Suzuki 2 Strokes

Hi all,
Being of unsound mind I have just purchased a GT380M engine to play with ( minus barrels & head ) with the intention of doing a complete rebuild including all bearings and seals. Can anyone tell me anything about the Cruizin Image Crankshaft bearing & seal kits as they seem a bit cheap to me. Are they any good and if not does anyone know where I can get a good set from.
Also is there anything I should be wary of when splitting the casings.

Depends on what you want from the motor. If you're going to us it as a conversation piece on the coffee table, the CruzinImage stuff is fine. If you plan to actually RUN the motor - use it in a daily rider, the answer is obvious. 99% of what CI sells is made in China. Then it is sold through Japan. Yes it comes out of Japan, but it comes in from China.
Paul Miller probably has most if not all the parts you need. It won't be cheap by a long shot, but you will get genuine Suzuki spares. Others may chime in, but that's my opinion.

Most of the GT380 crankshaft bits are still available from Suzuki eh ? I have used CI pistons, but so far at least have stayed away from the crankshaft parts, only as it so expensive to rebuild cranks that you do not want to do it twice. Pattern parts are always a bit of a crap shoot. As you are in the UK, why not check with someone like Chris Applebee (http://www.applebee.co.uk/ ) and see what he suggests ?

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll give the CI kit a miss then as I do use the bike quite a lot in the summer months.

I have used CI pistons in three GT750s so far and one of them gets raced pretty hard with no problems so far. I use their intake rubbers which are still good after three or more years. So I am a big fan of their stuff. Is it perfect? Probably not. Is it acceptable for the task most of the time? Absolutely.

Pistons, rings and intake rubbers? I think we were talking about crank bearings and seals. Have you used those?

Nope and neither does anyone else here that we know of. People have expressed negative comments from which the OP concludes that the stuff is bad and I merely suggested that my experience has been different with a selectio9n of parts that others seem to think are no good.

It's just another data point in a largely anecdotal discussion thread with basically zero empirical data on which to base a decision.

Agreed. I had a GT550 crank rebuilt recently by these guys (UK) and the fellow I spoke to, Dave, said they would use the CI sets if a customer wished, as they couldn't see any reason not to, though at that time (summer 2015) they hadn't fitted any.
You might enquire if that position has changed and if so what the customer feedback has been.
http://www.applebee.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Cheers,
Mike

tz375 wrote:............ I merely suggested that my experience has been different with a selection of parts that others seem to think are no good. .

Agree completely.

As offered earlier in the thread, I've used CI pistons in the past, and will again in the future. Their fork tubes/stanchions are also a good buy as are some of their other products - I use their gasket sets almost exclusively. When it comes to crankshafts though, given how much the labour costs to get them done here locally, as well as the amount of effort required just to get at it, I am cautious about trying to save a few bucks on the parts if OEM parts are available.

Of course In those cases where OEM parts can't be sourced, the discussion becomes irrelevant and you use whatever you can find.

Just been in touch with SEP Kegworth and they reckon they can rebuild the crank for £120.00 if I supply the parts and £390.00 if they source the parts. Does this sound about right? I googled SEP and there was a couple of very negative reviews stating they damaged new bearings and crankshaft threads by belting them with a hammer, and one person stated the crank they sent back wasn't the crank he dropped off at the shop. Now I don't know what to do. I can source all the genuine Suzuki parts from Discount Bikespares, it's just a case of finding the right place for the job.
Has anyone heard of or tried a company called Tradeck in Elsmere Port Liverpool. He said he will do the job for £90.00 if I supply the parts. Seems he does a lot of 2 stroke engines for race bikes, singles, twins and triples.

Glyn,
Though I don't usually post negative reviews, SEP treated me so shabbily in relation to a full motor rebuild on a UK GT550B that I will. I won't use them ever again.
The crank I sent came back with aftermarket (KTM) rods which are longer than stock, and didn't bother to tell me.
Also, they had the cylinders replated without the pistons available to the plater and the resulting clearances were all over the place (quelle surprise). As you might guess, it didn't turn out well. They were pretty much uninterested when I told them it rattled, telling me I must have the timing out or carbs needing synching. Later, one pot became so noisy I sent the top end back. They did a careless job replating two of the cylinders, astonishingly, again without pistons in hand. One clearance in spec. Later, the other pot seized and wrecked the crank. They 'offered to look at the crank'. Honestly, would you have sent it to them? I have not bothered going back, life's too short.
Its a shame, because my prior experience with SEP (fully GT380B motor rebuild) was and remains flawless, its my favourite bike.
I have since rebuilt the motor in bits and used Chris Applebee Engineering for the crank, they have been excellent. Good comms. A chap called Dave did the work. Top end via Sean Hadley at RGV.com, also quality work, good comms. Motor runs swishy quiet. Fingers crossed.
Good luck!
Mike

Now I'm really confused. I thought I'd give SEP a go as it's not to far away to drop the crank off personally but now I'm not so sure.

Hello Glyn,

Grampian Motors in Liverpool re-built my T500 crank and have a good reputation.

http://www.grampianmotors.co.uk/

Alternatively Pete Odell (posts on here) is also recommended, call him rather then email though.

http://www.themotorcycleworks.co.uk/

Cheers Geoff

Zunspec4 wrote:Hello Glyn,

Grampian Motors in Liverpool re-built my T500 crank and have a good reputation.

http://www.grampianmotors.co.uk/

Alternatively Pete Odell (posts on here) is also recommended, call him rather then email though.

http://www.themotorcycleworks.co.uk/

Cheers Geoff

Cheers Geoff,
Thanks for the info.