1982 250WR Dick Burleson replica's pair ( how to unstick a ring)

Ok, picked up a pair of 1982 250WR's (Dick Burleson replica's) last weekend .There both low mileage,
all original & from what i think, were Father/son bikes, the seller said the original owner past away.

They hadn't been run in 10 years & the so both bikes piston rings were stuck. 1st off came the pipes, heads, carbs, etc, to make 100% sure it's the rings & not something else seized. Ok, after some research i decide to try to different method of un-sticking them.

1st bike i sprayed, PB blaster, & liquid wrench down the cylinder as both bikes pistons were about 1-1/2 inch from the top. The 2nd bike i mixed a 50/50 mix of ATF & acetone (nail polish remover). 1st bike had a 1day head start & i repeatedly filled them in the morning, after work & before bed each day for 3 days. Nothing really seems to be happening, they were still both locked solid, so
on the 1st bike, i started pouring distilled vinegar instead this morning, but continued the ATF mix on the 2nd, because it was a day behind.

2nd bike's ring broke loose this afternoon , after i bump into 2nd gear down my driveway, piston & cylinder look good, with no damage from rust.

1st bike still no luck, so i boiled some water & in the cylinder it went , before it cooled to much, down the driveway it went in 2nd gear, the piston moved to the top of the cylinder then stopped. So now it's locked up ..there, i think i'll take the clutch side cover & turn it from the crank nut
backwards, as i'm sure the clutch plates on both will need to be unstuck anyway.

Conclusion: both methods works after 3 days, but i didn't really feel that sure about pouring
water down the cylinder in the 1st place. Yeah i know water or humid caused it to rust, but
water in the cylinder just seemed wrong, but i wanted to follow the procedure i read to the letter.

I'll post my finding once i get the cylinder off the 1st bike.

Husky John

Ok,
Now the next chore was to get the ring unstuck from the piston on bike #2. With piston off, i started by soaking it in
carb cleaner over night. Not much happened ,so next i sprayed it down with Deep Creep, that got them starting to spread.

I then pretty much followed this you tube video
View: http://youtu.be/WUrl00eLkoc


Continued spraying Deep Creep , scraping the crap between gap with a X acto blade & a pick,then tapping the piston with a leather malet on a block of wood, 10 mins later they where freed! .

This bike is almost ready to go back together for a test fire, #1 bike is still locked up, but i like the way Deep Creep
worked i'm soaking the top end with it.
Husky John

Well the story continues on bike #1 (one with really stuck piston), soaked cylinder with every damn think i could find for 2 weeks, with head/pipe/reed block off. Even turned bike upside down for 2 days so the gravity & rust eating stuff would really do it’s stuff, while i continued to pour it down the gap at the cylinder base. Also had been banging on piston dome & sides of cylinder with mini sledge hammer & blocks of wood every few hours. Put head back on more then once, rocked it back & forth in gear, even tried getting a running start & throwing it in 2nd down my hilly driveway multiple times, nothing!

Finally On Friday, i bought it to my buddy's bike shop, he said well you've done about all you can do by soaking it. So let try rocking the crank using the nut on the clutch side, nothing happened, fearing we snapped the crank we stopped. Next on the try list was a brass drift pin (2” dia) & a brass hammer, started alternating hit it & spraying with deep creep. Finally got the piston to move again, down past it’s original stuck position, but still not enough to get the cylinder off. More Deep Creep, then head back on, in gear rocking, gets piston back to top, but still won’t break it’s grip. Continue for the next couple hours, smacking it down, rocking it back to the top, spraying the crap out of it, finally tired and frustrated, I quit.

Load the bike back on the truck & right before I leave, I noticed the steel cylinder line is cracked. So was the piston heat seized before it was put away 10+ years ago, or was it combo of things,I may never know. Next, I guess I’ll get a chisel out & break the piston.

Well, I was able to get the the other bike #2 running & other then some carb fiddling, it works as it should .

I never really didn’t think I’d get them both running, with minimum costs, so one may be just a parts bike.

Husky John