I purchased a 48 mm big bore kit for a honda elite from Marc before Fathers day 2011 on Ebay and this is now 11/11/11 and he has absolutely refused to make his kit good. I recieved the kit and put it together on fathers day 2011. I started the engine in my shop on the lift, took it off the lift, and took it for a ride. It ran for less that 300 feet and the engine quit. I put the scooter on the lift removed the cylinder head and immediately saw bits of steel on top of the piston.
I then proceeded to remove the cylinder. As soon as the cylinder lifted from the block, I could see all the damage. The cylinder had cracked at the intake window and small bits of steel had stuck to the side of the Piston and commenced to scratch the cylinder and tore up the piston. I removed the wrist pin clips, the wrist pin, and the piston. Upon examination I took several measurements of the cylinder as the cylinder skirt was a mere .056 inch. I believe you can see from the following picture he had taken an original 49cc cylinder (stamped right on the bottom of the cylinder) and bored it to 48mm which left the cylinder paper thin (14 sheets of copier paper to be exact .056 in). I took the all the parts to my local Honda dealer, "Twin City Honda" in Herculaneum Missouri, and they laughed. But shoot what would they know compared to Marc Olson the greatest scooter mechanic ever lived.
I emailed Marc and received no response. I emailed him again and he told me to send some pictures which I did. It took more than a month for him to respond. I finally emailed him again. I asked him if he ever received the pictures.This was his response.
Yes I did see these. Your circlip poped off and caused all that damage. It is clear due to the long digs on the cylinder walls. That is what caused the cylinder to crack at the bottom also. If it wasnt a cir clip that metal came from somewhere to dig that cylinder out like that.Marc
You notice he says it is clearly the wrist pin clips in the second, third, and fourth sentence then in the last sentence metal just came from somewhere. If you look at the previous photos you can still see the wrist pin and clip in the piston and there are scratches in the center of the piston and cylinder walls. Both clips are intact as so the wrist pin, so what caused the problem.
This was my response back
Marc if the wrist pin clip had came off I would never have contacted you I would have just sucked up my mistake.. I put both clips in and removed both unharmed. The small bits of metal came from the cylinder after it cracked. In one picture you can see where bits of metal are missing just under the intake port, that is the metal that tore up the cylinder and piston. As you know the metal in the cylinder is very brittle like glass. If struck with a hammer it will shatter into pieces unlike soft steel that will dent. The small bits bits of metal were not ingested in the cylinder nor were they left in the cylinder during reassembly. The skirt on the cylinder is so thin (.054) that is why it cracked. I take great care in my work and am very meticulous when I build any engine.Fred Stewart
Three wheeks passed and I sent him this next email.
Marc I have not heard back from you. I sent you an email telling you that the wrist pin clips DID NOT come and scratch the cylinder. They were still in place when I dissambled it . As I stated before that if that was the case I wouldn't have contacted you at all I would just live with my own mistake. The material that made the scratchs were from the cylinder itself. As you know the cylinder is cast and very brittle. It cracked and small bits of material from the cylinder made the scratches. If you hit a piece of steel with a hammer it reflects the blow and makes a scratch in the metal. If you hit a cylinder it will shatter into small pieces. You can see in the cylinder itself just below the intake port there is small bits of metal missing and that is what caused the scratches. The skirt on the cylinder is so thin (.054)that the the piston skirt is thicker than the cylinder skirt. I am not trying to rip you off. I took the cylinder to Twin City Honda in Herculaneum Missouri and they said the same thing I am telling you. I hate typing it would be easier if I could call you or you call me 314-604-8509. I would really like to resolve this issue.
I was finally able to call Marc and talk to him, I told him I would send him the cylinder, wrist pin, wrist pin clips, and the piston. Still didn't hear anything from him for a long time. I finally emailed him again.
Marc I sent you my cylinder, wrist pin clips, and piston for you to look at. What have you decided to do? Fred Stewart Phatfreddies Custom Cycle
Finally I receive this email
Fred, Sorry my e-mail gets a lot of messages. I did recieve it. I inspected it and it did not look like part of the cylinder was the culprit. It still looks like cir clip damage. The groves were deep. So lets try to work this out. I can do another kit for 75$ with free shipping. That is heavily discounted for you.
Thanks Marc
My next response
Marc I sent you the wrist pin clips and the wrist pin and upon inspection I am sure you will notice they are pristine. The scratches are from bits of metal that is missing from the intake window that were broken loose when the cylinder split. If you look at the cylinder at the intake window you will see small bits of metal missing. I appreciate a discount but I would really like what I paid for in the beginning. I made no mistakes in the assembly or disassembley . When I disassembled the engine I told you that I removed the wrist pin clips myself and the scratches were present before the removal of the wrist pins. The pins were not sticking out of the grooves and rubbing on the cylinder or you would see the damage on the wrist pins I sent you. They were securely seated. There wasn't anything in that cylinder when I put it together. Without a doubt in my mind that cylinder split in the first 30 seconds of running and small bits of metal from the intake window were ingested, stuck to the side of the piston, scratched the cylinder, and made its way up the cylinder as you can see in the picture I attached. The top of the piston is clearly hammered with small bits of metal which are not missing from the wrist pin clips. I notice you sell the stock version for this scooter for $100. I will swap for a stock set. There is no doubt in my mind that your cylinder skirt of I believe was .056 will hold up. Let me know Fred Stewart
I still did not receive a response until I called him again tonight. Even though I sent him the cylinder, piston, wrist pins and wrist pin, he still will do nothig except offer another one of his kits for half price. He would not let me get in a word edgewise. Sounds like he is just a kid that never learned any respect for anyone but himself. He talked over me and never let me say anything. He kept telling me how great of a mechanic he was and how many thousands of scooters he has worked on,on,on, and on.................. I asked if he would take the cylinder and other parts to his Honda dealer, and man he blew up, he said they were all a bunch of idiots in Panaca NV. I then told him to take it to a Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Harley or any machine shop he chose to and ask them what they thought of his bore job. He told me they were all idiots and He was the only one that knew what he was doing on these scooters. He started all over on how great he was and everyone in his area knew how great he was, on, and on, and on......................... He actually believes that only he can work on these scooters and every machine shop and motorcycle shop are idiots in his own words. WHAT AN ASSHOLE. He in my opinion is a Condescending Little Prick. All I wanted him to do was go to any machine shop or motorcycle shop of his choice and I would pay for their time and he refused. He finally hung up on me and that is how this ends. He knows all the rules of ebay because you can only file a case if you have purchased the item in the last 45 days. He was smart and drug this out since July 16 2011 till November 11 2011. I now have nothing for my $145. He has everything back that I purchased from him. I am just telling you of my experience and my dealings with him. You be the judge and beware of his sales. If you would like to call, I will talk to you before you buy.
