To Hone or Not to Hone That is the Question

[Old Jock]

So it looks like a new set of rings for the Sporti are in my stars

Question is do I do a light hone on the barrels or not, it would make life a lot simpler if I didn't

Bike has 10k miles. I seem to remember when I thought the problem was simply incorrect ring placement that the barrels still had a good cross hatch pattern

I'll obviously check that and I plan to get full dimensional checks on barrels, pistons and ring gaps.

I'll also do the piston ring gap thing too, at the top middle and bottom of the bores to check all is within acceptable limits.

Been reading a lot on the Interweb and the consensus is a very light hone to deglaze, but it's not a "no brainer"

Also a lot of dire warnings on deglazing Nikasil barrels as well.

My take is it's all very much guesswork and the only science really is materials, cast iron, vs chrome, vs Nikasil all with vastly different material properties, then there is piston ring shape and material to consider as well

John

[pressureangle]

I had Sealed Power make a custom set of rings for my '85 LM 1000. I don't like 1 piece oil rings, and it had +60k anyway. Asking about break-in on Nikasil, they said "Just stick them in there and do whatever your camshaft needs". I always run Royal Purple synthetic motor oil, which slows ring break-in. I washed the bores, assembled with WD-40, and drove it like I stole it. The rings came in pretty hard after about 250 miles, all in by 500. If I had it to do again, I might wrap a ball hone in 800 wet-n-dry and make a few passes to deglaze and speed up the run-in, but you really don't want to 'remove any material' just get back to the original finish without any lubricative deposits. Never forget the good steamy hot bath with laundry soap to remove any residue.

[Old Jock]

I was hoping for some others to chip but obviously not

I'm of a mind just to put them in and run them, vary the revs a lot, gradually running it harder and lots of stops to allow cycling

Thank you pressureangle that's pretty much made my mind as to what course of action to take

John

[Idontwantapickle]

I had Sealed Power make a custom set of rings for my '85 LM 1000. I don't like 1 piece oil rings, and it had +60k anyway. Asking about break-in on Nikasil, they said "Just stick them in there and do whatever your camshaft needs". I always run Royal Purple synthetic motor oil, which slows ring break-in. I washed the bores, assembled with WD-40, and drove it like I stole it. The rings came in pretty hard after about 250 miles, all in by 500. If I had it to do again, I might wrap a ball hone in 800 wet-n-dry and make a few passes to deglaze and speed up the run-in, but you really don't want to 'remove any material' just get back to the original finish without any lubricative deposits. Never forget the good steamy hot bath with laundry soap to remove any residue.

This /\/\/\

[Chuck in Indiana]

Austin's KLR from Hell project got to that point.  Showed him how to run a hone and what kind of cross hatch he was looking for. Didn't take off much at all. Told him to clean it with Dawn and hot water until it was totally clean.
Then, clean it again. 
It broke in immediately, and isn't burning any oil.
So far..

[John A]

I don't hone nikasil. I do run a  ball hone thru it a little bit, just to clean the bore before the wash. I don't think it's necessary. Super clean is the key. I use a little automatic transmission oil for lube, it's high detergent.