Hi all.
What piston clearance is best when boring out unlined barrel to fit the 720cc piston also what head tension is recommended when using a solid copper head gasket for this upgrade
Cheers Drew
Hi Drew...Head torque figures remain unaltered at 28-30 ft/lbs...You will also need to open out the standard size head gasket around the cylinder bore so that it matches the bore size to avoid piston contact with the gasket...
Bore clearance depends rather on how you plan to run the engine in and to an extent on the temperature where you live.
I bore my own engines to .0035" skirt clearance measured on the thrust faces..
However, I like to bore them 'snug' and then run in carefully, particularly for the first few hundred miles, followed by incremental increases in loading with running in completed at 1000 miles...Pretty much to the BSA recommendations in fact..
Temperatures here rarely exceed 75-80F and usually its cooler than that...
In hotter climates I would recommend a little more clearance and possibly doing the first few hundred miles in the early mornings or evenings when it is cooler.. though you also have to consider how you intend to do the 'running in' when deciding on the best clearance...
.004"-.0045" would be a 'safer' clearance that would give a bit more leeway generally..
I am of the belief that careful running in produces a better engine in the long run and that dictates the way I set them up...You may have your own views that differ from that way of thinking and that may mean choosing the larger clearances.....Ian