Topic: Doing rings, what else?

[zabzob]

Long story short, I was a dummy 3 years ago and didn't do the rings when I had the head rebuilt on my 750. Burning a tonne of oil, and since it's not the head it must be the rings, right? So now I'll be pulling the engine again when it warms up. Since I'll be in there, anything I should do beyond replacing the rings? I was thinking about getting those APE heavy duty studs as well... maybe the cam chain tensioner assembly too, since it always seems to be rattly no matter how much I sync the carbs.

[calj737]

Rings, hone, and deck the block and head. HD studs never hurt, but aren't required if its a "stock" rebuild.

[Keith]

Who rebuilt the head? In my previous life as an auto tech, I have seen some less than professional machine work... I would have it checked out.

[zabzob]

Head rebuild was done by a reputable shop with good reviews online. It burned oil before the head rebuild as well, and I wouldn't be surprised if the rings disintegrated based on the shape the bike was in when I got it.

[zabzob]

Also when I did a tour this summer it would burn about a bottle of oil every 400 km or so. Seems unlikely that all of that could get down the valve guides, right?

[calj737]

Either you are leaking oil like the Valdez, or your rings are shot. Riding that bike burning/using that much oil would have made following you like a Stephen King scene I suspect...

Did you notice heaps of smoke from the tailpipe, or a compression check show low PSI before you tore it down?

[zabzob]

Well, I didn't do a compression test because again, I'm a dummy. I should have rented one to get an idea of how there were before tearing it down. My tour buddy took the lead for most of our trip because he wasn't too happy about riding behind me. 

I think I'm going to go ahead and order a set of rings, head gasket, base gasket, exhaust gaskets, and cam chain tensioner parts. I'll have the cylinders measured and honed at a shop I think.

Question: could my rings being so, so bad affect the ability to balance the carbs? Like with constant misfires etc? Always seemed way harder to do than it should have been.

[calj737]

Irregular and very inconsistent compression between cylinders can create very differing levels of vacuum pressure. So the fuel drawn into the chambers would vary between carburetors. Also, incorrect valve clearances can effect this too. It is difficult to say which or what was causing your issue there with further diagnostic measurements before teardown. 

Rest assured though, properly honed, decked, milled and rebuilt, she should be right 'n tight and a blast to ride