athena big bore kit review..i bought one

[twinrock]

hey guys..i bought one....!!!! about a month ago..i bought it to replace the ported banshee top end i had on my mito.. which due to the aggressive dune porting in the inlets which did make awsome power had really bad reed serge(bad horrible shaking at about 6tho rpm) which could not be tunned out and ended up cracking the engine mount. first i did a bit a reserch and found little info on this particular kit..and all the yank forums dissed it and athena saying that it was prob chinese crap, but i knew also that athena is prob one of the biggest distibutor of bigbore kits and engine parts.
well i bought mine from atv unlimited and it was here in about 5 days and cost $950 delivered..thats hard to beat right there..!!!! for all who have rebored and fitted out a rz top end..

The barrels... they are basically a direct copy of the standard banshee ones with the exception the iron sleave has been bored out and whats left has been nickle plated..this is how the bigger bore is acheived...it is good as the transferr ports have not been sacrificed to do it..
It was really strange holding brand new barrels for a rz/banshee after 15yrs of old flogged out parts in my hands

The head..i like alot..o ring with removable domes like a cool head but less complicated and less parts bigger water jackets and fits perfectly..

The thing i like about the kit is that it is a true bolt on kit..everything is suplies except for little end bearing i didnt have to change reeds or carbs or pipes

The ride...well the barrels have alot to live up to as my last set were ridiculous in the bottom and mid range but ran out of puff up top..i also have a 4mm stroke crank..
well they feel really smooth and engine is very quiet "NO REED SERGE" about time..power how ever seemed way down...did a plug chop and the thing was off the chart lean..clip was as low as i could go i changed the needles to a shorter one this has made a big difference still lean a bit i can tell and does not have the bottom end of the last ones but pulls hard and strong right to red line.. i still have more jetting to do, main jet..but its been raining for 2 days..
So do i recomend it? even at this stage ...i would say yes...very cheap...in comparison to the other kits...power is good and will be great..i will keep u posted this week with the performance

[Nath]

Awesome, always good to have some more options.

Pics!

[taint]

The thumpertalk guys rave about athena parts. Nice purchase.

[g0zer]

Thx for the review- how did u do the slip on headers? Any pics?

What jetting and carbs ru running? Don't do what I did and melt a brand new top end! I poontled about for 50km pulled plugs and thought they looked ok, went out and ran the bike at WOT and high rpm for extended period and holed pistons.


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[Nath]

What is the bore size btw ?

[Melchior]

Coool.

Definitely need pics, did ya take any?
New barrels look sexay.

[twinrock]

hey guys sorry i should have taken pics when they were straight out the box..heres is a link to pics of the engine and bike...barrels are 68mm

random2043.jpg picture by twinrock - Photobucket

[chee]

videos of bike being ridden too please

[Nath]

Oh, ok.. looks good.

Nice easy upgrade.

[g0zer]

how is the mito going twinrock?

steve reckons you have got the powerband sorted out nicely now





^nice bikes! although the seat looks like it would put the rider weight towards the rear of the bike a bit?

[g0zer]

The barrels... they are basically a direct copy of the standard banshee ones with the exception the iron sleave has been bored out and whats left has been nickle plated..this is how the bigger bore is acheived...it is good as the transferr ports have not been sacrificed to do it..

^this is the info i was chasing, cheers! i gather you mean the port map is identical to banshee.

tss steve was explaining the size of the exhaust ports on the trinity barrels makes them unkind to rings and suggested the athena might be the go for a street motor that doesnt need constant re-ringing?

i was also thinking of using the athena barrels as the basis for a solid, reliable and streetable 2T? do you have any further comments now you have had them on the bike for a bit?

btw what pistons did you use?

edit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-H...Q5fAccessories

^hotrods crank stock stroke $349USD

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YAMAH...item35a62508fd

^athena top end kit 68mm bore $750USD

[Robo]

I see kit comes with pistons complete...
I am intersted in that kit, I have project that needs a fresh YPVS motor..
and the crank assembly is not expensive...

I wonder about freight, any idea...
So all you need is pipes and carbs... ???
Then you can just play about and get it to run nicely...
for say less than $1500, plus pipes...

If that's the case, then Hmmmm....

[g0zer]

ive paid $850USD landed for the top end

i think minimum mod cost for converting an already running complete 350 motor will be something like

top end $950 AUD landed
crank $500 AUD landed
custom expansion chambers with slip on headers to suit banshee allow $1000AUD minimum
rejet $20/2 jets allow for at least 3 sets of main jets starting +30 over stock and each set increasing by +20~ $60
seal and gasket kit $120AUD

[Robo]

Hey WOW...
How Cool is that, you ordered a Kit...
Justin is happy with his, in the Mito...
So it runs out to say AU2.5K
Now all I need to do is blow my motor to have a good enough reason...

I would like to go that way...
So maybe we see what you think.. ??

[Emily]

I thought you were robbo the squid

Disappointment sets in...

[Robo]

I thought you were robbo the squid

Disappointment sets in...

Ahh no, But I can be...
U on yahoo ???

[twinrock]

yeah engine is still running strong..alil too strong about 3 weeks ago i was leaving for work just gave the bike a lil rush in 1st which i never do as u will understand...the bike rushed up catching me off guard and flipped which sent the bike sliding down the road and me sliding behind it...it did very lil damage as the bar end and axle bolt took all the hit..it was my fault really i had no back brake as i was waiting on seals for it..i never give it much stick in 1st gear because it is soo agressive...2cnd gear is basically the same but more control..lol
i will be pulling the engine down for porting and blue printing as there is more power and importantly torque to be had i just wanted to run the kit straight out of the box to get a good assesment hope i have been of help..

[g0zer]

eheh now that you mention it, i was led to believe there is a video of the said incident

[thro]

yeah engine is still running strong..alil too strong

^^ lol.

i will be pulling the engine down for porting and blue printing as there is more power and importantly torque to be had

Thats the spirit

[g0zer]