Okay.....

So what is the preferred piston, connecting rod or crank shaft to install.......

Wiseco, Hotrods, OEM......etc???

Your thoughts

Bump please anyone.

I usually go with all OEM stuff especially for cranks. I don't trust wiseco or hot rods cranks. OEM should be fine for you but if your bike is really modded you might want to look into higher end rods such as Carrillo.

Make, model, year?

grayracer513, on 12 July 2012 - 07:04 AM, said:

Just a general question really...say old school XR200...kx 80/85....Xr 250 and later model DRZ, Rmz and Wrf???
Reading some of the threads I get a feel that Wiseco are not that well received but Hotrods are...so just scoping out the preferred.

Wiseco cranks are made in China.  Hot Rods are made in Taiwan.  There's a major difference in quality.  Neither are the equal of OEM, but the Hot Rods come close.

The only thing that I know, is that many people have had issues with Wiseco. Not that you shouldnt run their stuff, just that it is a thought to consider.

TheBoonDocker, on 12 July 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

Yes my thoughts also. What about Pro X, Namura, Pistons......any thoughts on these???

I'm doing a top and bottom end on my '04 CR250 and I think I'm going to use an OEM crank. I've got a Hot Rods one in there, but for piece of mind I think Japanese is the go.

Top end I'm going to go either OEM or wossner. I like the idea of cast, but I don't mind warming up my bike with a forged either. And for a German piston that's already drilled and comes coated sounds like a good thing to me. My brother has run two in his KX and loves them. Plus I think the price is close enough to OEM too.

I'd like to here what other people like too though.

Yeah great info. I would like to hear more also. Please keep it coming.

OEM seems to be the best quality that I have seen. I have run hotrods cranks in 5 bikes and have never had a problem with them, they just never seem as true as an OEM one (though they seem to work just fine). If you are looking to save some money over OEM, I would recommend hotrods.

Edited by KJ790, 17 July 2012 - 06:26 AM.

For the crank OEM is #1 with HotRods in a close second IMO. If you find a good deal on a HotRods crank I wouldnt hesitate to purchase.

As for pistons I run Wiseco as quality is top notch and I like the fact that they are forged in my 2 stroke motor. For my 4 stroke I run whatever is on sale.

Wiseco rods are more bad than good quality wise. Pistons, on the other hand, are great quality. I'm currently in the process of rebuilding my 86 CR500. Will be using stock crank with a hot rods rod. Will let you know what I think of it when I put it all together.

RGVMelb, on 14 July 2012 - 05:31 PM, said:

What is the price of the OEM crank. Someone told me these were worth $1200.00

BDubb106, on 17 July 2012 - 06:31 AM, said:

Great information Thanks.

DirtRider500R, on 17 July 2012 - 06:37 AM, said:

Please do let us know. Very interested.

GEOF, on 17 July 2012 - 09:41 PM, said:

For an 04 CR250?  I'd guess around $250 for an OEM.  Yamaha cranks are substantially more expensive at around $350.  No crank costs $1200.  You really can't go wrong with OEM cranks.  For an average rider I woudl anticipate around a 10 year life expectancy on an OEM crank.  What more could you want?  If you catch them before they destroy themselves they are also rebuildable.  It costs around $180  (parts and labor) to rebuild using OE parts.  Many shops don't build Honda cranks, though, because of the difficulty truing them after assembly due to the sheet metal style shrouds.

Well I do see that you're in New Zealand I don't know what the exchange rates are.

Edited by 1987CR250R, 17 July 2012 - 10:00 PM.

1987CR250R, on 17 July 2012 - 09:56 PM, said:

Yes I just had this conversation this afternoon about the sheet metal shrouds. Can you tell me more about the problems with these styles of cranks???

There are no real problems.  They are awesome because they are cheap to manufacture new so you pay less for a new crank.  They are lame because they cannot be trued between centers as any other crank would be because you cannot used hammers and wedges to true the crank as they would dent the shrouds.  They can be rebuilt but they have to be pressed together straight in a fixture or a little bit at a time between centers which is why many shops say no way.  But who cares.  Rebuilding a Honda crank from a contemporary bike costs around $180 while buying a new one costs around $230.  2x shipping to get a crank rebuilt (one time to the rebuilder and one time back home) already offsets the cost.  Therefore, sheet metal shrouds are not a disadvantage as they last just as long as any other crank and don't require rebuilding because they are cheap enough to simply buy new.

Edited by 1987CR250R, 18 July 2012 - 08:38 PM.

Cool thanks for the info. Great stuff.

Pankl  and Carrillo make awesome rods.