Engine parts..

[Nicholaschase29]

The clear coat on my engine covers appears to be comming off, at least I think it's the clear coat, and it looks really ugly. I've heard about the wet sanding, but was wondering if this bike was yours what you would do. The other delemma is that the previous owner broke a bolt off in the engine case where the stator cover attatches and filled the hole with epoxy which is stopping me from removing the cover. Is there a solvent that I could put on the covers to remove the clear coat? or is sanding the only way to do it. Also, once the clear coat is removed, would I have to put a new clear on? If not would the covers smudge easily and or corrode quickly? Thanks for any input.
Heres a picture, I was not specifically taking the picture of the engine cases this is just a picture I took of the bike, I would take new ones but the bike is in storage.

 

[J_C]

Nicholas, there are a TON of threads out there on cleaning up the engine cases, all of them with great info... but to start you off...

Yes, that is clear coat. Use Aircraft Remover to take it off the aluminum. I suggest you do it off the bike so ovrspray doesn't get anywhere else.

In terms of polishing it, yes wet sanding is one way, steel wool is another, and polishing compound as well. Do a search on "Polish" or "polishing" and you should have a wealth of info to read. Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Yes, your clearcoat is corroding and coming off. The easiest way to remove it is with aircraft stripper. You can get it at Walmart for about 7 bucks. But I would remove the parts from the bike first before using it as it will remove paint or anything else it comes in contact with.

The wet sanding is for if you want to polish the parts after the clear is removed. I removed the clear and polished the side covers on my bike. I did not re-apply any clear. I just polish with aluminum polish to keep the shine. I live in a dry climate, though. I have heard that others that live in humid climates have problems keeping their parts shiny due to moisture.

I'm not sure what to tell you regarding the epoxy. The PO filled the hole all the way into the engine case? You might be able to break it loose after you remove the rest of the bolts... maybe kinda pry jor tap on it to get it off? Be careful, though!

 

[txironhead]

Eastwood sells a product to seal polished aluminum that they claim works for a year even in harsh conditions. They also sell a TON of products for polishing all kinds of metals, and the catalog's free, too.

As far as the epoxy goes, get a drill bit rated for wood and a hand drill or cordless drill set at a slow speed and drill the old epoxy out. The wood bit won't drill into the broken bolt and will help prevent damaging the aluminum if you have a steady hand.

Keep in mind that if you pull the stator cover you have to pull the sprocket cover first, and that means pulling the shift lever too. Also, the stator cover will be hard to pull off because of the strong magnets in there. I thought for sure mine was frozen when I pulled it off. Make sure you don't fall and bust your a$$ like I did.......

If your bike has the phillips screws on the engine, you'll need a hand impact driver to remove them. I'd toss them all in the trash and get a set of stainless allen head bolts off of Ebay. There's a guy that sells sets specifically for GS's and a ton of other bikes for around $25 for enough to do all of the engine covers, including the starter cover.

 

[Guster750]

Nic, what everyone else said. I will post some before/after pics of the cover I did. It was dirty, banged up from being laid down, and the clear coat was coming off. Aircraft Stripper is the best and takes only 10 to 15 minutes before you can wipe off the old clear with a rag. Then I soaked in Simple Green and water to remove old grime and grease. I pried the old center emblem off (the adhesive is strong) and ordered a new one. FlatOut Motorcycles seems to have the best prices. I used a sanding wheel and a generic Dremel tool to grind out the gouges in the metal. Then the polishing began with wet/dry sandpaper (400, 600, 1500), steel wool and lastly Mother's aluminum polish. I'm very happy with the results. Good luck, and here are some photos (I hope this works).

 

[Guster750]

Before pic . . .

 

[Guster750]

After pic . . .

 

[Guster750]

&$ %*(*# it! This #$%*-er is not letting me post pics correctly. Click on the link in my sig and it will give you several before and after pics without trouble.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Can I just remove the clear coat use some aluminum polish paste to shine it up a bit without any sanding and then apply another clear? Also is there a good way to apply the black back on the inside of the caps without getting paint all over the cover?

 

[Guster750]

Nicholas, I think that will probably be fine. Just take the clear coat off first and see how it looks. It appears from your pic that most of the crud is clear coat related. Mine was pretty chewed up, if you could tell from the pics. In your case, I would strip the clear coat and use steel wool and/or Mother's Aluminum polish. Some guys on here do not recommend putting clear coat back on and just use wax. This may be the way to go for now - - clear coat will cloud if applied in temperature under 70 degrees (or at least that's what I read on a thread here).

I was uncertain what black caps you were referring to, but I highly recommend trying S100 Engine Brightener for any black engine parts on your bike. Do a search on that and see some great results. I'm not to that point yet, but it did make a big diff on a small section of my engine that I tried just for kicks.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

The black I was referring to was the ring and the words suzuki on the cap. If i do not clearcoat the caps will they get smudges and quickly corrode? I usually clean the bike 2-3 times per season, is this an ample ammount to keep them shining?
Thanks for all the help,
Nick

 

[Tom MLC]

You should just remove & discard your old emblems. They are inexpensive to replace. Remove all the old glue residue and polish the covers. Then put your new emblems on. When you're done, they look like this.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Where would one get new emblembs?

 

[Tom MLC]

www.bikebandit.com. Local Suzi shop should be able to get 'em, too.

Having said that, some models of our older bikes have discontinued parts. I forget what year your bike is. If you find out they're no longer available, try ebay.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandi...el_dept_id~703236~model_dept_name~GS700EF.asp
I see the cover itself (number 11) but I do not see thin inserts for it... mabey I have misinterpereted you.

 

[Dink]

Your bike is the 700 the ring and lettering you refer to, I believe is moulded into the cover, as per the 1150 motor.
Earlier models had a replaceable emblem disc on these covers.

Dink

 

[J_C]

Heh... I thought I responded to this hours ago, guess I never hit post. Dink answered the same though... If it's really bad, depending on how its moulded, you might be able to tape it off, cut the tape with a razorblade, and hit it with some high gloss engine enamel or caliper paint...

 

[Tom MLC]

http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandi...el_dept_id~703236~model_dept_name~GS700EF.asp
I see the cover itself (number 11) but I do not see thin inserts for it... mabey I have misinterpereted you.

I apologize for my ignorance. Your model seems to have the "emblem" molded into the cover. As my bikes are older, I'm not used to such modern marvels Your restoration will be more challenging. But I'm sure the results will be just as rewarding. Labor of love, my friend. Good luck to you.

 

[txironhead]

If your emblem is molded into the cover, you may be able to mask off the surrounding area, then paint the entire emblem gloss black. After the paint is dried, you can then use a fine grit (no less than 800 grit) sandpaper to remove the paint on the raised part. After the paint is removed, you can then polish the raised area with a Dremel and a small buffing wheel.

I have used this method with polished fin edges on black engines, polished raised lettering on Nissin and Tokiko brake calipers, etc. with great results. The finer grit takes longer to remove the paint, but polishing the metal afterwards is much easier since there are fewer sanding marks. I normally use 800 to remove the paint, go to 1000 then 1200 to make it as smooth as possible, then wash the entire area to remove the dust before hitting it with medium then fine rouge with a Dremel. Comes out looking better than new. A dab of Simichrome or something similar every couple of months keeps everything shiny.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Thanks guys, I got some wet sand paper for christmas so I got to it right away :-D! its looking really good, I will post some pictures when I get my camera back (I left it at my grandmas house for christmas). I just wet sanded and applied mother polish. I was wondering though if I need to wax the cover, or if the mothers is enough to protect.
Thanks for all the advice!
Nick