Cylinder liners for tiddlers - Cast Iron or Ductile?

chris78jota

Senior member
Location
England
One for the experienced engine builders please: I'm proceeding with the rebuilds of my little 75cc and 100cc Laverdas. The 75cc in particular will be tuned and revving higher than the standard road engine did (hopefully from 6K up to around 9K).

Nobody produces off the shelf cylinder liners for the tiddlers. My liners are all at second oversize at least on my 75 and 100 engines. So that I can use some NOS pistons that I've found (in standard and first O/S), I plan to order a couple of new cylinder liners from Westwood in the UK, who offer a bespoke liner service to any design. They offer either standard cast iron or ductile iron alternatives.

I'm guessing that the standard road engines had just cast iron liners. Is there any benefit or necessity in ordering them in ductile iron?

many thanks in advance
Chris R
 
I have only ever seen ductile liners in wet liner engines as it offers better fatigue resistance than the grey iron normally used. For a air cooled engine, I don't see any advantage as it is supported on all sides by the cylinder barrel.
 
be worth sending an email to LA Sleeves, they are a family owned company and get to deal with
is where I buy all my liners from and Wolfgang now as well as we recently went half's in a large liner order
 
I ended up staying on this side of the pond, and going to Westwood cylinder liners in the UK who were most helpful. Took a few weeks but they produced a one-off liner to my specs for £110 all in.
 
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