I've searched the site, and there is an abundance of info on the 200x. Everything you'd ever wanna know. So, perhaps the questions that arise may have been asked an answered. Oh well. If it upsets you, move on the to next thread. Lots of drama on here lately, and, in the words of Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!" I'm posting to learn, share some info, and lastly because i think a thread will motivate me a bit to get through the job.
here is the back story. About two years ago, i picked up an 85 200x. It ran good, but she had been ridden hard and put away wet. just about everything on the wheeler was used up, abused, and in need of repair. The thing would smoke like nana at foxwoods on start up. Then it'd even out, and wasn't too bad. little puffs here and there if youed the motor and made her work, but didn't appear to be what you'd notice from a "traditionally" smoked top end. I thought it was a valve seal issue. Also of note, and most important for this thread, the thing RIPPED. it was fast. I had no history on the trike and I had no way of knowing what had been done. Also, i'd never had another 200x, so a stock to stock comparison was not an option. It walked away from a 200es, and took a 250es, and 2 250sx's. (all stock) I suspect that the sx's may have caught up and passed if we had the running room, but i cant say for sure. Anyway, the x went good. Like i said before, everything on her was pretty roached. especially the rear bearings. tried to get one NH ride out of it last year and the bearings let go. paperweight. it was decision time for the little x. it was an overall basket case and the decision was to shelf it in lieu of other interests and projects.
Flash forward a few months. A guy i ride with has his second kid and decides to thin his trike heard from 3 down to one. he's selling his 86 250r and his 85 200x and keeping his big red. i should have bought the r, and didn't. i bought the 200x. i got a great deal on it and it was in good shape. needed pads, which i did right away. also, the kicker was wearing out. if you're familiar with these engines, you know this is common, and splitting the cases is in your future. I knew i had the other engine, with good bottom end, so i was happy. took her on a few rides, hellhole, jericho MT, etc. etc. and everything was good. x#2 was not as fast as x#1. that was clear. it was, however, in good shape, reliable, and a decent survivor for an 85. then the problems began.
the kicker problem was getting ever worse. early this year we took it to NH for the Super Dave Stunt Spectacular. It would start easy, and idle. as soon as it was warm, and you shut it off, you had to bump-start it to get it to run again. it wouldn't kick. if it sat and cooled, it'd kick over. it was weird. Then one day on a ride in walpole, it died. wouldn't start again. home to the shop with a weird, what i'll call, "intermittent" spark that seemed out of time. this is what i found.
the pin that holds the cdi into the cam had come loose. a small piece of the cam had broken off (it was stuck to the magnet). when i pulled the cdi, the pin and the rest of the broken cam came out in my hand.
I had the other engine, so I swapped cams and CDI's and we were up and running again. (i didn't check closely to see if the cams were identical, but they seemed to be - more to come on this)
x#2 was running fine, but it still had the lingering kick start shaft problem. the cold/bump start issue had been resolved with the cdi/cam problem. i think the reduced throw of the kicker, combined with the loose pin in the cam, wasn't generating the centrifugal force needed to advance the cdi and get the spark right. thats why the bump-start always worked. does that make sense? even if it does, that doesn't reconcile the cold start/warm start issue, which was also solved with the swap. i cant make sense of it.
i'm snowed in this weekend, so i thought i'd deal with 200x #1. i've been thinking of doing an auto-x build for the bride somewhere down the road. i stripped it down almost to the frame. i still need to press out the swing arm bolt and get the shock off. but i took the engine out and dug into it a bit. interesting stuff.
i popped the head off and immediately noticed a large gouge in the cylinder wall.
three little pieces of the snap ring that holds the wrist pin in place broke off and were trapped between the rings. ate up the wall and the side of the piston pretty good. the piston is/was a ProX. i've never heard of them, but i don't get out much. the crank and connecting rod seem good, as does the head, valves, and spings. i haven't measured anything, and i don't know it the engine was bored, or what other mods were done other than the piston. i would think that there are other upgrades. now, on to the real question. If i take the lower end from this engine, and swap the cylinder, piston, and head from the other engine, with a new tusk gasket kit, am i ok? remember, the cam in the other head was originally in this engine, so, it may not be stock. is that an issue? i'm not looking to win any races, i'd just like a nice reliable machine with not much more of an investment. if this engine has an upgraded crank, how can i tell without splitting the cases? will the throw be off if i go back to the stock head? are these questions making sense? in the interest of full disclosure, this is pretty deep in one of these engines for me. i've dabbled before, but this is new ground. i've rebuilt snowblower/lawnmower engines a bunch, but this is a bit different. any and all advise welcome. thanks for reading. sorry for the sideways pics. i'm left handed.
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Then put new valve seals in and you are good to go. You will also want to clean the wonderful Honda designed oil spinner /strainer in the crankcase. You will need a special tool for that.
Originally Posted by fabiodriven
