My 1972 T350 build progress and some questions

[Marshall]

I have some progress updates and a couple of questions about my 1972 Suzuki T350. First the progress so far:

When I first got it, it was in pieces and missing a bunch of parts. I had no idea if it was capable of running so I wanted to at least get it assembled and see if it runs before I spend extra money making it look nice. Here is what it looked like when I got it:

http://imgur.com/DF5Iitl

I spent the next couple of months asking questions on here and buying parts for it. Here it is today, running for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc4etyKtCKw. Another view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc4etyKtCKw

If you notice, it smokes a lot so I have some questions about that. I wasn't sure if there was oil in the oil pump/lines since they looked clear so I put in some dark blue outboard 2 stroke oil that hasn't yet made it into the engine. But it does appear that there is clear/amber oil in the lines already since I can see the new stuff and the old stuff mixing in the lines. I'm guessing that the previous owner put regular motor oil in the oil tank the last time it ran.

Here is a video of the oil pump working: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OxmRYP3VjQ. I confirmed that it's drawing oil into the pump as indicated by a helpful bubble and it does appear to change the flow when I move the lever.

Questions:

1. Will regular motor oil work for 2 stroke oil? I know it'll lubricate but won't that type of oil create a bunch of smoke? Do you think that this is why my engine is smoking so much? This is the first time it's been running in years.

2. It looks like it smokes a lot out of the left exhaust pipe. Since this type of engine uses oil injection instead of the simpler crankcase method isn't the oil consumption for each cylinder dictated by the oil pump and injection nozzles? Is there an adjustment for this to change the flow going to each cylinder?

[joethebike]

I would give the bike a good long run to clear out oil from the crankcase and mufflers and then check the excess smoke issue.

If it still smokes excessively, especially from one side then your centre crank seals are bad and need replacing.

[Marshall]

If it still smokes excessively, especially from one side then your centre crank seals are bad and need replacing.

How hard is that to do?

Looking at pictures online, it looks like it's in the middle of the crank. Do I need to separate the crank somehow to do that job?

[jabcb]

A lot of forum members send their cranks to Bill Bune.
http://www.billbune.com/index.html

[Coyote]

It will run fine with regular motor oil BUT regular oil smokes a lot and leaves nasty carbon deposits on the piston crowns and cylinder head. Modern oil will improve the smoke situation and the motor will stay cleaner internally for a much longer period of time. There are 2 stroke oils made specifically for oil injection. That's what you want. Not something you would put in your weed eater or chain saw. As already stated by joethebike, the first thing she needs is a long hard run to burn all the gremlins and mouse turds out before determining the actual smoke level.
Your idle is set way too high, but you probably already know that. Nice videos! Especially the one showing the oil flow.

[Marshall]

Your idle is set way too high, but you probably already know that. Nice videos! Especially the one showing the oil flow.

I haven't yet tuned the carbs, but I had to set it like that for it to run. When I had it set lower it would just stall and the engine would get flooded. Then I'd have to dry out the spark plugs.

[Spooker]

The middle crank seal replacement could only be replaced by a specialist with the machine to separate the crank. There are several shops online. But unfortunately that means that you'll have to split the cases to extract the crankshaft. These bikes are awesome when everything falls into place, and I mean everything, good crank seals, cylinder bore and rings with optimum compression, new plugs, fully charged and operational battery, properly tuned and cleaned carbs, spot on timing with good contact points and condensers and finally fresh high test fuel with a good quality two stroke oil. A long list I know. Not one to discourage you, but failing to take everything mentioned to account, you're bound to have a frustrating experience. Good luck.

[Marshall]

These bikes are awesome when everything falls into place, and I mean everything, good crank seals, cylinder bore and rings with optimum compression, new plugs, fully charged and operational battery, properly tuned and cleaned carbs, spot on timing with good contact points and condensers and finally fresh high test fuel with a good quality two stroke oil.

What would be a reasonable cost for a complete engine rebuild? (new pistons, rings, new gaskets and seals, carbs rebuilt, etc?