Niche Industries Top End Kit

Ha that is the kit. This one is not a Niche Industries cylinder, or at least it is not labeled. And I did not spring for the extra air filter. Seemed kinda pointless. But the base gasket is all metal and the reed gasket seemed very thin. I would be curious to see what what an expert has to say about them.
The base gasket is metal... the short studs that are used to hold the cylinder down vibrate loose even with a OEM gasket. A metal gasket will make it even worse. Honda used to send spring metal locking nuts with their HRC 250r short track motor kits.
 
I finally got my hands on one of the Niche cylinders. The first thing I found was that it’s 10 oz heavier than a stock cylinder. The exhaust port is .030” higher than stock but the transfer ports are much smaller. At first glance, I thought this would be a nice platform for a ported cylinder so I started grinding. I could tell as soon as I started grinding that the liner was not the same as OEM. It cut like butter and seemed very soft. When I got into the exhaust, I hit a huge void. I still wasn’t concerned and figured I could just weld it up and grind it flush. After I got the porting rough cut, I sent it the boring machine. This is where the house of cards came tumbling down. The cast iron liner is porous and full of voids. We could actually see the material flaking away as the cutter went down. I feel that this cylinder will wear prematurely. Granted that this is only one cylinder but it says a lot about the quality control surrounding this product. To sum it all up……………………Typical Chinese junk that’s produced as cheap as possible. It’s the same scenario as a paper base gasket. It may work but it’s not the same product you get from the manufacturer.
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Congratulations.....:D...Good work.You just proved what you already knew ! The casting voids are a result of bad pressure casting, air pockets.
 
Up until the crap sleeve they looked feasible.. Glad this was done and now all know where they stand..
 
And I'm glad that I now have 2 of these top ends sitting in my garage lol I will probably run it for the summer and rebuild it the right way over the winter. Thanks OConnor for the information on them
 
So my blaster needed a crank also. So the crappy top end was not my only issue. The seals, bearings, and gaskets have been replaced and I am running the new niche top end with the crappy piston previously pictured. It starts and runs fine but I will be removing this cylinder at the end of the summer. I really don't trust the piston, rings or cylinder after seeing their quality control. I Hope the information Ken OConnor provided helps others.
 
So I did want to leave an update on how this top end turned out. It was bad. It worked great in my garage after I straightened out some minor carb issues. I took it up north to run some trails and ran into 4 problems.

The first major one was a tors issue and the second was a clutch adjustment issue from the rebuild (both completely my fault). The third issue I discovered was low compression after an hour of riding (motor was broken in properly before the ride). It started really hard but still ran decent. It got me home and I still had a lot of fun. The 4th problem was that I rolled it on the way to the truck (again my fault for being 290 lbs and riding I tiny fourwheeler).

I didn't take pictures of the top end when I pulled it but it wasn't great. The piston was very pitted after only about 2 hours of fairly light run time. The cylinder walls had marks on them which did not look bad but the low compression told me that it wore fast.

If you are desperate, this kit is for you, but much like a fat chick, you won't want to tell your friends about it and it won't last long. I left a negative review on eBay and the distributor actually called me to remedy the issue. I told them I left an honest review about the fast shipping but poor quality part. They told me they would sent me a new top end kit if I changed my review. I regrettably did. That is why these kits all have good reviews.

I would not recommend this kit. I was warned on this forum and I hope that more info on these kits start surfacing. Thank you guys for all of your help. I did actually trade the blaster for a pretty nice warrior that wasn't running. I got it going and will be riding again soon.
 
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So you messed around with a fat chick with herpes got burnt then forgave her and traded her for a fatter chick with aids.......nice

Haha ya that's a pretty good way to put it. That's what happens when you look for companionship on Craigslist. Bothe the atv's or personal sections.
 
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Glad this info is around legit had a niche kit in my Amazon checkout as I was reading this thread lol. Just gunna get cyl bored and go wisco...
 
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I just bought the entire kit rebuilt my quad and even have the sh*tty piston it came with for the break in period spent a lot of money in a month to get her running so I just will review the entire kit. Lol but as for now mixed 40:1 for first gas tank usually 32:1 but don’t wanna blow that sh*t piston so yeah. She runs awesome tho. Eliminated the tors and blocked off injection. New crank and bearings and new whatever this company is called again kit for top end I still do have a barely touched weisco for this I’m just waiting for this to break the head in. That’s all
 
The top end bearing and the piston are the weakest points. When / if they let go, you'll be looking for cases. In my opinion, it's simply not worth the risk.
So what are you saying put the weisco piston in? The crank and everything else but piston is weisco and cylinder but we will see hopefully she holds
 
Quote.
Lol but as for now mixed 40:1 for first gas tank usually 32:1 but don’t wanna blow that sh*t piston so yeah. She runs awesome tho.
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40:1 is less oil then 32:1 ??

Mixing Ratio (Gas:Oil) Volume of Gasoline Volume of 2-Cycle Oil
32:1 1 US gal. (128 oz) 4 oz.
40:1 1 US gal. (128 oz) 3.2 oz.
50:1 1 US gal. (128 oz) 2.6 oz.
32:1 1 liter 31.25 ml[/Quote]
 
Quote.
Lol but as for now mixed 40:1 for first gas tank usually 32:1 but don’t wanna blow that sh*t piston so yeah. She runs awesome tho.
/\/\
40:1 is less oil then 32:1 ??

Mixing Ratio (Gas:Oil) Volume of Gasoline Volume of 2-Cycle Oil
32:1 1 US gal. (128 oz) 4 oz.
40:1 1 US gal. (128 oz) 3.2 oz.
50:1 1 US gal. (128 oz) 2.6 oz.
32:1 1 liter 31.25 ml
[/QUOTE]
I just sat threw it with my brother. No need for this had it on pencil and paper and mofo broke it down to molecules this is what happens when your family invest in school and not athletics. I can play football box lacrosse moto and more as well can he but as we see he had the brains
 
I don't recall if Ken tested them for out of round/taper. I do recall poor port chamfering, rough port casting, voids in aluminum and iron liner when bored (hot spots) .
I'm not a metallurgist, but I'll bet the iron sleeve is softer than stock=faster wear.

Quality doesn't cost, it pays. :cool:
 
I don't recall if Ken tested them for out of round/taper. I do recall poor port chamfering, rough port casting, voids in aluminum and iron liner when bored (hot spots) .
I'm not a metallurgist, but I'll bet the iron sleeve is softer than stock=faster wear.

Quality doesn't cost, it pays. :cool:
My only concern is will it make it threw the year. This will be my sisters ATV, it’s literally gonna be putted around with a occasional rip sesh with me of course on it but mostly her. So I doubt she’s going to be screaming other then those very few time. Honestly it’s like 8 min rides to each spot where we ride so it prob won’t have enough time to overheat. No clue but if it makes it threw the year with no problems I’ll take it. Then buy a actual cylinder for it. OEM Cylinder