1988 Honda Big Red Restoration - This ATC 250ES Engine Gets A Top End Tear Down For Vapor Honing

I've had a lot of people asking about the 88 Big Red. People wondering if they missed the restoration? Did I not record it? Well, if you were wondering, you didn't miss anything! I've been slacking! Well, not really slacking, but distracted and working on other stuff. BUT... Trike Fest is quickly approaching and if I want to bring this there to show it off in all its glory, I need to start making some moves NOW to make that happen. So what has been the hold up?? Well... the motor.

As you may recall, I bead blasted the motor with some poor quality glass bead and I really didn't get the finish I was looking for. I then attempted to make a giant vapor honing cube out of an IBC tote... but that didn't work out for a couple different reasons. The idea has potential, but the way I set things up had flaws. Anyway, after that failed attempt to get the finish that I wanted, I switched gears and did other things and I really haven't followed back up on the old 88 Big Red project since last summer...

So what I've done now is... I've purchased some better quality glass bead to use on the center cases of the bottom end. This proved to be great for getting the nice, satin finish that I was after. I did this before tearing the top end off so the bead would be out of the motor. I decided to send the top end to my very good friend Mike Palmgren for a rebuild based on the pictures send to me from Andy Collins (Andy is one of my "This Old Trike Insiders"). After seeing that and realizing that this motor really needed that treatment too... It was a no brainer. So this update video basically shows that whole process.

I've never done what I'm doing in this video before, so this is a learning experience for me. I know it's not rocket science... but at the same time, when it's you're first time, it can be a little nerve-wracking. Thankfully I have a lot of people I can reach out to for guidance and I know enough to not get myself into too much of a pickle. That being said, watch along and I hope you enjoy!

#honda #engine #atv