Its been a while since I posted here, but I finally got my lt250s engine completed and in the frame. 20 years later and its still on stock bore and all it needed was a quick hone. People who are honing your own engines, out of personal preference, I never recommend dingle ball hones at all. I always use a 3 stone hone, but I didn't go cheap. I bought an ammco one. It worked amazing and the crosshatching turned out beautiful. I practiced in my old 230 cylinder before I did the 250s. This thing has tons of compression. More than my 230, and my 230 had a fresh top end. I also built an awesome case saver that pretty much stops anything. I'm gonna take some pics of everything probably tomorrow. The only thing is that if your looking to put a 250s engine in a 230 frame, you need a different head pipe. I just got mine on order.

 

Also, if anyone needs lt250s rear plastics, I found a site that sells them for $325 with free shipping and if your looking to bump up your lt230 with a new cam, you can get an lt250s cam for $106 new with free shipping.
Heres the plastics:
1989 Suzuki LT250S QUADSPORT OEM Rear Fender Parts | Motosport
Heres the cam:
1989 Suzuki LT250S QUADSPORT OEM Cam Shaft - Valve Parts | Motosport

 

i forgot one, there is a really rare 1200ml 230 engine. its an S model engine, and its supposed to be built proof. i have only worked on 1 in all the engines i have built and it only needed honed re-ringed and a few new o-rings.

 

whats the reason behind the different capacities and why is the 1200 so rare and bulletproof?

 

well it was the first generation engine for the lt230s. and the reason for it being bullet proof is that all the internal parts were made thicker and out of heavier duty material. but when lighter materials became available they went with lighter to gain more torque and power. By switching to the lighter metal they gained 15-20% more power throughout the power curve, but Suzuki sacrificed the engine life when lighter metal was used.

the oil capacities changed when the metals became thinner and lighter, and with that more room was made for more oil. they thought more oil would help engine life and it did a little. but nothing beats a first generation 230 engine. but with more oil capacity you draw more heat away from the head and valve train which also helps with performance.

 

I just threw a tape measure on the two side cases I have. Seems they moved the window up a bit.
From the bottom flat of the case to the top oil range mark...
1400ml= 1 3/4"
2000ml= 2 1/4"

Just by eyeball, no precision.
I don't think the rest of the case is any different.

 

Supposedly, my 230 wouldn't idle because of "a cracked head".
I have it apart and I can't see any cracks. I even shot each of the runners with a dose of penetrating oil and nothing ever came through on the chamber side.
I wonder if the previous mechanic missed the cam alignment by a tooth.

Either way, I have another head to put on it. Guess I'll just pop it back together as best I can.

The piston says "4382M06600"
Anyone know what that might mean? Stock? Aftermarket?
One of the stickers on the quad was 'wiseco', but a sticker doesn't mean much.

Oh, and the cam is missing the dowel pin for its gear, too.

 

measure the piston to see if its been bored. i believe stock was 66mm. the top of the piston is relatively flat; i think. i cant remember for certain. this is a wiseco high comp piston, compare it visually to yours:
https://www.denniskirk.com/wiseco/pi...4382M06600.sku

 

Usually a cracked head would probably mean valve seat, did you check those?

 

Twin_Stacks
Thanks for the link! That's exactly what this piston looks like- light dome with two reliefs for the valves. Three piece oil ring, too. I'll throw a caliper on it.

dakbee
I don't have my valve spring compressor handy, so I didn't strip the valves out yet. Either way, a different head is going onto the motor.

Thanks guys!