Our manufacturers can make a piston to fit any Zabel 2-stroke engine. The pistons can be made much more cheaply than an OEM Zabel piston, they can also be made lighter and can be coated with thermal barriers on the crown, low-friction coatings on the skirt and high emissivity coating on the base. The thermal barrier helps to stop the piston overheating at the exhaust port and the ring lands collapsing there and the low friction coating further reduce the heat build-up in the piston and increase power by reducing drag and the high emissivity coating radiates heat away from the piston.
Pistons can also be made for Maico and ATK engines which are almost the same as the older 620 / 685 Zabel.
Minimum order is 6 piston kits inc rings and pin, typical price is £160/kit but varies with each order and quantity. Coating is typically £20/piston extra.
Below is a picture of a 620 Zabel Piston next
to a forging -
And a 700 Zabel Piston next to a
forging -
Below is a picture showing 4-Stroke pistons
(same applies to 2-Stroke) the White coating is a thermal barrier ceramic
based on Aluminia which reduces the heat transferred from the burning charge
to the piston crown, which helps piston temperature, piston life and BMEP /
power. The Grey coating on the sides is a Molybdenum based low friction
coating which reduces bore friction, reduces piston frictional heating and
increases mechanical power transferred to the rod. The Black coating on the
base of the piston is a high emissivity coating which allows the surface to
radiate heat more efficiently lowering piston temperature. All these coating
can be applied for less than £20 if done during piston manufacture.
Big-bore
Pistons
101mm - 102mm - 103mm
JBS Racing have access to two forgings
that work for the Zabel piston the larger of the two can accommodate pistons
up to 103mm. The forging in its raw state varies in diameter from about
103.60mm-103.80mm. These raw forgings are then turned to true round piston
blank. The largest blank our manufacturer can make from the raw forging is
102mm and from this they can make 101mm & 102mm pistons these cost the same
as 95mm-100mm pistons. JBS Racing can spend more time clocking a raw forging
up in our lathes and can turn a piston blank of 103mm from the forging which
our supplier can then turn into a 103mm finished piston, this step adds
about £100 per piston.
With the introduction of the new Zabel 750 which has a 100mm bore x 95mm stroke = 746cc we hope that a 103mm piston might breath new life into the older ZM-23 to ZM-29 engines 103mm bore x 89mm stroke = 742cc.
JBS Racing were in talks with MTH to supply 103mm pistons for that engine in 2005 but sadly that company is not produce sidecar engines anymore and so we had no market for it there.
If you are interested contact ben.ballard@jbsracing.co.uk
Here is a picture of some huge 108mm 2-stroke
pistons, not suitable for any current sidecar engine!
Seriously free gaskets, JBS Racing have suppliers that can reproduce any gasket to the same standard as OEM gaskets at a much lower cost. We do not currently have a full set of Zabel gaskets for use as a pattern for any engine. If you can provide us a with a FULL set of new or used gaskets that are in good enough condition to use a template for making new ones we will give you 3 complete gasket sets for free in return! Obviously this is first come first serve as once we have the pattern we’ll sell them.
We are
interested in any year / CC Zabel and also 620 / 685 Maico and ATK gasket
sets.
MTH - MTR
MVP - KTM
Cheap Pistons & Older Pistons
92mm-101mm
As stated above - JBS Racing
have excellent working relationships with two world class piston
manufactures. We work so closely with them that we have access to their raw
forgings.
Our manufacturers can make a piston to fit any 2-stroke engine. The pistons can be made much more cheaply than any OEM piston for Sidecar, they can also be made lighter and can be coated with thermal barriers on the crown, low-friction coatings on the skirt and high emissivity coating on the base. The thermal barrier helps to stop the piston overheating at the exhaust port and the ring lands collapsing there and the low friction coating further reduce the heat build-up in the piston and increase power by reducing drag and the high emissivity coating radiates heat away from the piston.
We have a small forging that can accomodate 92mm-95mm KTM and early MTH pistons and a larger forging that can fit up to 101mm MTH and MVP pistons.
Minimum order is 6 piston kits inc rings and pin, typical price is £160/kit but varies with each order and quantity. Coating is typically £20/piston extra.
Big-bore
Pistons
101mm - 102mm - 103mm
JBS Racing have access to a forgings
that works for the 2-stroke pistons up to 103mm. The forging in its raw
state varies in diameter from about 103.60mm-103.80mm. These raw forgings
are then turned to true round piston blank. The largest blank our
manufacturer can make from the raw forging is 102mm and from this they can
make 101mm & 102mm pistons these cost the same as 95mm-100mm pistons. JBS
Racing can spend more time clocking a raw forging up in our lathes and can
turn a piston blank of 103mm from the forging which our supplier can then
turn into a 103mm finished piston, this step adds about £100 per piston.
JBS Racing were in talks with MTH to supply
103mm pistons for that engine in 2005 but sadly that company is not produce
sidecar engines anymore and so we had no market for it there.
Here is a drawing of the proposed 103mm piston from 2005, we think this
could have made the MTH competitive again against the Zabel but interest
from MTH was not there -
JBS Racing
MTH Piston Drawing
Contact ben.ballard@jbsracing.co.uk if you have any interest.
Seriously free gaskets, JBS Racing have suppliers that can reproduce any gasket to the same standard as OEM gaskets at a much lower cost. We do not currently have a full set of MTH, MTR, MVP or KTM gaskets for use as a pattern for any engine. If you can provide us a with a FULL set of new or used gaskets that are in good enough condition to use a template for making new ones we will give you 3 complete gasket sets for free in return! Obviously this is first come first serve as once we have the pattern we’ll sell them.
If you still need to maintain an MTH or MVP engine and can not source the parts for it JBS Racing can manufacture literally any part take a look at our coming soon section in our Husaberg Shop and our Engineering Pages.
Kawasaki KX500
High quality aftermarket pistons for the KX500 engine in bores from standard 86mm up to 91mm over size.
As described above in the Zabel and MTH sections JBS Racing can supply over size pistons. Our forgings for the KX500 accommodate up to 95mm bore. In order to run this significant modifications must be made to the barrel and the head must be sealed with a special MLS gasket. Other than that the engine seems to handle the 610cc this pistons gives well.
Seriously free gaskets, JBS Racing have suppliers that can reproduce any gasket to the same standard as OEM gaskets at a much lower cost. We do not currently have a full set of KX500 gaskets for use as a pattern for any engine. If you can provide us a with a FULL set of new or used gaskets that are in good enough condition to use a template for making new ones we will give you 3 complete gasket sets for free in return! Obviously this is first come first serve as once we have the pattern we’ll sell them.
Quality aftermarket connecting rod available for the KX500 also clutch and other engine parts.
Honda CR500
High quality aftermarket pistons for the KX500 engine in bores from standard 89mm up to 92mm over size.
As described above in the Zabel and MTH sections JBS Racing can supply over size pistons. Our forgings for the CR500 accommodate up to 95mm bore. A customer tells us that the older iron lined barrels will accommodate the 95mm bore but that the newer aluminium barrels must be lined with an aftermarket iron liner to run it. Other than that the engine seems to handle the 570cc this pistons gives well.
Seriously free gaskets, JBS Racing have suppliers that can reproduce any gasket to the same standard as OEM gaskets at a much lower cost. We do not currently have a full set of CR500 gaskets for use as a pattern for any engine. If you can provide us a with a FULL set of new or used gaskets that are in good enough condition to use a template for making new ones we will give you 3 complete gasket sets for free in return! Obviously this is first come first serve as once we have the pattern we’ll sell them.
Quality aftermarket connecting rod available for the CR500 also clutch and other engine parts. This rod can be fitted to MTH engines and has been found to work well even with a stroke increased from the OEM 87mm to 89mm. The rod kit fits straight in at the stock stroke and to run an 89mm stoke a 28mm pin and mis-match bearing is supplied.
JBS Racing have links with a dealer in the USA that has a limited number of 2001 CR500 engines that have NEVER been run. They are new-old-stock contact us for details ben.ballard@jbsracing.co.uk
