Kiwi Canuck tries his Luck with a Six Fiddy

[Kiwi Canuck]

Definitely a heplful tip. I did one last night, but used a geeen Scotchbrite, (it was all i had) and some 400 grit sand paper on the rim - they are getting painted all black and the finish is pretty bad, so I had no issues using the sandpaper. The hardest part was getting old brown stains off the wheel. I had to use a combo of some pretty harsh cleaner and Scotchbrite scrubbing to get it off.

Hey Glen, how did the wheels turn out, I've been thinking about painting my wheels but the task of applying masking tape always deters me, same for disk rotors.

I stopped by my body shop supply place and picked up a 10 pack of green pads, the green is medium course and the burgundy is fine, didn't know that before, so I have something to cleanup the engine covers to help with getting the lacquer and corrosion off. Hopefully it will make it quicker than with the burgundy pads.

They are only a couple of bucks a pad so not too expensive and they last a good while.

David.

[dorkburger]

David, overall, I'm happy with them. I painted them all black, spokes included. There were a couple of small spots where the paint did not stay on the sharp edge of the spokes, but one would have to look close to see them. I did mask off where the rotors sit though. I did the tedious job of masking the rotors while watching TV in the living room. I found that the paint doesnt seem to cover quickly, especially on the bare aluminum, and had to be built up in light coats (VHT epoxy paint used). The can says 2 light coats then a medium wet coat. I did more then 2 light coats to get where I needed.
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[nvr2old]

Masking rotors are a pain. I got to the point where I just said screw it, painted the centers and then simply wiped off the over spray on the rotors with a rag and some acetone. Done.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Masking rotors are a pain. I got to the point where I just said screw it, painted the centers and then simply wiped off the over spray on the rotors with a rag and some acetone. Done.

Larry, I thought of doing the same or perhaps find a plate or circular thingy the right size, make a cutout in cardboard, hold it so it masks the rotor and spray the center and wipe away any over spray.

I tried masking one of them and after 10 mins and half a roll of tape gave up, they require patience or skill I don't have.

David

[Kiwi Canuck]

David, overall, I'm happy with them. I painted them all black, spokes included. There were a couple of small spots where the paint did not stay on the sharp edge of the spokes, but one would have to look close to see them. I did mask off where the rotors sit though. I did the tedious job of masking the rotors while watching TV in the living room. I found that the paint doesnt seem to cover quickly, especially on the bare aluminum, and had to be built up in light coats (VHT epoxy paint used). The can says 2 light coats then a medium wet coat. I did more then 2 light coats to get where I needed.
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I see, not a lot of masking, on the stock wheels on the GS1000/GS650 looks like about 2 hours a wheel (or more)

Did the new paint on the wheels get marked up putting the tires on?

[Kiwi Canuck]

Small update, as I took my boys snow boarding today and only had a few hours of shop time this evening.

I was working on the engine covers but got bored so I moved onto the gear shifter, it was really loose and sloppy and pretty rusted up.

The ones on both my GS1000S's were not in good shape either and I didn't do a very good job trying to rebuild them, but did learn what not to do, with left hand threads and all.

Any who, I noticed both rivets were almost out and there was a fair amount of play in the ball joints, both nuts were seized as well.

I sprayed them with lube and worked the nuts back and forth until I got one of them loose, then worked the other until it came loose and was able to remove it, fortunately the left hand thread was OK but the standard thread was a bit messed up.

I then washed them in hot water and sprayed the boots with Silicone spray which really helped with getting the rubber boots off without damaging them.

Once they were apart I was able to polished up the chrome and figure out how to fix the rivets without doing anymore damage to the ball joints.

Here's what I used as an anvil to support the rivet, a broken drill bit with the base ground down to allow it to fit inside the opening in the ball joint.



Placed the rivet on it and beat the heck out of it with a ball peen hammer until it was snug.

Getting the boots back on went OK once I figured out how to hold them firmly and used silicone grease to keep them lubed and not hurt the rubber boots.



Now it was time to check how bad the threads were messed up on the adjuster, the nut needed a wrench to move it so I brought out my Craftsman Thread Chaser kit, one of my best tool buys and a must for any restore project.

I got it from Sears USA on sale for $48.00 IIRC with free shipping, it's made in the USA and it's a really good set.



I had always used taps to cleanup threads before learning about these tools, but the tap or die will actually remove material but a thread chaser will reform the thread without removing any material.

So I cleaned up the nut, end of the adjuster and the threaded end in the ball joint, all 3 were messed up from removing them, after running the thread restorers through everything they all worked smoothly.

Here is the kit I bought about 2 years ago and it's on sale for $54.99 includes free shipping.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-48-pc-sae-metric-thread-restorer-kit/p-00942275000P?gclid=CNCGyfjS0tICFYhqfgodoLgBOA&sid=IDx20141117x00001xlpla&s_kwcid=AL!4531!3!46822341697!b!!g!!_inurl:_mcid:%209119074&ef_id=WMF7pQAAAD8xnE4a:20170313043123:s#inurl:_product_type:%20tools#inurl:_product_type:%20hand%20tools?sid=ISx20140327xNonBrand

Here it is completed, ready to be bagged and put aside.



One more piece completed only about a thousand to go.

David

[dorkburger]

I see, not a lot of masking, on the stock wheels on the GS1000/GS650 looks like about 2 hours a wheel (or more)

Did the new paint on the wheels get marked up putting the tires on?

I mounted the tire - something I've never done and wanted to try.... I put a few small dings in it, nothing major. If I actually had tire irons it may have gone better, but even still it was not a big deal to do.

Regarding masking the rotor and NVR2OLD's method, the 1150 has floating rotors, and cleaning up around the bobbins between the center and outer parts would he tough. I'll keep it in mind though if I ever do a one piece rotor.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Got a batch of parts today, so I can get some work done on the bike as soon as I can get some time in the garage.

The shipment included a bunch more rubber parts, grommets, hoses, and new carb intake boots. (carb to engine)

Also got new hand grips and unfortunately the patterns don't match, same thing happened on my GS1000S and I put the throttle grip aside and refurbed the one that came with the bike.

Now I have 2 as it was the same part number for both bikes, guess I should have checked before I ordered it.

I'll post up a picture in the next day or so.

I did get the foot pegs reassembled and reinstalled tonight, they looked a bit wonky when the brackets are installed backwards, only took me 2 tries to figure it out.

One other thing that came in the shipment was a new side cover and same thing as once before, part number showed one for silver and one for red, so I ordered the silver one, but it came unpainted.

I need some parts painted so no big deal, I'll just include it with the front fender, tank and rear seat cowling when I drop them off to the painter.

Not much else happening other than I have a new milling machine and lathe arriving next week so I'll need to put some time aside to get them setup.

Both are 3 phase so I will be installing a Hitachi VFD for each machine and rewiring the controllers to take advantage of electronic braking and variable speed control.

I purchased the machines from Quality Machine Tools (Precision Matthews) out of PA and the machines are coming direct from Taiwan.

Here's the lathe if any ones interested, http://machinetoolonline.com/PM1340T.html



and the Mill, http://machinetoolonline.com/PM-935H...sionMills.html






David.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Here's the issue with the grips, one old style one new style.



Not sure if I'll just install them as is or try and make a matched set, this sort of stuff does bother my OCD.

I'm not sure I want to use a good throttle grip and as a donor for the clutch side grip and build up the handlebar as it's a larger inside diameter.

The bike came with a set of foam grips that had deteriorated so I need to install new ones.

I'll figure something out later.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Crazy day today, I started working on the rear brake caliper, it took me a while to get the pistons out, I put them in the ultrasonic cleaner and heated them up to 80 degrees celsius and cooked them for 15 mins, after that I got one side out with compressed air and the other one came out after i used a clamp and moved the piston inwards and then used air to pop it out. Just about squished a finger when it finally popped, I had been very careful with a big rag around it but as it wasn't coming out I was trying different positions and when it popped and I didn't have the rag fully covering the piston, anyway just a small ding in the finger and it hurt for about 30 minutes.

Looks like the pistons will clean up OK so just seals required and paint to get them done.

The front calipers caused even more stress and took me a few hours of cleaning with the ultrasonic and working carefully with compressed air, finally got them done and they were less corroded than the rear caliper so again a new set of piston seals and paint and they will be good to go.

I have been going back and forth on whether to pull the engine apart or not, the cost of gaskets is quite substantial and the bike has 35,000 KM so not high but after looking into the spark plug hole with a light I decided I should just get it done.

The amount of carbon build up was extreme, and it was flaking off in big chunks, so that motivated me to tear it apart today.

Gave it a good cleaning again, but still got grit everywhere when I pulled the jugs.

Here's a couple of pictures to show the condition of the piston crowns, I've now removed the pistons and packed it in for the night.

[Charlie G]

The tops of those Pistons do look a bit crunchy, you're braver than I. I've admired these 650e's for while , I think it will be worth it once you're done.

[Kiwi Canuck]

The tops of those Pistons do look a bit crunchy, you're braver than I. I've admired these 650e's for while , I think it will be worth it once you're done.

Charlie, I know how much extra work I got myself into by taking the engine apart but I was also a bit concerned about where all the oil had been coming from, there was so much build up in the front of the engine.

I think the head gasket had been leaking as I can see it was a bit damaged on the underside and all the oil between the fins which you can see in this picture.

Any comments on the piston crown, I've heard that if there is a clear ring around the outside of the top of the piston the rings are not sealing, as the outer 1/8" is somewhat clean.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I got a few hours in the garage today, making progress but it feels slow considering how much I've still got to do on this bike.

The weather was OK so I got the triple tree, top clamp and a few other items painted, they are now in my mechanical/boiler room as it's a nice warm place to let them dry.



One other small item to deal with was one of the studs came out when I removed the head, so I got to use the niffy little cutouts in my new Yost vise to hold the stud while I removed the seized nut and they worked really well.

I cleaned up the stud and ran a thread chaser through the engine case as well to cleaned it up, applied blue loctite and tightened it down using two nuts locked together.



I also cleaned up the pistons, about an hour in Berrymans carb dip and then a small stainless wire brush to finish cleaning up the crowns.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Well, I've been side tracked with sorting out my new lathe and mill that I received a few weeks ago, still waiting on a few parts to get them running but learning plenty as I go along.

Here's a couple of pictures of the delivery,


















The truck driver was able to drop the machines inside the shop so they would be under cover for the night.

I went out and got a engine hoist from KMS Tools the next day to move them the last 20 ft into my little part of the shop.

I have a friend using the main part of the shop for storing his speed boat and cars as it was empty for 3 years and he is now reluctant to give up the space as he couldn't find anywhere to go, so I've agreed to let him stay for another 6 months.

I could get by with the space I have but I really need my workshop moved from the house garage to the workshop so I have just one shop as I'm already running back and forward every time I need a different tool.

It's ironic writing this as I'm sure others here are working out of much smaller places and doing just fine but when you have the space it's always seems like you can use more.

[Kiwi Canuck]

As far as the GS650E is concerned, I have made a bit of progress on a few items but discovered the rear subframe is bent down by about 1" on the right side, enough to show wear on the rear fender where it contacts the tire when the suspension compresses.

I tried straightening it myself with a block of wood, a strap and a jack but it just springs back, I may have to get a welding torch and give some heat and use a chain, I have a plan so will try that.

I've treated the tank with a POR15 Kit, I followed the advice of others who posted here earlier and used isopropyl alcohol after the final rinse of the etching solution and had very little flash rust, just a minor off colour on the bare metal and then was able to get the tank fully dry with my new heat gun without any visible rust.
I also stayed on top of the final step and keep rotating the tank to coat the entire insides and also after emptying out the excess coating material.

I rotated it every 10 minutes for about 1 hr and then every 15-20 minutes for the next 2 hrs until the coating was getting slow to move, at that point I stopped as I wanted a nice finish inside the filler opening, which I was able to achieve, it's quite an involved job and I started at 5:30PM and was finished around 11PM and this tank was actually quite clean but I was concerned about a small leak in the seam near the petcock.

The tank will cure for 3 days and then I'll send it out for paint with the other parts.

I used aircraft paint stripper on the ebay front fender I picked up and once that was cleaned off, I realized how much rust was underneath the paint, so out came the trusty green 3M pads and I gave it heck until my arms were done and called it good, the painter can deal with the rest.

I have dropped the engine off at Wally Routledge's to have new rings installed along with a mild hone on the cylinders, he will also replace the valve guide seals and lap the valves and give the jugs and head a good cleaning with glass media while everything is apart.

That's about all for now, I will see if I can give an update in the next few weeks as I don't expect to get much time on the bike until the machines are finished.

I still have 2 shipments from Parts Outlaw awaiting pickup at the mailbox so until I get them there's not much I can do anyways.

David.