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First Street Bike Project - with a few questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
Z1 Enterprises had caliper rebuild kits, and so does cyclepartsnation.com also has the OEM replacement parts sold as a set. Z1 has much better shipping cost if I remember right cyclepartsnation had the lower prices but shipping was quite a bit more. I have used both I will say the customer service at cyclepartsnation was pretty good. I recieved the metal composite head gasket and it had started to split when i recieved it, so I contacted them. They asked if I could send a picture of what it was doing, then they shipped me out a new one, no extra charge they even paid for shipping. $25 US dollars for rebuild kit from Z1 and $21 from cyclenation.

Paul
 
Ok cool. Thanks Paul.

I took the frame and swing arm down to the blaster today and should get it back tomorrow. I'm so stoked to be doing something other than tear down finally!

How does that rattle can appliance epoxy hold up on the frame? Does it chip or flake very easily?

Sci85
 
Lucky you to find a place to get your parts blasted, I found sanding the frame down by hand was not so bad took a bit of time, but I had my older son helping with that part, so it was a good time...

SVSooke told me about the appliance epoxy in the rattle can, have not heard any complaints from him, and he has done 2 frames already, I will take a gamble and try it as well, well I already got the paint......

At least with the appliance paint you can do a touch up if need be, where as powder coating you cannot, and if it chips/scratches your up the creek.....

There is also a silver appliance color as well, so if your adventurous and want to go away from the norm of black, there is an alternative.....I was thinking of white, but did not see it in that color.....
 
I will search around and see what others experience has been. I know powder coat is not cheap but it is extremely durable. Last thing I want to is to put all this back together just to have the frame paint chip with every little rock or boot that hits it.

Did a little buffing today. This is the rear brake caliper mount. Thought it might give a nice contrast against the painted caliper.
DSC03440.JPG


Sci85
 
Some more good news. I found that missing left front caliper and distribution block on ebay today. Now all i'm missing is the choke cable and handlebar control. Found a used choke cable on ebay but waiting on a better description of the condition before pulling the trigger.

Getting oh so close to build time!

Sci85
 
Sci85 said:
I will search around and see what others experience has been. I know powder coat is not cheap but it is extremely durable. Last thing I want to is to put all this back together just to have the frame paint chip with every little rock or boot that hits it.

Did a little buffing today. This is the rear brake caliper mount. Thought it might give a nice contrast against the painted caliper.
DSC03440.JPG


Sci85
Click to expand...

Coming along nicely! What are you using to polish with?

There are several parts on my bike I want to polish but I know nothing about polishing.

Bruce.
 
If the surface is smooth, I just hit it with either a sisal wheel and black compound or the denim wheel and brown to start, then finish up with white polish on the cotton wheel. Last part is a coat of Mother's which is amazing stuff. You can find a set of 3 wheels and compounds at ACE, Lowes, Autoparts stores, etc to get you started. I put mine on my 6" bench grinder.

If the surface is rough or has nicks, then you have to break out the sandpaper. The above piece had some casting marks under the paint so I sanded those out with 320 wet/dry, then went 400, 800, 1000 wet. From there, I hit the buffing wheel as above. Took about an hour.

Here's a nice idea of what the above process can yield.

Before:
DSC03293.JPG


After:
DSC03296.JPG

DSC03297.JPG


Sci85
 
GateKeeper said:
Hey Bruce.....

you have a Princess Auto close by, just grab this, it will do it for you.....

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product/8270449/Misc.-Surplus/8%22-Polishing/Buffing-Kit




Sci85, sorry for the hijack.....but I am keeping it on topic.....:)

and that is some great polishing......that rear brake caliper mount is looking great......
Click to expand...

That's awesome GK. I was about to respond to Sci to tell him there is no ace or any of those he mentioned here.
And then you point me to a place nearby that has exactly what I am looking for.
Thanks for that.
Thanks to both of you actually.

Bruce.

Those old ads should have read "you meet the nicest people on a Suzuki".
 
No problem at all GK. I forgot to notice the canada connection. My bad. Thanks for jumping in.

Sci85
 
Got the frame back from the sand blaster today. Let the rebuild begin Whoo Hoo! Worth every penny too. Check out how clean that surface is.

DSC03441.JPG

DSC03442.JPG

DSC03443.JPG


Sci85
 
Yeah, and best part is I found a guy who will powder coat the frame and swing arm with gloss black for only $100.00!
 
WOW.......would he like to do another for the same price......

Nice find....
 
That frame looks good Sci85. Decent price for the powdetcoating too.
 
Yeah I think this guy is just building his business. I will go check out his work before giving the go ahead. But if it looks good then I'm gonna be stoked. nothin better for a frame.

Finally found a choke cable on ebay (used). Sucks they don't make mine model anymore.

Sci85
 
Hey, hey, that frame is looking good, nothing like a sandblaster to clean things up, but you may want to get that powder on there quick, before the surface rust starts setting in, unprotected metal will gather surface rust overnight.
Can't wait to see it with the powder on.
 
That looks awesome. You have changed my mind. I was going to just sand mine and paint it but after seeing how good yours looks and how much less work it would be... Still might paint it myself but sandblasting is the way to go.

I'm a bit detail obsessed person when it comes to paint and such. I would take a sharp chisel and remove that welding splatter around the head tube (and if yours is like mine, a lot of other places).
Being a body guy and a bit of a welder stuff like that bugs the heck outta me.

Bruce.
 
Brslk, you are right, the welding from Suzuki left a lot to be desired, one can really clean up the frame nicely with a small grinder and a file and a bit of time, all the welds on most the Suzukis look like they were done by a first year apprentice with a week on the job.
If you really want to go over the top, you can spend some time and bondo and smooth them all in, so the frame looks like one piece.
 
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