Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128011
Rick Petersen Motorsports Nikasil Cylinder Repair . e r fo rm a n ce -sa v v y off-roa d and motocross racers might already be familiar wi th Rick Petersen Mo torsports , whose na m es a ke owner h a s earned quite a reputation in the field of bori ng and strokin g OE 125 -25 0c c ma chinery to odd di splacement s izes wi th excell en t results . Ever heard of a KX144, YZI 67 or YZ300? If vou haven't , en cha nces are tha t you' ve be beaten by one alread y. That's the magic of Rick Peterse n, but sometimes it's the littl e things, such as a seemingly insignificant product or ser vice that yo u do n't see or hea r mu ch about that can really make a big difference to a wi der. ra nge of motorcyclists. Wh ile paying a recent visit to his shop, I s tu m bled across such a service, w hich was news to me, at least: Petersen' s Nikasil cyli nder rep air. N ic ke l-alloy / s il ico n p la ti ng o n cy li n de r w all s has be en a co m mo n p ractice in many m ot o rcycles, suc h as BMWs, since 1981. KTM intro duced the firs t O E d irt a pplicat ions in 1984, and no w m o st Japa nese d ir t a nd s t ree t b ikes , as well as BMW , Po rs che a nd Mer ced es au tomobiles use the process, known as ikas il. Pe rfo rmance adva ntages o ver a standard sleeve include greater durabilit y, better heat di ssi pa tion and more power du e 10 decreased drag. lt ca n be applied to ca st-iro n or aluminum cvlinders. Petersen ha s been in the ikasil-plating bu siness for abo ut two years, and in that time he has compiled an impressive list of repe at cu stomers, such as the fac- Service Evaluation A slick setup P BEFORE -AFTER tory Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha race teams, FMF, Pro Circuit, Ch aparra l, White Brothers and many more of the top aftermarket hal rod firms . Using ika sil as the finishing proces s, Petersen claims th at he can repair just abou t an y cy linde r, no matter how badly it is destroyed. But th e coolest part is tha t Pe tersen also offers the se r- Petersen just looked at it, lau ghed and told us to give him about two weeks. When the finished product arrived, we were amazed. No wa y wa s this the same barrel that we had given to him to fix. The exhaust-port bridge looked as good as new, and the bore was mirror-perfect. The barrel was read y to go. Petersen says that - like a custom paint job - it's all in th e steps taken before the cylind er gets plated that make all the difference. Petersen cha rges $175 for rep lating on bores of up to 56m m, and $200 for bo res of over 56 mm . Welding a nd machi ne work on repairs suc h as ou r exhaust-port bridge typi call y ru n $50. Co mpa re th at to the replacem en t cos t of our KX barrel, abo ut $489, an d you can see w hat a bar ga in it is - especially if yo u have an older bike w ith a bad bore. Two thu mb s up to CN Rick Peter sen Mo torsports. Scott Rou sseau vice direct to end users, and he charges th e sa me price to John Q . Public as he does to the factories! We put him to the tes t, throwing him an old '85 KX250 barrel that had about half a piston welded to the inside and a w added up exhaust port bridge after its o vice r ider fo rgo t to mi x o il in the g as o li ne. Th e t hin g wa s scrap , bu t New Products PUT THE CLA./wP ON IT DeVol Racing has come up w ith these new Ultra Lite Bar Clamp and Mounts, which it claims are e ngineered to provide the high est strength-to-weight ratio and sti ll be lighter than any other barclamp system on th e market. The clamp itse lf has multiple "U" beam po ckets to give th e cla m p hig h torsional streng th, a nd th e low er mounts feature a fi v ed egree cha mfer to eli mi na te th e cha nce of stres s, wh ich co u ld cause cra cks in an aluminum handlebar . DeVol ha s pr oduced th e mounts for sta nda rd or Pro Ta per-si zed bars . Su gges ted retail price for th e Pro Ta per-sized lo wer mounts is $79.99, w hil e the one- piece bar clamp is $49.99. For more informati on, contact DeVol Racin g, Dept. G"!, 741-0 Stevenson Ave., Enumclaw, WA 98022, 360/825-2106. SURV'VE A GROUND STR.KE Fox Racing Inc. has introd uced an all -new chest protector with its 2000 lineup of new racing gear. The Ai r Frame ches t protector ha s been developed in response to rider demands for a more comfortable, less restrictive roost deflector. The sleek, fullcoverage pr otector is design ed with ergonomica lly sha pe d fro nt , rea r, sho u ld er an d arm panels, with the two-piece back pa ne l featuring a Kev larreinforced " to rsion hinge" that forms to the rider's back wit ho u t pulli ng the fro nt or should er pan els while the rid er is in attack po sition . Av ailable in colors bla ck, blue, red , g reen, a nd ye llow /blue, the Air Frame retails for $129. For more inform ation, see your loca l motorcycle dealer, or contac t Fox Racing, Inc., 18400 Sutter Blvd ., Mor gan Hill, CA 95037,408/776-8633. DO IT RIGHT White Brother s offer s a cus to m wheel -building servi ce for rid er s interes ted in fast en ing tri ck hoops on their scoo ts. WB technicians profess ion .a lly bui ld ea ch w heel, using such goodies as Talon h u bs, Excel rims, Spli ne Drive alloy nipples and Bulldog sta inless-s teel spokes. All w hee ls are custom-order only, giving the rider the ir p refe rence of co lo rs and rim wid ths. In m ost cases, orders can be completed in un der a week. Contact your local mot orcycle d eal er , or Wh ite Brothers, Dept. CN, 24645 Corbit P I., Yo r ba Lin da, CA 92887,714/693-3404 . en en en ~ .n ~ Q; .c E G> ii G> en 47