This weekend I finally got to ride the bike, and I noticed today that there was an oil film in the coolant that was not there before.
When I had no crank seals put it the shop said not to do the water pump seal because the shaft wears as well and it would leak. Theres a tiny bit of milk in the oil now, and I'm wishing I did put it in while the case was apart. (that is what you have to do right?) Also once the bike got hot after alot of riding, I heard that "pinging" metal on metal type noise when i was in the lower-mid rpm range coming on the throttle. I turned the mixture screw in 1/4 turn to richen it a hare. Also adjusted the powervalve to open a tad earlier and it felt like there was barely any tension on it, but it is working fine it seems?

It has been a while since you first posted about this bike, it probably is due for a top end anyway? DID YOU FIND A NEW MECHANIC YET? Vintage Bob

I've put about 15 hours on the Wiseco top end kit, I don't get to ride very often. I figure a few more rides and I'll pull it apart for inspection and re-ring. If I had the $$$ right now I would split the cases and install new crank bearings to be safe, the guy said it would be around $400 which isnt *that* bad right? There are no other mechanics around that I know of in this area, everyone goes to that one guy.

well, 400 for crank bearings seems to me kinda expensive but that´s maybe because we are spaced by atlantic...
in your bike i am not sure but on most bike it´s not necessary to split the cases, only pull the clutch cover (the big one if applicable) and you have to take the shaft out anyway to replace the seal.

If it needs seals and bearings already, thank you proclaimed mechanic. They should normally last a lot longer, with the exception of maintenance and the previous installation. If 1 seal is bad, replace all of them. Try and buy them in a complete set. closely check the main bearings, if it was me, I would replace them anyways. And use quality parts, really cheesy are available! With the exception of your mechanic, you do usually get what you pay for.

I wish someone that knew what they were listening to could ride the bike after its been ridden hard for awhile, it still makes this weird noise. Possibly pinging in the midrange throttle? I'd just hate to blow it up, itsa really clean bike. The bike was ridden in the 01' AMA pro races, then bought in 03' and hardly ridden until I picked it up last year. As for the water pump shaft, I guess they get "Worn" or a "groove" in them so the new seal wont seal properly? Got to love two strokes, I am literally the only one at the track.

You might still be hearing detonation and if so you'll need a higher octane gas.

The water pump shaft can be replaced at the same time as the seal. It's actually part of the impeller. Your mechanic sounds like a real tool. You don't have to split the cases but the right side cover has to come off. After that it's a pretty simple fix.

I know the previous owners were running sunoco race fuel, but they shut down that station. The motor was built by performance engineering http://www.peracing.com/co.html and has the head + carb modified. I've had the bike rejetted and its still making that pinging noise running a larger then stock main etc.

Try mixing 50% race gas.

I agree, it sounds like you have a detonation issue. You caould spend a bunch of extra money on race gas or have the head reworked for pump gas. Head work is cheap, so is the shipping. I'd pull it down to rering and send the head out.

I'd also suggest buying a decent tool set and a service manual. You can do most of the work that "mechanic" has been charging you money to mess up. If you have a camera you can take pics of anything you don't understand and someone here will be able to help you out.