87/88 WR 430

Found this site doing some digging for research on my Huskys- what a wealth of info! I've had an 87 WR 430 for over 10 yrs now (didnt touch it for 5 of them) Had some small issues but over all a good bike. Looking for some help/info on a few things I've noticed after riding it last year. I've read that (and felt) the horrid vibration it has is due to the engine not being rubber mounted. Is there any way around this (rubber mount fix)? I've been a kawasaki triple builder for years and there's a quick fix for it- not sure if such an animal exist for these WR models or not.

I've read about a coolant leak fix for the left side engine cover involving a dremel and some JB weld? Is there something I should be looking out for to avoid any future damage?

I managed to score an 88 WR 430 on evil bay last year pretty cheap- its all there and complete. Runs good but it has a missing kickstarter- (didnt have a kicker on it when I got it) Been reading about a known issue w/ that too?

Parts seem to be another issue (hard to source)- I've looked into Hall's and several parts are NLA. Phillip @ Husqvarnaparts.com has been gooas well. Looking for any input regarding these bikes.

Any help here guys? I'm beginning to hear the faint sound of crickets in the background.

Are the 87/88 WR 430's any good or will I be throwing $ away on it?

Tough to give a definitive answer, it is all about opinions. Yours is the one that matters. I think Kelly at Motosportz has one and really likes it. Owning old Huskies is a disease with no cure (thank goodness). Besides at 9k with taxes for a new one you can throw a lot of money at it.

I had a 87 430XC and it vibrated alot more than my 82 430XC. Ended up braking the RH case at the kicker idler gear stub/kickback issue. Shouldn't have any corrosion issues if you run good quality coolant in it. I change the coolant in all my vehicles every two years anyway. Seems to be alot of used part sources to keep our old bikes running. Like Firecrackerkid said its what you like! I never felt comfortable on the new bikes so I ride old.

I love my 87 430 CR's great bikes. I think they get a raw deal because they came out when Cagiva buy out was going on. Deales where closing and it was a rough time. Call Halls lots of times they will have the parts even when not listed. Raymond can hook you up they have been keeping my 87's running for the last 15 years.

Thanks for the positive replies. The common theme I keep hearing is the vibration from the engine. Is there any known fix for reducing such vib's? I was a mechanic for 10+ yrs so I can come up w/ something- just wasnt sure if somebody already found a "how to". In looking @ the bar mounts I see it is a rigid mount (metal to metal). Going to play around w/ it this weekend and see what I can do to rubber mount them.

About the vibration, The first thing is if the crank is true, that would mean having it on V blocks where the bearings go and dial indicators on the ends of the tapers. Or upon assembly of the cases just before the locating pins engage you spin the crank and see how much the cases walk around. Probably more important (because the one I just put together walked around quite a bit and I don't have vibration complaints) is the engine has a way of not being firmly held in place. Lack of a head mount like most of the other brands, the frame/suspention design, and failure to keep the mounting bolts torqued are what I point to. You basically have to take the engine out and examine everything at the rear and look for some cracks in the frame at the front. I don't know why they eliminated the bar rubber mounts somewhere around 1985 when the clamp offset was changed, makes for easier bending of the bars. The simplest thing is to get clamps for 1 1/8 bars and wrap 7/8 bars in some rubber sheet. I have some fancy sheet for dry docks at a shipyard called garlock on mine but inner tube might work, though the one I did it to both bar mounts are merged into a long one.