I don't mind.

The sky is the limit evidently. Once upon a time, I thought 72mm was it and that was with a big bore kit. Then Tomgodair said he had a 73mm big bore kit which used kz1000 pistons. It had been sitting for 20yrs, so apparently its old-school tech, even though I never heard of or read of such a thing. We did some swappin and now I have it. I'm not sure what sleeve it has, but a call to LAS would clear that up. As far as sleeves go, I figure there is the stock one which will go +2mm and that would be up to 70.5mm. Then there is a classic big bore sleeve which only has one reported bore size, 72mm. Then I'm betting the sleeve I have starts at 73mm and overbores to 74mm. I don't think a bigger sleeve will squeeze in because I had to make the case-hole pretty big to fit it. Nearly cut into the studs! So to answer the question, 74mm is as big as you can go. But theoretically, the kaw pistons go up to 83mm and at 13.5:1 CR... if you like dreaming. That's 363cc

In addition to nearly cutting into the stud-holes, the deck height of the piston is higher on the kaw, so I had to fashion a base gasket from aluminum and order a thick copper gasket from cometic to keep the piston from smacking the head.

Also, wiseco pistons are like boat anchors anyway, but this one is especially heavy because its so big. So I had to shave as much weight off as I could... which probably only amounts to 5 grams.

Its been one challenge after another and I'm still not done. While waiting on the gasket from cometic, I got busy with other things. And who even knows if it will blow up on the first ride? So I'm kinda dragging my feet on the build.

Yes, the 250 cam is a pretty good design. You could get a cam that's more focused on supercharging the topend, but then almost certainly you'll lose on the bottom. A higher compression ratio might save your lowend some. I like the 250 cam in everything. I even have it in my 850lb king quad and can drag my truck across the yard while the truck is in 2nd gear! Or I can blast up to 10k rpm with the power strong all the way up. If another cam is better, its probably only marginally so. But I don't know for sure since I've only had OEM cams.

I would recommend the LT4WD ovate valve springs though. The valves won't float with those!

Crank bearings and all the little seals everywhere. If you have it apart, why not?

I would call vince and pick his brain. He likes to talk and knows way more than I do. The rod is the issue on the 230, not the crank. The 230 rod is 16mm and the 250 rod is 17mm. Plus the 250 rod is longer, so it doesn't yank the piston around as fast. But if you have the crank in hand, why not send it to vince for a brand new set of rod bearings at the least? And have the crank welded. Its only $120 or so for a new rod installed and shipped back.

I don't know anything about the 450 mufflers. They should flow well though... I would think.

 

I'm looking at the wiseco selection of kaw pistons. It says 70-73mm doesn't require resleeving. So maybe the sleeve for the 73mm piston will bore all the way up to 76mm. That would be a hawse at 304cc!

 

I've got an odd question, and I don't really expect anyone to have tried this. But my sister has a lt160 that she refuses to get rid of. What are the chances that I could use my crank and piston out of my old 230 engine to to upgrade her engine?

From the looks of it, I suspect the jug, piston and head might bolt to the bottom-end. I doubt the crank would be that easy.

 

I don't have much of a clue on that one.

 

Which case saver is this? Is it any better than the factory one?

 

That's the OEM one... from the OEM section at bikebandit. Was like $2 I think. But they're all made for a 12 tooth sprocket.

 

What's the point of the upper chain roller? Is it to keep tension on the chain when you land off a big jump?

 

That red thing? Back when I didn't know anything, someone talked me into getting that to help keep the chain on. It just pushes on the chain from the bottom. The problem is it bounces up n down with the chain and does little to help keep it on. Furthermore, it adds friction and slows me down.

 

No, these things.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSR-Racing-Chain-Roller-34mm-Black-Upper-Fits-Suzuki-LT-230S-1985-1986-/330901002203?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d0b3c97db&vxp=mtr

 

Your guess is as good as mine. Anything rolling on the chain is going to slow me down, so I wouldn't want it.

Btw, I noticed in your pics that your chain is touching your swingarm. Is it still that way?