Hey,

i was doing some reading about the Tecate motor on somebody's web site. but now i can't remember what site it was. but it was saying there was something special about how the cylinders were made. and that you couldn't bore into the stock sleeves. you either had to have the sleeve re-chromed (or something like that) or get it re-sleeved. anybody know what i'm talking about? so does this special process on the stock sleeve make it more durable? seems to me that this adds considerably to the price of a top end rebuild if you have to resleeve it every time. maybe somebody could shed some light on this for me.

many thanks,
bigmac

 

Kawasaki used a process that put a layer of chrome on top of the aluminum cylinder. The advantage is lower manufacturing cost. The other benefit is for the owner. If you do regular maintenance on the cylinder so as not let the chrome get damaged it is quite durable. I used to change the rings only every 20-30 hours of riding and the piston once a year, but of course never had to bore it over or sleeve it. I thought it was a beautiful thing and apparently the other manufactures did as well because most modern 2-strokes are that same. Hope this helps.

 

Just sold my Tecate 4 a little over a year ago...The stock sleeve can NOT be bored. BUT a new sleeve cost around $70 and can be bored many times.......average price to bore the sleeve is around $35 and a new wiseco piston w/rings is $70 The original sleeve had more compression, but having the head worked on, gave me more compression with the re-sleeved jug than the original. Once you have the jug re-sleeved, you don't have to re-bore each time....unless your piston to cylinder wall clearance is to much....and the rings for the wiseco piston are $22. Just remember to Always use MC-1 Synthetic oil..Made by Bel-Ray. The original sleeve is nice but considering they only made the quad in 87 and 88 I would say the chrome is gone on the sleeve if the quad was used on a regular basis. I think I still have some pics of my Tecate-4, I'll try to post a link.