Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Soon after summer is done I will be doing a rebuild.. question is is it worth my time to balance each rod to the same weight, and pistons to the same weight? I would like to have the motor last quite a long time.... any thoughts on this?

Can't hurt.....

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Doubt it would take much labor to match weights. If you do go thru with it let us know the outcome. Someone here knows no doubt how close rod weight is etc.

Just weigh three rods and three piston and see how far off they are

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1975 S3 project bike
1974 H1 project bike
1972 Yamaha R5
1974 Yamaha RD350

Talk to Charlie Smith, the crank rebuild guy, he is a big fan of balancing and has made some fixtures for balancing rods that are really cool. It does help as rods can vary significantly in weight and so can some pistons.

I would be more than happy to balance a set of three rods for anyone that needs it. Your best bet is to start with rods very close in weight (if you have an assortment from which to pick). If the rods are around 10 grams or so different, I don't suggest trying to balance them as too much material would be removed and could affect the intergity of the rod.

It takes a little more than an hour to do a set. I get them to less than a gram. This is balancing the big ends to match, the small ends to match then the rods as a whole to match. I charge $40. This price includes the return shipping (USPS flat rate). I hope this helps.

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of course, why rebuilts an engine and don't balance rods and pistons

Cause some people think you can just press a crank together adjust a little and it's the best thing in the world when people like Charlie does a little bit more to make it right and on an h2 you can use every edge to get the vibration out.

I'm risking sounding like someone who knows nothing about this (I don't). Shouldnt the rods match the crank "pork chops"? I thought they would have little to do with each other and more to do with the weight variances of the "counter weights". Since Kawasaki doesn't offer or never offered different weight con rods or marked the pork chops, this would have to be done manually. That and who knows what crank weight/con rod weight ratio would provide the least vibration/best balance. Like I said, I'm no crank builder. Other thoughts?

Balance it!