Very interesting reading http://www.sunnen.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=11 I can see this tech being responsible for big horsepower increases as it tackles parastic friction at the source of the biggest contributor
Been around for a long time and many businesses offer Nikasil services. You have to be able to get plain top rings though because you cannot run chrome on Nikasil. Have a look at the Ricardo technical documents for great info on friction and a million other things.
AAH but it's NOT Nikasil or any coating per se - it's hypereutectic aluminium bores with an interesting honing process...It's not new however the process is very well described in the link page
Quick question while we're talking about bores and honing etc... After putting an engine back together (new rings, honed bores etc) should you run it in or can you just rev the crap out of it? I'm curious to know what engine rebuilders do as I've heard different stories about what is recommended.
Yep, give it the beans accelerating, but also let the engine decelerate on its own a few times. I'd drop the oil & filter after the first run in just for extra peace of mind
If I asked your Missus to give you that spanking it might just be fulfilling your cunning plan, so I'm going to forgive you this one time
I agree with giving it the bean... just don't load it under light throttle... keep it going up and down the rev range... no constant throttle... What kills a new engine is people being too gentle through the gears and then leaving it in a high gear and putting it under load... Ride it like you Stole it...
Thanks for all the feedback folks. I did read Blair's thread when he first posted it and found the details/information worthwhile. The reason I asked the question in the first place is because I'm looking to build my first engine specifically for drag racing, so once it's all back together "running it in" will consist of 19,000rpm in all gears. I guess real engine builders put there engines on a dyno and run them in under load in that environment. I don't have a dyno (yet) so don't have that luxury and running the bike up and down the street might piss the neighbours off and it's dangerous too.
I've often thought of making something to use to load a bike engine after a rebuild, something like a car hub with the disc brake and tyre attached running up against the rear wheel. Using a pedal to push a trailer type of master cylinder to put pressure onto the brake to create drag and therefore load to the bike engine. Would need to spray water onto the disc to extend the time I could use it before the disc got too hot. Just a thought.
bloke I know in mackay whose family does drag racing have their own rolling rd for testing ,forget how they set it up but he said they had a adjustable resistence on it to load it up (all homemade)