I have a completly stock engine and was wondering if an Athena BB kit was any good if not what is

yes... they arent bad.....

but... cylinder works has just come out with a similar setup.... same bore size and all....

but cheaper prices.... we have the cylinder works kits in stock... $549.95 click here

Would a stroker crank be better than a BB kit

depends on your situation......

if you need a crank.... i would go with the stroker..... then you can easily add a big bore, or piston later....

i got a 480 athena and its great. its got tons of power but i would recomend gearing it up

Dont go for a cheap big bore.. you will regret it I promise.

looks like the cylinder works 478 kits are on sale at woodward for 400 bucks

either big bore kit is an ok kit. i don't recomend using the athena piston though. they have a lot of problems and are heavy. also the athena cylinders are a different height than a stock cylinder (shorter i think). As far a the cylinder works stuff they had problems with there first set of big bore cylinders and they were cracking. they have the problem fix now though. I dont know much about there pistons tough. i would recomend a cp piston and the cylinder works cylinder.

The Athena cylinders are stronger than even the "revised" cylinder works. Athena pistons are good if you run them with their cylinders. If you switch pistons, you have to run a .030" thicker base gasket I believe. Some of the newer cw cylinders don't even have room for the cam chain guide, these things are a joke.
Cylinder works and Hotrods cranks are made in China, which is alot of their problem. Stuff thats made in china is sh*t, don't trash your motor because of cheap parts.

An athena kit is a reliable setup that you would have good luck with, in my opinion.

the athena pistons are junk because they are heavy and they dont have oil groves for the wristpin. the cylinder are ok its just a hassel to have to get a thicker base gasket. we ran on of there pistons for about 10 hours and the pin was already galling the piston. Ask a few other people that build motors and you will get the same answers about the pistons.

not to downsell woodward over here, but ive heard bad things about CW BBs and if your trying to cheap out on a BB kit, then your in for a new engine after the first time you hit the rev limiter.

go expensive: its cheaper in the long run. i know mike can tell you that.

Id love to know what "bad things" that you have heard... and please show pics, or proof....

there has been lots of incorrect info spread .... typical internet forum issues..... i have yet to see any Generation 2 cylinder works failures.... if you have proof... please provide it.. .as i would love to hear more

I had a great experence with woodward, treated me great and got my stuff sooner than expected. the first cylinder works one had a problem but as far as i know the second gens have no problems. i am running one with a stroker crank and no problems yet with around 50-60 hrs on it

there have been various topics here with CW BB failures. weather or not it was CWs fault is for debate. i have no proof, but im just trying to put out what ive heard to prevent another one of those topics. im sorry if im wrong.

but the logical rule is

Cheap
Reliable
Fast

and you can only pick 2.

So far, i have followed very closely any Cylinder Works issues that have been posted here.... so far, there hasnt been any issue that even remotely shows a Cylinder Works Jug being the cause of the issue.... they have made a great product so far. Cheap, reliable, and fast.

i have not used the CW jug personally but i did build a buddies bike with this jug. i have only good things to say about it. i run the athena.. but yet i bought it before gen 2 CW. run a CW cheap and good. DO NOT RUN THE STOCK ATHENA PISTON IT IS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF w00ter YOU WILL EVER USE!

all im saying is that i see more topics about CW big bore failures than i do anything else, but ill stay out of this now because i dont own one, nor will i ever.

this is funniest thing i think i've read all morning, im running CW gen2 cylinder right now drag raced with it all weekend last week without a single problem. i got probably close to 20 hours on it now best of all it looks like im riding a 450 still. i have no opinon on the athenas since i've never owned one or had a personal experience with it either. I would buy another kit from paul at woodward right now if i was looking for more power. his kit comes with venom piston and you got a choice on compression ratios depending on the fuel you want to buy i bought the lower of the two and wish i had bought the higher. i did that because i didn't know i could get cam2 as easy i as i can now that i have found it. oh and my cam chain fit perfectly. But it is made in china which i don't particularly care for.