Niksail plating

[cnavarro]

There are many variations in platings, and if you were to use the platers I use, it runs 204.95/cyl, if no other operations, such as boring, are required. If sealing surfaces need to be repaired, it runs $36/cyl, and if other repairs are required, you're going skyward. I was having a discussion with a dirt bike shop owner about nikasil and he informed me that most stock bike cylinders have a sprayed on coating that is honed, kind of like porsche's early flame spray cast iron coating for aluminum cylinders (ala p356, 547) If one were to do it in europe, it runs about 50% less than here in the states, but there is not concern about high sulfur fuel, etc, and warranty converages vary too. One company in the states offers a one year warranty, where my plater gives a lifetime warranty. Coating cast iron will get you a slight reduction in friction, and in something like a stockish application, near infinate cylinder wear. Expensive for cheap cast iron cylinder tho....

Charles Navarro
LN Engineering
http://www.LNengineering.com
Aircooled Precision Performance

[Mark the canuck]

I’m in Canada and wanted Nickies, but by the time taxes, duties, etc. are paid they do get a bit spendy. I’ve got full machining capabilities so I thought making a set would only be my time.

Charles is being totally up front with the cost of plating, a Canadian company offers nicasil plating, it’s $230 per cylinder IF you’re a business, if not it’s $300 each. Then you have to buy the billet, you can totally forget about trying to get the extrusions that LN uses. Don’t know if they even offer a warranty.
By the time you buy the material and have it plated you “may” save a couple of hundred bucks AND this does not count for your time machining, let alone the cost of your lathe, mill, special jigs and tooling, mistakes, etc.
Also equal quality pistons will cost you at minimum the same and you will also have a hard time getting the studs, etc.

In the end you will find that LN’s products are an excellent (and proven) deal for the money. Trying to do it yourself is just a waste of time.

BTW after all the research I did I ended up buying Nickies (103’s) and they are frickin works of art…almost a shame to put them on an engine.

[mikko k]

I also bought Nickies (103's) from Charles. And I had a lot of taxes, ect too.

But these are real art, real beauties, real quality! Also real shame to use, but I have to! Great Cylinders and realy light.

[brianwheelies]

if you look at most of Suzuki's four stroke engine's they are nickasil plated cylinders. i had a dr350, 350 aircooled sohc 4st engine with nickasil plated cylinders which i bored to 385. the cylinder was sleeved in a material that i'm not sure of and an aluminum cylinder itself. so, there are plenty of 4 strokes with nickasil liners.