hole in piston

[brisnw]

I am looking at a tigershark 3cyl that has 1 piston with hole in it, the person claims it is a sbt rebuild with only 1 to 2 hours on it , carbs were rebuilt when moter installed, is this a common problem with this motor?

[ShowMePro1200]

Re: hole in piston

If its an SBT with only 1-2 hours on it, then they must have let the motor sit for at least a year after buying it (and the fuel in the carbs is now varnished). I say this because of SBT's no-fault 1-year warranty - the owner should be following up on a warranty claim if its still within 1 year of purchase.

Something doesn't quite jive here.

[ShowMePro1200]

Re: hole in piston

Maybe I didn't understand - are they telling you that it's still within the SBT warranty period?

[dank]

Re: hole in piston

I saw that ad also.

I think it did sit for a while and is no longer under warranty.

If it was a SBT engine the crank would have been welded and would not twist. So at lease you don't have to worry about that.

It probably has a problem with that carb or intake.

[Technical Support]

Re: hole in piston

Or the most common cause - the user installs too hot of a spark plug.

[ShowMePro1200]

Re: hole in piston

Dank, what ad are you talking of? Can you post the link?

[dank]

Re: hole in piston

Its on ebay under tigershark

[Technical Support]

Re: hole in piston

Moving to Tigershark, where it should have been posted in the first place.

[Technical Support]

Re: hole in piston

Reading that auction, the guy or his 'buddy' has no clue. A twisted crank at the rear will not advance ignition - it retards it. It would never burn a hole in a piston. On a Tigershark triple the other commaon cause of that is the user failing to reinstall the rear seal plate, allowing them to back out and cause an air leak. Then of course there's always poor installation of the intake/gaskets, or a fuel blockage or dirty carbs, water in the fuel...the list goes on. Bottom line is it may be a basket case ski, and obviously the owner isn't going to give you any helpful direction in finding all the problems.

[Shark1]

Re: hole in piston

I agree with what the post above says. My guess it someone started playing with carb adjustments when the engine was installed and did not realize how sensitive they can be. I did the same thing with my Daytona and burnt a pistion and had to buy an SBT replacement which I might add was an excellent investment. It has been running excellent for the last year or so. I have been watching that ski on eBay myself out of curiosity just to see how much it goes for. It's exactly what I am looking for but unfortunately the location makes it impractical for me. It's a long way from Seattle, WA to Nashville, TN and shipping would be almost as much as the ski.