More About Street Bike Pistons
Street Bike Pistons are made thinner at the top than at the skirt since high temperatures from combustion cause the top of the Street Bike Piston to expand a larger amount than the skirt area. For this reason Street Bike Pistons are measured at the skirt rather than across the crown. Street Bike Pistons are also cam ground meaning they are oval-shaped because they expand more in the direction of the pins. To get the proper Street Bike Piston measurement, measure it at its largest diameter. The ideal place to meanure the Street Bike Piston is near the bottom of the skirt perpendicular to the pin.
A micrometer will help to obtain Street Bike Piston-size readings that are accurate to less than a thousandth of an inch. With either an inside micrometer or a telescoping gauge, it is then possible to get an accurate reading on the cylinder size. The difference in these two figures is the Street Bike Piston to cylinder wall clearance.
A cheap and easy, though less accurate, way to determine Street Bike Piston-wall clearance is to use long, thin feeler gauges (0.0015" to 0.005"). Slip the clean Street Bike Piston into the clean cylinder along with the feeler gauge placed perpendicular to the pin. Try to fit larger or smaller feeler gauge stips until you find one that will just pull free with your fingers. That gauge represents approximately the amount of Street Bike Piston-wall clearance you have. Carefully inspect the Street Bike Piston-pin bearing or bushing area of the connecting rod. If the bearing feels gritty, or the pin appears scored, replace both. If the Street Bike Piston pin rocks or binds severely in its rod bushing, both the pin and the bushing should be replaced.
It's a good idea to clean the fins and spray them lightly with some flat black high-temperature exhaust paint. This helps the engine cool better. Check the Street Bike Piston-ring end gap before installing rings on the Street Bike Pistons. If the gap is tight, carefully make a light cut or two across the ends of the rings with a fine file. Remove just enough metal from the end of the ring so the gap will be at or slightly larger than factory specifications. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation for locating the end gaps on the Street Bike Piston.
After assembling the Street Bike Piston, pin, and rod, be sure that the pin clips are securely seated in the Street Bike Piston before reinstalling the barrel. Also, don't forget to put on the base gasket before you put on the barrel.
Installing the cylinder assembly over the Street Bike Pistons requires special care and patience. Don't force anything. The base of the cylinder is tapered to allow the rings to slide into the barrel more easily. Use some clean light oil on the Street Bike Piston rings and cylinder when reassembling them to guard against scoring when the bike is first started.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for re-torquing cylinder head studs as aluminum heads distort easily if you don't. Many mechanics take several passes at this first, torquing the nuts to half, then three-quarters, and finally to full torque setting. Be sure to follow the recommended sequence when torquing the head.
If you're working with an overhead-cam engine don't forget to keep the cam chain suspended throughout the installation of both the barrel and the head. Refasten the cam chain only after the cam is properly reindexed according to the technique recommended in the factory service manual.