I have gotten an lt80 for about 80 dollars with an oil tank that has leaked for years and the quad seemed to sit outside missing the airbox. I decided this would be a cheap quad I could get running for little but I hate half assing stuff so I did it the right way.
mostly everything seems to be in working order. I have looked at old threads on how to modify this things but came here for new answers from the man lt80 aka jack.

I'm a big 2 stroke fanatic but would like some advice concerning questions that came up.


this is what I started with.
I tore the cases completely and changed the seals in the tranny and gaskets and also new crank seals and bearings.
i did this for peace of mind make sure cases had no air leaks.
crank had no up and down play just regular side to side

i ordered a new starter and the boysen reeds because the metal one was cracked.

I have read that the chinese top ends work ok if the bore is good and mine was fine so I decided to run that until I can bore and port the oem cylinder.

I ordered new chain and sprokets 428 and #40 chain.
I was considering running a lod but I ended up buying a stock airbox with a uni foam filter.
I am just waiting on the woodruff keys that I somehow lost both the flywheel and the starter gear.

I would like to get the most powr out of this quad with the stock pipe.

heres what i have so far.
new sprokets 14-26
I removed plug from pipe and the limiter ring.
reeds and I've ported the intake for a bit more flow I didnt get too agresive.
I removed 2 rollers from the front clutch because they werent round anymore. I have read somewhere you can get lighter ones? Maybe I can purchase those from jack as well or he can guide me in the right direction.
I will lighten the shoes on the secondary once my kiddo learns to ride it a bit better he is turning 6 this may.
If anyone has pics of how it's done i would apreciate it
What else can I do to this thing to get power aside from porting and milling the head.?
Also any mods for reliability or anything I should do while its apart as far as maintenance?

I will get rid of the oil pump and mix my own gas for peace of mind as well. And block off the carb. I also got jets from 85-90 for jetting at 5k elevation

I got then a helmet and gloves and goggles last year with a chinese quad. But I wanted them to have something nicer.

I apologize if the post is confusing or overwhelming.

here is some pics of the project. Sorry for the mess all over the ground.
lol




I will post more pics this weekend when I get home and all the parts have arrived.

I'm working out of town next 2 weeks.

 

I made some comments in red above...If you really want a monster LT80, then Jack (LT80) is whom you'll want to reach out to...I have his motor/clutch mods in my sons custom LT80R...very happy with his work...I've seen many port jobs and given the size of the object he's working I'd say it's top notch...but, as mentioned above, I'd caution giving that chassis too much more as it barely handles what it came with...

 

Thanks alot those make alot of sense.
I'll just keep my pipe and burn it and blow air in it to make it free flowing.
I will buy 6 new rollers and leave the shoes alone as well untill I get the cylinder and carb bored and ported and head milled.

I have watched some videos of a guy only modifying the a arms out 3 inches and 1 inch forward I can do that no problen but in looking what options I have as far as shocks I do not want to spend 600 on elkas.
I also saw some front spaces from a custom company not just the studs and use honda pattern rims on front and rear. For 80 which is what I might end up doing and flipping the rear rims. But the kids will be his first time riding so I have time to figure that out slowly.

 

I have issues with "extending" the stock single a-arm configuration since that setup has fixed camber...the longer you make the stroke the worse the negative camber / \ becomes as the front suspension moves through its stroke.

You'll have to do a mock-up and figure out what length shock will be needed with whatever mod you decide to try...then look for a suitable shock...unfortunately there are very few "kid" specific shocks...my build allowed me to utilize Fox Floats...but those weren't cheap either...

 

i ordered a new starter and the boysen reeds because the metal one was cracked.=left
=left
I have read that the chinese top ends work ok if the bore is good and mine was fine so I decided to run that until I can bore and port the oem cylinder. =left
=left
I ordered new chain and sprokets 428 and #40 chain.=left
I was considering running a lod but I ended up buying a stock airbox with a uni foam filter.=left
I am just waiting on the woodruff keys that I somehow lost both the flywheel and the starter gear. =left
=left
I would like to get the most powr out of this quad with the stock pipe.=left
=left
heres what i have so far.=left
new sprokets 14-26=left
I removed plug from pipe and the limiter ring.=left
reeds and I've ported the intake for a bit more flow I didnt get too agresive.=left
I removed 2 rollers from the front clutch because they werent round anymore. I have read somewhere you can get lighter ones? Maybe I can purchase those from jack as well or he can guide me in the right direction.=left
I will lighten the shoes on the secondary once my kiddo learns to ride it a bit better he is turning 6 this may. =left
If anyone has pics of how it's done i would apreciate it=left
What else can I do to this thing to get power aside from porting and milling the head.?=left
Also any mods for reliability or anything I should do while its apart as far as maintenance?=left
=left
I will get rid of the oil pump and mix my own gas for peace of mind as well. And block off the carb. I also got jets from 85-90 for jetting at 5k elevation"""=left
=left
Ok, sorry for the delay. I'll give my version. Sorry to take so long.
Glad you got reeds. Yes the china junk hopefully will work fine for a while. They do sell many of them.
Rollers:: Only LT80 rollers made are from Suzuki. The ebay ones are not the same. Yes they work but the ere are differences. Only for a special build IMO. Any flat spots and they are bad. I only use a dab of grease to help hold them in place during installation of the variaior. We only lighten the rollers to fine tune to a race motor.
A 13/26 will fit a #40 chain without any tensioner. It's a good idea to get one tho.
I like 32:1 for oil mix ratio. Use a good synthetic oil.
You need to check the rear clutch post bearings, they seem to go bad. See how bad the front motor mount bushings are. Excessive side to side play when moving the grab bar will indicate it needing tightening or bushings replaced. Give the rear end a few pumps of grease.
Stock jets should be fine.
For a 6 year old, I don't recommend any motor work. He's arguably too small for a LT80 but he'll grow fast.

 

Ok understood I would still like to get the oem cylinder bored and the head milled I guess I could do that locally but I'd like you to bore it since you know the clearances needed.
Please PM me a number I can call you at or email you.
The bearings on the rear clutch did not have any play or noise.
The bike seemed to have been misused and unattended in the weather and stored outside but not abused.
Everything was freshly greased.
And the motor mounts had no play they werent cracked or anything but will check once its together again.
Thanks for your input on this.
I'm looking for a 2nd one for my 8 year old or might grab a ltz50 I saw if it hasnt sold for my little 6 year old.

I got the tires mounted oh what a pain it was vs doing bigger stiffer tires lol.

Heres some pics

 

Looking good!!!

 

Were almost ready to slap the harness on. I just need to put the carb and reed back and the airbox on i was juck mocking up the tires. I'm happy how it's coming out.

 

Looking good.