Big bore kit assembly

[Bigleo]

Well I've finally gotten ready to reassemble my XS 1100 motor with a 1197 bore kit for the second time. I did this for the first time last year, but somehow managed to bend the lower oil ring rail on the number one cylinder during assembly. This unfortunately scored the cylinder sleeve when the engine was run. So, the scored cylinder has now been changed out. Any tips on getting the rings installed? Last time, I used the "compress the rings by finger" method and wiggling the cylinder block on, piston by piston.I thought I was being gentle enough, but obviously was not. The Wiseco rings are much bigger than the stock ones, so they extend past the bevel on the bottom of the cylinder. I've heard of people using hose clamps etc, to compress the rings. Any ideas on how to ease the assembly would be welcome, as I definitely do not want to have to go through this process again.
thanks
Leo

[Crazcnuk]

Well, you can use hose clamp(s).

Just get ones that is(are) large enough to easily go around the piston. Use it to clamp the rings then slide it down (off) as the piston goes into the bore.

Then you undo the clam(s) to get them off the rod.

Conventional ring compressors don't work well here.

[oseaghdha]

Not having done this, I have a question

I have done the rebore on twins before. The conventional wisdom was to install the pistons in the cylinders, leaving them extended from the bottom so the pin bore is exposed. Then install the cylinders onto the case, inserting the wrist pins before lowering the cylinder all the way down to the seat.

Any reason this won't work on a 4 hole motor?

I'd rather wrassle with one piston at a time, rather than two. A ring compressor makes life easy.

[Bigleo]

ring install

Thanks for the replies.
I considered doing the wrist pin method. But when I looked into it, the pins are so close to the oil ring land that the oil ring rail would be in the beveled area of the cylinder, in fact almost able to pop out. That combined with the fact that the Wiseco pin circlips are so difficult to install, made me give up on trying it this way. I didn't think I would be able to get the clips into the center two cylinders. Maybe I will consider doing this with the two outside cyinders though.
With the hose clamp method, does the piston skirt end up getting scratched? I am worried about this as on the Wiseco piston the skirt is quite a bit bigger than the ring land area. Perhaps a wide Nylon Tie might work.
Leo

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hi, Bigleo...

I have an Xj1100 that we just reassembled the motor and tranny on a couple of months ago. It was my first time to do one of these, but I had 3 other XSers that were pros helping me. We used the hose clamp method as previously described, but having a couple of extra guys / hands / and eyes to watch all 4 pistons as they go back together was a big plus in preventing ring/cylinder damage. Patience is also a virtue here as well. Get the first one started, then the next, and so on... then go back to the first a little more...'til all 4 are in. Be sure and protect your crank journals, too. Good luck!
Bob

[petejw]

Did the guy who bored the cylinders,
did he camfer(sp) the bottom of the cylinders?
makes all the difference in fitting the pistons.

[Bigleo]

xs cylinder install

Well, the big bore cylinder install went OK. Much better than last time it tried this. I put some grease on the chamfered area of the cylinder sleeve, and compressed the rings using popsicle sticks as required, and carefully wiggled the cylinder as needed. It went together a lot easier than the last time when the oil ring got bent. The grease seemed to help a lot. The engine turns over easily by hand, so all seems well. The head will be going on this weekend, hope to get every thing running by the end of April. It was so depressing not having the bike last year.
Leo

[trbig]

Just for future reference... when they bore the cylinders, it takes a lot of that chamfer out. The stock bevel that's there is really not sharp enough of an angle anyway. It tends to just grab the rings and pull them down the piston versus squeezing them into the ring grooves.

You can take a Dremmel and a stone to gring a much sharper angle to the bevel on the inside of the cylinders here. The piston never gets close to this area during normal operation, so you aren't going to hurt anything.

But yeah.. as Bob stated earlier.. you can get 3 other people.. one to watch each piston while the cylinders go back on. I just don't have that many friends. Good thing Bob did!


Tod

[Skin Krawler]

Ring compressors for a automotive piston are too big and stiff, but you could build you own. Go to your local crafts store like Micheals, or maybe even a good hardware store and find a thin sheet of teflon you can cut to fit around the piston & rings, then secure it with 3 or 4 hose clamps just enough to compress the rings. Should be able to slide it in just like a compressor.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Modesty...

It is a virtue...(or was that patience?) eh Tod? LOL! But IMHO, you have a lot more friends than you realize. Count me as one!

Bigleo, just for the record, Tod was one of my "Pro friends" who was instrumental in the success of my rebuild. W/o his expertice, my XJ would be a basket case. Instead, it runs like new. One of many wise ones on this forum.
Glad to hear you had success, Bigleo. Let us know when ya fire it up! Ride safe.
Bob

[Paintman]

Back together

Got the Correct wrist pins in mail today will be putting her back together this weekend. i always have a 1-2 friends come over LOL free food always works and extra hands are great and they get to learn something new. it was 84 and sunny here today ARRRGH. but will be 30 by the weekend so good time to finish her up. not spring in South dakota till june lol.
John

[gene]

I'm thinking about the big bore kit on my 81' xs1100 Special. Is it really worth it? Would you do it all over again?

Gene

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Gene,

If you do a search for POWER and Big Bore, you'll find several threads on the subject. You're rebuilding your bike, but I don't know the specs of your current engine, like miles, compression.

The XS11 engine is fairly stout stock. The big bore kit has gotten quite a bit more $$ recently, plus the price of boring, etc.! I did it on mine only because of extensive rust in the cylinders due to poor storage! But if you have a good condition low mileage engine, the it's probably not worth the $$.
T.C.

[DGXSER]

Hey TC, how much material is removed for the big bore kits from the cylinder? If you had a damaged cylinder with very noticable and maybe 1/16-1/8" grooves in it, would the bore kit remove that much?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey DG,

The smalle big bore takes it from 71.5mm bore to 74, so 2.5mm total, or 1.25mm around the edge. A 1/16" = ~1.58MM, SO even that deep would not be enough to get it clean, and if 1/8" deep, definitely too deep to clean. The 1196 big bore might get the 1/16" clean.

Might be easier or cheaper to get new or used SLEEVES from spare set of jugs!?
T.C.