'81 GS550 Cafe Build

[GateKeeper]

Looking good D-Mac.....

I was wanting to powdercoat my frame, rims, and various other bits and pieces, but the cost was way too high, 600 bucks plus., one place did all the work, cleaning, masking and coating, while another did not, just the coating, but both cost about the same...so I will take the cheaper route and use the good old rattle can....

Do let us know what your cost will be on powdercoating your stuff

I don't see any VHT wheel paint up here, so I was wondering what to use myself...we have the header paint, caliper paint, engine paint, roll bar and cage paint, but no wheel paint....lol

[D-Mac]

Looking good D-Mac.....

I was wanting to powdercoat my frame, rims, and various other bits and pieces, but the cost was way too high, 600 bucks plus., one place did all the work, cleaning, masking and coating, while another did not, just the coating, but both cost about the same...so I will take the cheaper route and use the good old rattle can....

Do let us know what your cost will be on powdercoating your stuff

I don't see any VHT wheel paint up here, so I was wondering what to use myself...we have the header paint, caliper paint, engine paint, roll bar and cage paint, but no wheel paint....lol

Ouch! It it's $600 here I'll be breaking out the rattlecans too. That's pretty much my entire budget for paint/trim work for the whole project. One place that's about an hour way is apparently about $200 to coat a frame and swingarm, and that supposedly includes prep. I'll get a real quote from a few places once I'm closer to being ready. I have to figure out how to modify the frame to fit the seat/battery/etc first.

I think a lot of the VHT paints are similar. I hear that the caliper paint and "regular" enamel they sell are basically the same thing. I haven't looked for their "wheel" paint around here, so we'll see what happens.

[Motocrossx23]

VHT appliance epoxy for frame

VHT caliper paint, baked, for any engine parts

I use any decent wheel paint (duplicolor, VHT, etc) and then hit it with a 2k clear coat.

[D-Mac]

My fingers got a lot of exercise over the past two days.

Yesterday afternoon I ran some errands, which included picking up more wet/dry sandpaper and some paint. I ended up buying VHT caliper paint (dull black) for the calipers and painted parts of the wheels because everyone sells it and it came recommended. There isn't much else available around here.

I then scrubbed the wheels with a scotchbrite pad and various brass/steel brushes. They were nasty, but having a giant sink at work made things easier. 30 years of grime can take its toll. Looking at the codes on the tires, one appears to have been made in 1991 and the other is older (old coding on it indicates that it was made in the 7th year of a decade – likely 1987, or maybe even [gasp] in 1977 since the sizing is non-metric on that one. Both are cracked badly and will be replaced before the bike hits the road.

Wheels started like this…..


The wheel bearings still moved ok, but I could see some rust on them. What the hell, I might as well replace them now. They are originals with 20K and 30 years on them – mostly sitting. I drove them out and only one looked really bad. What a mess.
This morning I removed the third rear bearing (the large one in the outer hub). The dust seal was nearly gone on it, but the bearing drove out easily.

Then I did a little sanding. I started by removing the rear rotor and sprocket from the hubs and cleaned them up. Then I carefully cleaned and sanded the paint on the rotors themselves.

Cleaned rotors ready for new paint.


After TWO MORE hours of sanding I managed to get the rim of the front wheel partially done with 220 grit. This is taking FOREVER. I figure I’ll need a full day of sanding just to get the wheel hubs and spokes clean. Then I’ll mask them off and re-paint the inner hubs and replace the bearings. My fingers are badly cut/bruised/scraped from all the sanding and busting knuckles on rusty fasteners. The grease embedded in my hands looks permanent.

A wheel after a little sanding. I still have to do the spokes, polish the bare aluminum and re-paint the hub.

-----------------------

I spent the rest of the day exercising my fingers by going on a major buying spree! My dad sent me a little cash for my project, so I decided to put it to good use.

I started by ordering many, many OEM seals, clips, nuts, washers, bolts, side cover gaskets, new sight glass, and replacement studs/nuts for the oil filter cover. Basically enough replacement fasteners and replacements for wearable parts to rebuild the forks and wheels (it’s CRAZY how quickly this stuff adds up!) I paid a little more and ordered everything from Bike Bandit because there’s still no sign of any of the parts of the brake calipers I ordered about two weeks ago from another supplier. From the looks of it I’m doing a lot of catch-up on decades of neglected maintenance. Good learning experience for me though.

In a departure from sticking with Suzuki parts, I ordered new aftermarket shocks (low end knock-offs) to replace the rusted-out ones that came with my bike. I got them for about $100 via eBay and from what I hear they’re at least as good as stockers and they look 100x better. I’m pretty excited about it. I wanted them now so that I can see how they affect the frame geometry.

I also ordered a stainless steel bolt kit and replacement wheel bearings/seals from Z1. These guys are super-reliable and ship quick.

Then I bit the bullet and ordered a new aftermarket stator from Electrosport. Since I have the alternator cover completely apart, I figured I might as well do this now. I’ll get their regulator/rectifier once I get closer to doing the wiring.

After that, I realized that I had won a couple of used parts on eBay (e.g., a bracket, a Suzuki emblem, a NOS ignition cover to replace mine, which is absolutely destroyed). I broke down and bought a few other parts I’ve been watching as well.

I finished my “shopping spree” by buying a set of clip-ons and a composite seat from Dime City Cycles. They have a great looking seat and a 10% off sale going on this week, which put me over the edge. I’ve spent many hours staring at these things. We’ll see how they work out. My “motorcycle account” is officially drained for a while, but all of this stuff should give me plenty to work on over the next month.

My valve cover gasket and breather gasket from “real gaskets” arrived today. Excellent stuff.

I’m taking a little holiday break, but I’ll be back sometime next week with another update. Happy holidays!

[Motocrossx23]

Jeez you went to town!!!

[GateKeeper]

After all that,,,,,you deserve a break..........enjoy the down time

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

[Flyboy]

Nah, not good enough
You haven't sanded the wheel enough until your fingers are bleeding, ask me how I know....


I know how you feel, and, hey when you get to the other wheel, you do it all again...

I figure I’ll need a full day of sanding just to get the wheel hubs and spokes clean.

and then some....

But that wheel is a fantastic transformation, nice work there, I recon this bike is going to be 20mph faster with all the weight removed once the dirt is gone.

It really is looking good, your attention to detail is excellent, and it sounds like you have enough bits together now to keep you occupied for a while, it's always nice to reward yourself with some retail therapy.

[D-Mac]

Nah, not good enough
You haven't sanded the wheel enough until your fingers are bleeding, ask me how I know....


I know how you feel, and, hey when you get to the other wheel, you do it all again...

and then some....

But that wheel is a fantastic transformation, nice work there, I recon this bike is going to be 20mph faster with all the weight removed once the dirt is gone.

It really is looking good, your attention to detail is excellent, and it sounds like you have enough bits together now to keep you occupied for a while, it's always nice to reward yourself with some retail therapy.

I was thinking of your thread while I was sanding. A few of my fingers are starting to look like that. Another hour and I'd have no fingerprints left.

[7981GS]

Fantastic progress with lot's of effort. Wow!

Daniel

[Good Times]

Impressive work on a bike that really needed it!

[Sci85]

Great progress so far. With a little early Christmas shopping to boot!

At the autoparts store they have 6mil nitrile gloves. I always wear them working on the bike. Take care of that skin. It will thank you for it.

Sci85

[GateKeeper]

+1 on the gloves.....I wear them all the time, it's much easier to clean up your hands afterwards, and I find I don't lose any feeling when handling items, and there is less slippage on tools and other parts....

and nothing worse for me when my fingers and nails are dark black and sitting in a executive meeting....

[Motocrossx23]

Lol, I guess that's a perk of being a tech teacher is I never worry about my hands =p a little orange pumice rub and I'm good to go!

[mike-s]

I have to agree on the gloves, I've found the "latex" gloves give the most dexterity and feel, but are the easiest to crumble when exposed to petroleum products, oil is surprisingly a worse culprit than petrol in this regard as it sticks to the gloves, making it worsen extremely quickly.

Nitrile gloves are the best, but they cost the most (a dozen gloves in a box are about $4), a close second are vinyl gloves as they are cheaper ($5 for a hundred of them), they last almost as long and the feel is pretty close to the same, ignoring the fact they aren't quite as "stretchy" as nitrile or latex. Now I go through a box of a hundred in about 3-4 months, but it makes cleanup so much easier when all it takes to sort your hands out is remove/swap a pair of gloves.

[Billy Ricks]

Nah, not good enough
You haven't sanded the wheel enough until your fingers are bleeding, ask me how I know....


I know how you feel, and, hey when you get to the other wheel, you do it all again...

and then some....

But that wheel is a fantastic transformation, nice work there, I recon this bike is going to be 20mph faster with all the weight removed once the dirt is gone.

It really is looking good, your attention to detail is excellent, and it sounds like you have enough bits together now to keep you occupied for a while, it's always nice to reward yourself with some retail therapy.

BTDT. I polished a set of '88 GSX-R wheels by hand, spokes and all. The spokes were sand cast finish that had to be taken down before the real polishing could even start. I have 60 hours of hand wet sanding in them then a few more hours of polishing.