So as some of you know, I'm kind of into saws. Yeah I use them for work at home and at my job, but they have become another hobby of sorts for me as well. Besides making a little side money overhauling a few for a local tree service, I have been learning how to port them from some of the pros in the business. Cool side effect is that I'm learning 2-stroke porting theory. Now mind you, compared to wheelers, bikes, and sleds, a saw is basically a one-trick-pony. It's meant to run strong at WOT. Whereas bikes and such a broader power curve is more desirable and I can plainly see the difference in the port layout with bikes and such being much more sophisticated with boost ports, windowed pistons, and the need for reed and rotary valves. I am gaining enough knowledge and tooling that I am building enough confidence to port my own 250r cylinder in the not too distant future.. But I digress.
I currently own all Husky's, a 346xp, 357xp (ported by me) 372xpw (75cc, ported by me) a 359 I built from a junk powerhead with a couple of simple mods, and finally got my mitts on a builder 394xp.
I got this blown 394 powerhead in leau of cash offered to me for my labor overhauling a couple of saws for the tree service I mentioned above. Pics below starting with how it looked when I got it to how it currently sits...
I went right through it from the crank bearings on up. The piston was scored pretty bad and there was piston material transferred onto the cylinder walls. These cylinders are nikisil plated and I learned that most often they can be cleaned right back up to good usable condition most times with simple sanding. My cylinder cleaned up good and I'm glad for that as nobody makes 394 spec cylinders any more, not even aftermarket. And to swap to a 395 top end while simple, involves swapping the whole intake tract over to 395 components as well.. Both saws are identical in most ways, but the intake tract is the biggest difference and adds several more parts to the list. Plus I wanted to maintain this saw as a true 394.
Couple pics: