NIKASIL electroplating

[ghostrider]

 Can anyone suggest the right people to use for cylinder boring/ re NIKASIL treatment here in OZ .I am getting all this banter about this company doesnt do this and that  company can do that correctly.Maybe someone has been through this recently,,,anyhelp would be appreciated....

[Lozza]

I can't think of a good reason to have plating done in Australia.

[GMC]

I've seen you write this a few times Lozza, what's the story behind it.
I bought a change over barrel for my KTM300 a while back, the dealership told me it was replated in the UK but I thought this was just a sales pitch.

[Lozza]

Well let's say to read the fine print VERY carefully.I have seen a barrel that came back from a plater here and it looked as though it had been attacked with a chainsaw.The bridge on the exhaust port was thinned down so far the probabilty of a seizure was greater than a 100%(if that's possible), when after a lap and a half it seized solid, after being assure by the plater that 'everything will be fine' and 'done that on 100's of barrels', the owner rang and complained the plater asked, "what was the bike used for?" racing "we don't warranty our work for racing" C*^#S.
Send them to Millenium Technologies or Max Power in the US they actually stand behind their workmanship.Millenium's work is very good.Apoetons in the UK is the parent company of Max Power.
HTH

[ghostrider]

   Yeah Lozza ,thats the reason Ive put this on the forum.Why is it that no one here in Aus can set up to do this type of work properly.Has anyone tried out the Go Kart tuners (or do they have the same drama)?

[GD66]

 A friend of mine who roadraces a TD2 Yamaha has had 4 sets of barrels done by Luis Gomez at Aurum Plating in Narangba, Qld, and has been happy with the results, he finished second at the nats at Eastern Creek with a heat win and a lap record. Aurum have a website, but like all enquiries of this nature, ask everybody !

[GMC]

Thanks Lozza, but you still have me curious. Why do you suppose they fiddled with the bridge port when their job was to plate the barrel? Does this need to be done to get the plating in their?
Did your mate get his own barrel back or was it a change over deal like mine?

As far as I know their are only 2 places doing this work, 1 in Qld & 1 in Vic.

[Lozza]

I don't know all the finer details but the barrel was at a friends shed in a big box to be sent over to Millenium,.The same barrel was to come back as it had a fair bit of work done to it. That was on a Superkart engine and now 99.99% of Superkart barrels (in NSW) that need replating go to Millenium.I wouldn't say fiddled I'd say F#*KED I would assume that 'something' went wrong and instead of aiming up they tried pulling a stroke and lost heaps of business because of it. Mind you that's the worst(but not the only) story to eminate from this place either.
My understanding of the process is the plating is stripped off , the barrell pickled (or such) to clean the ali then the plating applied.Before pickling usually the repairs are done, weld voids, cracked bridges etc etc, then bore, bridge relief, plate and finaly diamond hone to size.

[Freakshow]

Nikasil on old bikes has kinda become a standard practice in the US.  I was reading somewhere why now it has become viable and the way to go, also had some merit in heat transfer and nil siezures on air cooled bikes, if i can remember where i was readingiit ill post the link , but From memory it was a US bike Forum.

I think the idea has so much merit, especially on tired or on there last leg bores, you should be able to save heaps or barrels and sleeves in the long run me thinks.   Ceramics used to be big for a while there on the RD's not sure where that ended up but alot of folk messed with it.

[Maico31]

I thought you only nikasil alloy cylinders? Isn't that the idea to coat the alloy to make it harder and lighter than a cylinder with a steel sleeve.

[Freakshow]

iS it the DT1 or yza cylinders they are doing mostly ? i thought they where chrome or maybe they are steel, IHNFI.

I jsut seem to be reading a lot of posts about Niksil bores and linings on old Air cooled bikes, i have no idea how it works or what the bores are, maybe they are doing somtiung we are not, let me do some homework and post findings.

until then use the words old bike and NIka sil and ill get back to you on what and where.  BRB

[Lozza]

Iron liners can be plated as with aluminium.Dunno why anyone would want to do that though

[Freakshow]

Cut and paste from USA forums : i have no idea what it means but they use the word Iron in the same sentaence as Coatings, seems they are coating everything even Fork sliders in new coating these days, im not sure what the limitations are but if infact old niko was only ally maybe they have a new version that does all, but its referred still as a niko lining, well i still HNFI.  MAybe they coat them in ali first then the Nikosil, prity confident it can be done though, even thought the trade sites are a bit vauge

forum Quotes:
- Bore in Nikasil is as large as 102, 103.1 with iron sleeve.

- Also the hot set up back in the day with the DT1 was a GYT Kit chrome bore with a base spacer and reciprical head milling ala Neil Keen. These days with Nikosil (wasn't available then) you can just mill the top of the GYT cylinder the same amount as the spacer.

-NEW NIKASIL,CYLINDER-PISTON-RINGS ARE CRYODIZED

-70.5, and 71 should all fit the stock cylinder with a niko coating, Bigger than that will require a thicker iron sleeve or a aluminum sleeve.

- Kanisil or Nikasil, although the abrasion resistance is less for Elnisil.

[Freakshow]

Asa side not we have a guy here cleaning parts, futher to the post on cleaning Carbies, well it seems thats his specialty, he is using a 20 min dip in one of them electrolisis baths, but i think the trick is the cleaning agent he uses in the liquid.

Maybe time to suggest you clean your miss's Jewlery ?

[maicopunk]

For what it's worth, I had a barrel plated by Electrosil in Victoria and have been very happy with the results.

Admittedly, it was a modern watercooled 125 without a steel liner but they did a good job with a fast turn around.