure would have worked on that Triumph, that was a great video series my friend.

Happy new year Frank, yep up and running.

Thank you, Ben, good luck with your projects, glad you have found some useful info here. Stop back by when you can.

Good morning, Steve, and thank you very much for the thumbs up. Much appreciated.

Thanks Peter, it's about normal for this time of year. We won't see 90 till late July, oh but it will be winter down under. LOL

@@montana2strokeracer True! I hate the cold but it's never that bad here.

Your one lucky James Sharp, those things fight me on everyone I do. TS and RM's.

Thank you

Looks as though the nuts have been lock wired to the barrel.

I believe they are for the springs that keep the exhaust header into the slip fit of the manifold.

@@peteetwell826 yes, that makes sense.

Yes, Pete is indeed correct, for the hold down springs.

Thank you, John, I enjoyed the process. Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for hanging out with us John, always having fun in the shop.

Well Don, the white stuff and cold weather keeps the riff raff out of here. Man, we won't see 84 degrees till late June. LOL, thanks buddy

I wish, these days I stay pretty close to home. Sure, would be great to meet you.

Dale is the best!

Thank you, Luis, we're just having fun my friend.

Wow, thanks for the kind words my friend. I'm having fun still playing with the bikes of my youth. What a ride.

Thanks Jeff, these old bikes are a lot of fun, weather in the shop or on the trail.

For sure Chris.