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Well, it's a sad day, but I have decided that I need to part ways with these older bikes. Life hasn't been the kindest lately and I can't put the time or money into these bikes that they rightly deserve. I am listing them together, and depending on the offer, they could be combined into a combo...

If it's one thing I learned from working on cars and bikes: "its easy to go fast, stopping is the hard part". I wouldn't cheap out on tires but would get something decent. A few good ones mentioned already, and it all depends on how the bike will be ridden. I have Avon Roadriders on both my '78...

Mailed out the 2nd tool. Lets see if we can keep a rolling track of who's got em: Tool #1) Ketis Tool #2) azcafe

I got the 2nd floating tool. AZcafe, PM me your address and I'll get it shipped out.

Prices have gone up over 100% since Grizld1 got his done.... $165 PER CYLINDER for a bore, hone and carbide treatment. Bore-Tech Prices

Cleaned up the last part of the case and started working on other Mics. stuff for the time being. Did discover what I think is the 4-5 shift fork with some bad wear on one of the tips... Also it looks like there is only 1 of 2 half circle retaining rings for the big bearing on the secondary...

even so, we are still looking at a <10% weight difference, pre-lightening on forged pistons.

so while there is a weight gain in unmodified JE and Venolias, we are talking about less than 10% (5.3% more for JE and 7.4% for Venolia). I can definitely see if a piston manufacturer actually went to do lightening, that they could match or surpass the stock weight. Additionally, If sticking...

Haven't heard of the silicon carbide treatment before. I'll have to investigate... Regarding forged weight vs stock cast...Have the current forged pistons been evaluated for reduced material where not needed? or are they mimics of originals just in different materials and sizes? If you could...

Grizld1 - indeed, even forged pistons will succumb to such things as excessive advance or lean mixtures and still "burn" in those conditions, but possibly not as quickly as the OEM cast alloys. I realize that there isn't an "indestructible" piston alloy, but there probably a "better" piston than...

Hotdog, thanks for the input and concern, but you haven't misled me. If the cost point is too high, I won't be buying custom pistons. I am waiting to see what the various companies can offer and at what price before making the call. I am not looking for custom pistons just to say I have them...

Hotdog, I understand that custom pistons aren't the easiest way to go, nor the cheapest. However, the cost for OEM replacements is $75-100 per piston, and only 50% chance of including rings. Mikes is approx $91 per piston including rings. If the custom pistons are within $50-$60 or so of...

Another thought is that if I have pistons made, is it worth bumping the compression ratio? If I remember correctly the 700cc kit is a 9.5 CR, and the JE 750cc pistons are 10.5 CR. I wonder if a 1st over with 9.5 or 10:1 CR would give any noticeable gains from the stock 8.4 CR. Regarding...

Indeed. Does a stock base and head gasket work on the 700cc overbore?

Precisely, and since I have the motor apart due to a failed piston already, I'm considering aftermarket newer material pistons than NOS cast aluminum that have been sitting for 40+ years. Hopefully the price point is decent enough on someone's pistons that it makes better sense than NOS pistons.

Hotdog, nice find on the 2nd over set, but they don't ship to the USA. Also mimic your concern on their quality. I'm hoping one of the piston companies comes in at a good price point compared to OEM cast pistons. Materials etc. have improved a lot since the 70's.

Jay760, Thanks for the link, but I was looking to keep machine shop costs down to a basic re-bore on the stock sleeves. The kit you linked, plus shipping and Hoos sleeves would run about $470, not counting the bore, hone and sleeve installation costs.

OEM seems to be running $80-$100 per piston for 1st over. There's also the catch of "you get what you pay for". Mainly, are the other piston companies products of higher quality than Mikesxs / OEM pistons to warrant the extra cost?

Over in my repair/restore thread (HERE) I was able to take the jugs and new used pistons to the machine shop yesterday. Bad news, both bores had out of spec taper and were also out of round. The used pistons were also worn to where the piston to bore clearance was beyond service limits. Since...

Took the used pistons I snagged off of ebay and the jugs to a local machine shop for measuring (don't have accurate enough micrometers etc...yet) and got bad news. Both bores had out of spec taper and were out of round. The used pistons were also worn to where the piston to bore clearance was...