Aspeed, thanks for the input. The crank mods I don't expect a lot from but I think that the anodizing will give us something to cheer aboot. I'm running a muffler and will take it off too for some runs, just to compare.
This reminds me of the VA MK2 I had that didn't deliver the goods. So I anodized the piston and didn't get much out of that. The pinch at TDC improved but somehow didn't feel right. So I lapped the piston and surprise, surprise. When you anodize piston grade aluminum, it turns grey. Or is that gray? Anyway, after lapping, there showed multiple and serious, high and low spots, all around the piston.
The result was a VERY light fit where there once was some pinch. Did I ruin it? Not on your life. THAT VA MK2 was the best I ever had, outran my best NIB by a large measure 1.5K as I recall. Thing is, cold, with a bit of oil, it had a nice snap over. When HOT it had even better snap over. Go figure. Well, that makes sense. With a lapped, perfect fit, when hot, the oil was slippery as heck with no drag in the system. Boy, you sure learn a lot by accident. Serendipity they call it, I think.