Stripping away the layers..

So tonight I jumped in with both feet and took off the front fender, stripped it and then primed it. Tomorrow, I'm going to sand the crap out of it. I figure it'll take a couple of coats of primer, some serious sanding, then more primer, then more sanding. Putting the top coat on is going to be the trick. I have a website saved on how to do it correctly, so I am going to print that out and follow the instructions step by step. I don't want to screw this up.

There is something about doing this myself that is very fulfilling. I can't wait to get started on it. The gas tank is going to have to wait til almost all the gas is gone. That's all right. Little by little is the way to go. I'd love to have it all done in a week, but this will be a good test case on how well I can do it.

In other news:
This is the result of hours of scrubbing the clear coat off the engine. While I can see the need for it, it sure was a pin to get off. Of course, like an idiot, I was using 1000 grit sandpaper, thinking, "Gee, I don't want to scratch the metal." I could have saved myself a couple of hours I think if I had used a coarser grit. The black paint around it needs another coat, but I'm almost afraid to do this.

Maybe I can just tape off the strips of aluminum and spray paint between and around them? I'll give it a shot.


Here's the side that hasn't been scrubbed yet. You can see the clear coat is starting to yellow and flake. While the engine will probably never be perfect, I'm going to do my best. That's my next big project after the fender is done. The chrome is looking pretty rough too. One more job...


I went out riding a bit yesterday, strapped on some saddle bags and did some computer shopping. I am building a media center pc. It's looking pretty good.

I actually got stuck in traffic and the temp gauge on the bike crept up to almost red. Once I got rolling, it cooled off again, but I wasn't expecting it to heat up that fast. I'm thinking another oil change is in the works. Yeah, I know, it hasn't been that long since my last one, but part of me wants to tackle that oil filter housing/oil filter bolt, and I can't do that without losing the majority of the oil anyway, so...

More tomorrow, with pics showing the progress.

Joy Ride

Took the bike out for a nice cruise today. It actually stopped raining! Hard to believe... I also received my title for the bike, so he's officially mine. :)

I stopped into FTM and ordered front brake pads. It's going to cost about $55.00 total for 2 sets (required). I am going to have ot figure something out for a cotter pin to help hold those bolts in place. One I know for sure is broken, and am not sure about the others. I think after such a long time, the pins are just brittle with age. I'm thinking I might be able to use a paper clip (very small) to help hold them in place.

It's definitely nice being out on the road again. I'm thinking that after the Canada trip, my bike should be running 110% better. I hope so. It's a long way, and the bike and I are going to get to know one another really well. I'll have the new air filter by Tuesday (nearly cancelled it tonight. When I stopped in, they told me it wouldn't be in the store til the 29th. The day I leave.) I talked to a manager and he made sure the part will be here by Tuesday. YaY!

So, my next magical trick will be installing new brake pads, installing the new air filter and possibly doing an oil change. I would like to get the tank done, but I may end up waiting on that.

I'm hoping to get the wheel bearings done before I go, but if not, maybe Hap and I can knock em out. I'm also torn on getting those engine covers, but I think the black would look really sharp.

Praise be...

I didn't get a whole lot of chance to work on the bike today. I did find that the bolts I thought were seized and stripped turned fairly simply today, after the administration of PBBlast, a loosening compound for seized bolts. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful. It would have been a pain in the butt, not to mention a large chunk of it, if I had to take it into a shop.

I'm leaning more and more towards getting the tank done before I go to Canada. I'm not 100% sure yet, but it would be nice to have a clean tank and fenders.

It rained most of the day today, so riding was out. I did get a lot of sanding done on the bike, shining up the aluminum striping on the side of the engine. I am going to use a coarser grit, however. Someone said it's safe to use like 300 or so.

I'm closer to getting the tank off. I am thinking of stripping it off on Thursday, stripping the paint, sanding, priming, sanding, priming, sanding, painting.... on and on, til the top coat goes on.
I'm eager to get it done.

Short entry today. I confirmed my place at the Carb Clinic with one of the hosters of the event, and he offered me a place to stay, so at least I don't have to worry about that. I'm thinking about hitting a hotel on Friday, however, just so I can get cleaned up and ready for the clinic. Haven't heard back from him yet, but expect word from him soon.

I am expecting the tach cover tomorrow. Once that little bit is fixed up, the bike will look a lot better. I hate the damage I have done, and vow to be extra careful in the future.

Stripped... not a good thing

I just came in from a frustrating hour of trying to loosen the caliper bolts on the front tire. They are on there so tight, I can't get them off, and I think the bolts are stripped. DAMN IT! I am going to have to take it to a shop and see if they can loosen them. Maybe they can use heat or something. I'm at a loss. I'm going to do some research today, after I get done studying.

Picked up a few more items for the bike. 2 bottles of Seafoam (only 4.88US a bottle at Menards) a new ratchet, some extensions and an oil pan. I was using one of the kids' sleds, but this is a bit more convenient (especially when it comes to dumping the oil into a container).

Took a short ride out to Sophia's, my new breakfast hang out. Kind of nice they recognize me. :)

I spent about an hour polishing the aluminum stripes on the engine tonight. Looks a lot better, but still have a lot of work to do. Putting that por-15 on it was a bad idea, so I may just paint over the top with some sort of enamel. I also attempted to take the gas tank off, to get to work on those carbs, but ran into some trouble removing the fuel line from the fuel filter. It's really stuck! The line is pretty old, so I want to be careful.

I also ordered a K&N air filter today. Almost $50! I hope it does what people claim it can do. I think I am going to get started on that gas tank this week. It would be nice to have it all done by the time I head out for Canada.

Rain rain go away

Looks like another day spent cleaning the bike. It's raining and the forecast says expect more. The bike however, ran pretty good when I started it up about a half hour ago. I did have to use some starter fluid, but once it got going, it was fine. I'll have to be sure to always have some of that stuff on hand.

I think I'll tear the brakes down on the opposite side today and get them cleaned up. I am going to have to buy a better tool to remove the bolts on the one side, and look into a torque wrench. I don't want to have to cut off the bolts due to accidental stripping. There is still so much cleaning that I need to do on the bike, not to mention the tank. I am going to drain it and bring it inside to do before winter gets here.

Winter... I am not even looking forward to it. Not being able to ride the bike for 3-5 months while snow clogs everything up is disappointing. The tank will take me less than a week, and if I decide to do the fenders as well, I can add another week or so onto that, but then, it'll just be getting the bike spotless.

Riding in the rain is a little sad. My feet were soaked, as were my calves. I have rain gear in the trunk of my car, but with the saddlebags taken off, I have nowhere to stow it on the bike itself. Guess I am going to be putting the bags back on.

I want to do a top to bottom cleaning on the bike, including removing some of the peripherals, but then I start thinking about riding it again, and put it off so I can take it out for a spin.

Tough decisions. Guess I'll just have to break down and do it soon. You can see in this photo that there is a lot of dirt and crud deep in the engine, back where I can't reach. This cleaning is going to have to wait til I take the tank off. Poor Mikuni carbs. I'll be polishing you soon.

Brakes and stupid weather

Sometimes I hate Michigan. My plan was to ride my bike to work tonight and although it was cloudy all day, it didn't rain. Guess what? 1 hour before I am set to leave, it's raining. That frustrates me. Maybe I'll sneak out anyway and take my chances.

I played around with the brakes today. Took off one side and cleaned it. What a messy job! Getting the brakes back on was difficult. Once it was on the tire wouldn't turn. I played around a bit more, moving the brake back and forth until finally I'm not sure what it was I did that freed the tire. I tried to take the other side off and my cheap-o socket wrench broke at the extension! I need some good quality tools.

On the brake pads themselves, there is a tiny cotter pin that holds the pad in place. It would have been nice to know before beginning that these pins were important. I broke one of them in half, although I think it will still work. I planned on testing it out tonight. Nonetheless, I am going to buy some new brake pads for it tomorrow. These ones seem pretty cheap, and I want to get some that aren't quite so noisy.

There are a lot of sites on the net for do-it-yourselfers like myself. I plan to do a wheel bearing change in a few days. That makes me a little nervous, but according to another guy who just did it, it's not too hard. I hope so.