Motorcycle Repair: cylinder honing Honda, honda xl250r, cross hatch

Question
1987 Honda XL250R, cylinder, piston, in good shape, cylinder wall smooth, mirrorlike, measurements within spec. When I reassemble I'll use new rings. Do you reccomend honing the cylinder? There seems to be some debate about this.

Answer
Hi Joe,

If the cylinder wall is mirror like, this may be a Nikasil or (chrome plated) cylinder. Honing this type of cylinder will ruin it. Nikasil cylinders require special piston rings, too.

If the cylinder is common type, finish honing is ok. Honing removes tooling after boring the sleve/cylinder. The cross-hatch angle used when honing determines the amount of oil retention and break-in period.

If you're not experienced with this work, it's best to farm it out to an experienced tech or machinist.

Respectfully,
Mark Shively