Maybe something is wrong with my bike, but it makes all kinds of noises, ticking included. Unless it is a big knocking sound, I just keep rolling.

 

Went into the engine today. Took the head off and yeah, a thin layer of oil was on the piston.

I checked the piston rings and think it's possible they may be in the wrong order. But I'm not sure since this is a different piston and rings from the stock one.

(I tried taking pictures but you can't see the detail too well)

Why do I think they might be wrong?

The 250 piston rings are like this: top ring a bit smooth on the edges (not beveled; just smooth) with a silver color. Second ring edges kind of sharp (could almost cut your finger of you tried) with a dark color.

The 331 piston: top ring sharp with dark color. Second ring smooth edges with silver color.

What do you think? It appears they're backwards. But the question is, would those two being wrong cause the symptoms I'm experiencing?

Side note: installed the correct cir clips.

 

You should get a magnifing glass and closely inspect the rings. Some rings have beveled corners and need to be installed in the proper orientation (I believe this only applies to compression rings). So your ring in addition to be place in the wrong position, could be upside down.
I would go to the expert that has handled rings the most. The original manufacturer/provider for guidance. I am not an engine builder, only a worrier.

 

Have you tried emailing Bill Blue? I did my install years ago and I just don't remember details like which ring goes where.

 

I'll find a magnifying glass and check them out. There's writing on the top of the rings, so that's reassuring. I believe that indicates they're in the right orientation.

 

Yeah, I emailed Bill twice and called once. So far nothing.

Might be my emails are being sent to his spam. I use a shared server and sometimes that happens. Think I'll try again with my yahoo account.

 

Ok, I believe I pinned down the problem. From what I've been reading in other forums and piston ring manufacturers, the silver ring on top and darker ring next.

The top ring will sometimes have a coating. The coating on my silver ring is a bronze color. Comparing the two, I can see how someone would think that ring is the "dark" ring. I initially did.

I found this at Thumpertalk from someone with seemingly the same ring set. The poster's name is Wiseco...so possibly a company rep:

Source: Easy Piston Ring Question - WR/YZ 250F - ThumperTalk

Crossing my fingers this was the only issue...

 

My BB351 kit had a Wiseco piston. Why not call them?

In addition to indexing the rings properly, the end gap needs to be checked and adjusted if necessary.

 

Yea, and when you install them again, you want to have the gaps separated maximum all the way around when you look at the piston from the top.

 

ive done a big bore but on another engine
my rings had a top and bottom marking
and had to go in a certain order too

I also checked ring gap according to specs before installing onto the piston too
if the gaps are too tight I guess they could break, and I suppose to far apart not seal properly

and of course clock them correctly on the piston

hopefully these couple steps were not overlooked because the rings were already installed on the piston because it may take an extra 10min to check these things
but would save so much hassle later on

and never reuse cir clips if you had brand new ones
they cost nothing even if new ones needed to be ordered