great list for a pro build. i would like to find a list with only the important stuff to get these skyhawk 48s together fast and running well
Its all important stuff. I wouldn't have made this post if i didn't think it was important for newbies who want to learn from other's problems and not have to reinvent the wheel. Built it fast and it won't last. Trust me, nothing worse than having repeated failures on your first several rides. Don't believe me, look at all of the newbie posts about loose heads, exhausts that fall off, no start conditions, chains that are thrown, electrical issues, and tons of other stuff. If you only plan on putzing around the block, just follow the manufactuer's instructions and you'll at least be within pedaling distance from home.
My suggestions are for reliability and reliability is something that most folks value. I have been 15+ miles from home and have had a failure such as a bad China spark plug fail internally or a gas tank inline petcock filter get clogged from the rust in the tank, chain thrown because alignment was not perfect or chain stretched too much, or piston ring pin that prevents ring from catching a port pop out causing engine failure..
PS I have no trouble taking any of my bikes 2-3 hours into the Rocky mountain wilderness and not having to worry about engine failure or other mechanical failure..trust me, I've had it all happened with our crappy HT engines and don't want others to experience similar build issues While pulling the head may be overkill, trust me. The engines vibrate quite a bit causing the head studs to back out. When a newbie sees a head gasket leak they may automatically crank down on the head studs to tighten the loose head. Problem is that if the studs back out, there is less thread holding the torque of the nut, eventually there arises a point where the stud pulls out and takes the thread with it. Using upgraded studs and loctiting them prevents this very common problem from occurring (usually this happens in 1st 100 miles or so). I, in fact, JB weld my replacement head studs into the block and ride worry free...a little overkill but I've had even my loctite recommendation fail on me.