cylinder plating

[anotheroldtrailrider]

As I start on the Mach II RS resto-mod, I have to wonder if anyone has comments/experience switching the cylinder plating to Nikasil as is used on my KTM's if the cylinders need anything.  I'd think piston ring material would still be compatible, and I've had great luck with it on various other projects.  I'm hoping the cylinders are straight but haven't seen inside the motor yet - the odo says 4200 miles and compression feels good on both cylinders ...

[OldSwartout]

Most people use nikasil as a repair on these bikes.  It actually seems to be tougher than chrome in case of a seizure or other mishap.  Several of us have used it on race bikes.  There is some thought that it wears rings faster, but on these old bikes, no one is going to run them 20-30,000 miles to find out. With only 4200 miles on your bike, if the chrome hasn't started to peel from corrosion of the aluminum under it or some other storage related issue, it's just barely broken in and your cylinders and rings will be good as is. There are service wear limits in the service manuals downloadable from this site.

If you do need nikasil or rechroming, US Chrome and Millenium Technologies are the two most common vendors here in the US.

[anotheroldtrailrider]

Thanks OldSwartout - that's great.  I'm hoping the chrome is in good shape, too, but it's nice to have modern options.  I'm also a big fan of ceramic coatings, and will probably do the combustion chambers and piston tops plus drylube on the skirts.  Any chance you have any info on exhaust and/or disc dimensions?  I've hydroformed a couple curved 4-stroke megaphones and would like to do some expansion chambers for this project.  Ultimate performance isn't the goal, but I think there's a little more in there without getting too carried away.  Any links to performance tuning info would be greatly appreciated...