After not riding regularly for many years, Kurt finally talked me into getting a dirt bike again. Last year I picked up a 23 Husky 501 (which has been a blast!) but started looking for a 2 stroke to round out the stable for the time being for tighter single track. I ended up finding a deal on a 2016 Beta 300 RR last fall but it was pretty rough. I halfheartedly started rebuilding it until a recent push to get it up and going before I miss the summer singlet rack trails.
I'm horrible at taking pictures along the way and always think I have more. As I purchased it:
I knew it was in rough shape and it was pretty obvious rough around the edges and the custom bends on the radiators, but it seemed to run strong so I figured I was up for the challenge.
It had a fresh top end and as usual when buying used, the workmanship and quality wasn't where it needed. As I was chasing the water pump seals, I had to open it up a bit to change bearings so I decided to pull the engine out onto the stand and check it all a bit more thoroughly. As suspected, there were more issues, the piston was ok, but the PV was totally gummed up, the cylinder was scarred up and past the nikasil in a few spots and most unfortunately the conrod was out of spec and I ended up splitting the cases.
It was somewhere around here that I went into overdrive and had a bit of unreasonable escalation of commitment. Mostly from a time investment, but I also ordered up some nicer parts and decided to do it right. I stripped the frame down to powder coat it and I also blasted the case, swing arm, and various parts and sprayed and cured with Cerakote.
I'm horrible at taking pictures along the way and always think I have more. As I purchased it:
I knew it was in rough shape and it was pretty obvious rough around the edges and the custom bends on the radiators, but it seemed to run strong so I figured I was up for the challenge.
It had a fresh top end and as usual when buying used, the workmanship and quality wasn't where it needed. As I was chasing the water pump seals, I had to open it up a bit to change bearings so I decided to pull the engine out onto the stand and check it all a bit more thoroughly. As suspected, there were more issues, the piston was ok, but the PV was totally gummed up, the cylinder was scarred up and past the nikasil in a few spots and most unfortunately the conrod was out of spec and I ended up splitting the cases.
It was somewhere around here that I went into overdrive and had a bit of unreasonable escalation of commitment. Mostly from a time investment, but I also ordered up some nicer parts and decided to do it right. I stripped the frame down to powder coat it and I also blasted the case, swing arm, and various parts and sprayed and cured with Cerakote.
