Hey,

i was doing some researching last night, and it seems that most Zilla's will eventually need to have their crank bearings fixed, which intells some machine work i guess. ne ways, i'm curious about how much this work would cost? also what would be the tell-tell signs of this problem?

i've found a '87 Zilla fairly local for under $2k, it's in decent shape but the guy said he noticed some vibrations from it the last time he rode. any thoughts?

thansk,
bigmac

 

If you found a zilla for under $2K, you can afford to fix it up! That's a STEAL!!! Contact Tudors or East Coast ATV, as they do the crank bearings for around $250. You can tell you'll need it done if you grab the flywheel/magneto and see if there is excessive play. If the guy noticed some vibes, you probably need it fixed.

You'll probably need new bearings all around, which you can find at Rocky Mountain. They sell Pivot Works kits. I'll bet you'll need a-arms and swingarm bearings, the last two LT500's I bought did. You'll also want to clean and repack the linkage bearings. And when you install the new bearings, don't install them with the light oil that they came coated with. Get some good thick waterproof boat axle grease.

Bottom line... these beasts are getting harder to find. If you want a real nice dune bike with gobs of power and that one isn't a total piece of trash, pick it up. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

i tore down most of my lower in my LT250 and my local shop did it for $419.00...that included crank rebuild, new rod, replaced all bearing and seals,pins ETC ETC.
was it worth it? i think so [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] i will probably get another ten years or more out of that bottom end.

i would tell the guy with the zilla drop it $400.00 and you will take it. then goto the shop and rebuild it. be prepared like the guys said above. i also had to go threw the whole bike and replace the needle bearings with pivot works kits. it seems everybody is to lazy to grease the darn things! and do any kind of maintenece. thats one of the ZUKES downfalls. they sell cheaper than most quads and kids and adults just ride them to they drop and then say how junkie they are!

 

I doubt your seller will drop it $400. But if he does you hit the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Buy it man, buy it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

just for comparison
i bought mine in a box, needed all kinds of work ($4k worth) and i gave the guy a grand for it.it didnt hardly even resemble a 500. biggest piece of plastic left was no bigger then 3 inches across[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]
oh, well. it is a awesome bike now. just need to get me some rear skat-trak tires, and fix the lower ball joints, and........

 

a couple years back i found one for $1000.00 that needed a top end. i didnt have the cash and someone got a great deal. people are hurting for money and if they want to sell bad enough they will drop the price $400.00 to sell it. never give the asking price .

the bad thing is i know because i had to. i had a $6500.00 honda 250r. i was trying to get 4500.00 i had to drop it to 3700.00 to just sell it because i needed the money in a bad way.
i wouldnt mind now selling my 88lt250r for 2500.00 to get into one of the new 450r quads. but i doubt someone will give me 2500.00 i would be lucky to get 2000.00

 

The crank bosses wear , you machine the cases and install a sleeve, so you wear the sleeve not the case
its a must do. 87 had weak cylinders the two back bolts but can be fixed, I had a 87 for many years been down that road, there is a man in Phoenix his name is Jerry Hall { Hall Precision Racing } if you want that 500 to run you should talk to him he will not only make a monster he will do it right and save you money.
My motor had all the mods done ported, carb work, head milled it was a very fast and reliable Zilla

 

Hey,

well the zilla i'm considering has a metal head gasket and has been ported, and after market reeds. i'm not really worrier about building this into a monster at the moment though. just want it to be reliable and run good.

anybody want to buy my '97 Warrior? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

thanks,
bigmac