Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

That was me that forked out $100+ on eBay.
It ended up being the wrong part in the box.

....still looking......

Mike

Whoa. That would anger me. I tried to send you a link to that bidding, but when I found it, there was only 1 min 16 seconds left to bid and it was over before I could hit "send." Is the guy going to give your money back?? What piston was in the box?

Hi mitchie,
I contacted the seller and he said he would refund me upon return.

The piston in the box looked like a Honda except it measured 56.5 mm.

Mike

I don't know if this will help but I was looking over an VMX from 2004 and they had an article on Suzuki RM370's and I quote" Rick Horvat the Piston Man from Ohio,is at it again with his latest piston kits for RM370s.As with all Rick's pistons,these are 1st class and well priced at $165 in various oversizes" It might be worth your time to get a hold of him. Rick Horvath 800 Clayton Lane Aurora Ohio 44202 mailto:HD250mxman@msn.com
Hope this helps

Will a piston from another brand 175 work?? The Kawa KDX175 and KDX220 also had 66mm piston, but I'm unsure of pin diameter or other specs on piston. It appears all Yamaha 175s also used a 66mm bore and 50mm stroke the MR175 did, but--again--not sure about the height of piston above the pin and the pin diameter. I believe the MR175 had a 16mm pin diameter. If you haven't already, I'd call Wiseco for measurements. You can machine a piston to make it fit if it is close. You can also rebush the con rod top if another piston would fit but has a 14mm pin. Good luck. This has to be very frustrating.

Hi mitchie,
Thanks for the good tips.
Gary Starr posted a contact to Rick Horvat, whom I contacted. (Thanks Gary)
According to Rick Horvat, a PE175 (Suzuki?) piston may be be close enough to use (possibly with machining?)
He also mentioned that the MR175 engine is a "bored" CR125 engine of the same vintage, and can be retrofitted to a CR top end if other resources are exhausted....but I'd rather try to keep it stock if I can.
I still have a few leads on Wiseco pistons.

I guess I'm getting a bit old. ..and have a hard time to realize that a 1977 bike is "vintage."
I'm sure there must be other readers of this forum that have run across similar dilemmas, so I'll keep you posted.

Mike

Thanks to a member on this forum, who sold me a perfect NOS Wiseco piston.
I am now back on track.

Also, thanks to another member on this forum who mentioned http://www.cmsnl.com. They have lots of parts in stock for the Elsinores. I bought some stuff from them and the service was excellent. Shipping took 4 days from Holland to western Canada.

Thanks guys.

Mike