If it's a shop that normaly does boring, I'm sure that they know the tolerances and will do a fine job.
What piston did you go with?

 

I ordered all the parts from powersportswarehouse.com like you suggested. So I'm guessing it'll be Suzuki parts in Kawasaki packaging.

 

yea, a Kawi sticker over the "S"..Lol
Arrow on piston toward the exhaust and 100 inch pounds on the head nuts. Should be good to go.

 

I got all my parts in yesterday. In the bag it said Genuine Kawasaki Parts, then each individual part was packaged in Suzuki labels. I took the cylinder and the piston to the shop.


I noticed in the piston ring groves tiny tabs, and I'm guessing that's where the gap in the ring would set. The shop said they didn't need the rings, so I'm going to install them without modification. Does that sound right?

 

Yes, sounds good.
Wash the cylinder then apply a film of 2 stroke oil to the cyluinder walls and the piston.
Look for the letter on the ring end. That's the top.

 

LT80, you truly know every inch of that quad. Sure enough, there's a T on one end of the ring and 100 on the other. Tiny little stamp, I would have never known they were there.


Why does it matter which side is up?

 

The rings are slightly cupped. In upside down and they will stick in the piston.

 

Thanks again for the tip. The gasket that sits between the top end and lower end has this extra material that doesn't seem to seal anything. Should I trim it off prior to install?

 

Finally, after waiting a week, I'm getting my newly bored cylinder back from the bike shop. Hopefully reassembly goes smoothly and my kids are riding this afternoon!


Are there any last minute tips about top end reassembly that I need to know?


Thanks for all the help/support through out this process. I'll post some pictures when it's finished.

 

$21 and a trip to Harbor Freight bought me a 1/4" inch pounds torque wrench. I finished up the installation of the new piston/top end this morning. I ended up jumping what I thought was a charged battery, and the LT80 fired up! My girls jumped on it and we rode around without incident.


Project Complete!


Thanks to everyone who helped along the way!