R
Redneck
Guest
Weather... My brother is up in Steam Boat Springs and he said it was -35 and no wind. Now that is cold. Hope you stay warm.
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R
Redneck
Guest
I found the photoshop pic that one of our Illustrious members did for me.
Though I am probably going to black out anything that was chrome simply because I can't afford to have it all re dipped. I want all rust gone off this bike and in order to do that I will be painting the light housing, sissy bar, handle bars, and engine gloss black. The exhaust is going to get a semi gloss or a silver paint job using the VHT paints from Duplicolor. I will polish the covers on the engine and crankcase covers along with the headlight ring (it is still rust free) just to make them stand out and give it some bling.
Though I am probably going to black out anything that was chrome simply because I can't afford to have it all re dipped. I want all rust gone off this bike and in order to do that I will be painting the light housing, sissy bar, handle bars, and engine gloss black. The exhaust is going to get a semi gloss or a silver paint job using the VHT paints from Duplicolor. I will polish the covers on the engine and crankcase covers along with the headlight ring (it is still rust free) just to make them stand out and give it some bling.
R
Redneck
Guest
Woot Woot, finally got the gas tank painted, not to bad not to good, but the good part is in the "Appearance" forum. Here is what I posted there.
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=171076
I do have one question, maybe someone can help with. I got a lot of media grit inside the tank. What is going to be the best way to get it out? I am going to try and blow with air next week when I can get it back in to finish putting on clear coat or stripping it and putting on powder coat. Anyways that is the plan for now. I will post pictures of the front fender with its new PC finish and also of the tank and all its Duplicolor glory.
Paul
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=171076
I do have one question, maybe someone can help with. I got a lot of media grit inside the tank. What is going to be the best way to get it out? I am going to try and blow with air next week when I can get it back in to finish putting on clear coat or stripping it and putting on powder coat. Anyways that is the plan for now. I will post pictures of the front fender with its new PC finish and also of the tank and all its Duplicolor glory.
Paul
R
Redneck
Guest
Okay got the exhaust off this weekend with no broken bolts. (Thank God, literally) Put on the tank and rear fender even though they are spray painted and the powder coated front fender to see what the look is going to be. I like it. Hopefully going to get several parts coated this week including the gas tank.
I did notice when I was taking off the exhaust that there is some drips of oil coming off the plug. That and it was mighty grungy underneath. From what I have been hearing it is best to try and clean the engine prior to tearing it down. At least the crank case portion. But I dont have access to a power washer and the other problem is it is still below freezing here. Any suggestions, I was thinking of soaking it in grease lighting. I have a big deepsink in the garage?
I will post pictures with the mock up to show you what it looks like it might be looking like when I am done.
Paul
I did notice when I was taking off the exhaust that there is some drips of oil coming off the plug. That and it was mighty grungy underneath. From what I have been hearing it is best to try and clean the engine prior to tearing it down. At least the crank case portion. But I dont have access to a power washer and the other problem is it is still below freezing here. Any suggestions, I was thinking of soaking it in grease lighting. I have a big deepsink in the garage?
I will post pictures with the mock up to show you what it looks like it might be looking like when I am done.
Paul
H
Hoosier Daddy
Guest
Do you have an air compressor? Here is what I use. A hose connects to the hose barb at the base of the tube and goes into your cleaner and it is siphoned out into the compressed air stream. I have used Simple Green, keosene, even diesel fuel to grease engines. Then put it in warm water to rinse the same way.
This will give you a better idea, mines just not as fancy. Although I do have another pistol grip blow gun body.. Hmmmm, wonder if my siphon tip will screw on?
This will give you a better idea, mines just not as fancy. Although I do have another pistol grip blow gun body.. Hmmmm, wonder if my siphon tip will screw on?
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R
Redneck
Guest
Thanks Hoosier, but unfortunately I chose the welder over the air compressor. Wishing at times I had chosen otherwise. But it is a good plan. I may try lugging the whole engine down to the hobby shop on base and using the parts washer on it and see what happens. May try to media blast it all together before I take it apart.
So i put the tank and fenders on to see how it is going to look. The cool part is from the angle i was at the paint looks right on the tank and rear fender it almost matches front fender.
As you can see it looks pretty good or so i think. I am going to PC the sissy bar either black or maybe green to match. Wheels going to get PC black, starting to second guess painting engine black may leave it alone and just clean it up, or paint it silver. I just don't relish constant polishing, I live next to ocean aluminum oxidizes fast here. Here is one of my little helper tonight.
And don't forget my future biker chick who can't wait for daddy to get it fixed so she can ride up and down the street with dad again.
Don't know if you noticed the exhaust pipes on the floor. They are going to get sand blasted and then I will paint them gloss black with VHT paint. There is too much rust to try and polish out. So exhaust will be black. Opinions are welcomed.
Paul
So i put the tank and fenders on to see how it is going to look. The cool part is from the angle i was at the paint looks right on the tank and rear fender it almost matches front fender.
As you can see it looks pretty good or so i think. I am going to PC the sissy bar either black or maybe green to match. Wheels going to get PC black, starting to second guess painting engine black may leave it alone and just clean it up, or paint it silver. I just don't relish constant polishing, I live next to ocean aluminum oxidizes fast here. Here is one of my little helper tonight.
And don't forget my future biker chick who can't wait for daddy to get it fixed so she can ride up and down the street with dad again.
Don't know if you noticed the exhaust pipes on the floor. They are going to get sand blasted and then I will paint them gloss black with VHT paint. There is too much rust to try and polish out. So exhaust will be black. Opinions are welcomed.
Paul
T
Tim Tom
Guest
Looking Good
Looking Good
Nice progress!! The green paint looks awesome. It looks even better in the metal than in my photo shop mock up I did seemingly ages ago
. Your gonna have a great looking bike when its all finished. I cant wait to see the result.
As far as engine paint goes, I think it would look good silver or black. You can always leave it silver and post pone painting till next off-season too.
Keep at it, its looking nice :clap::clap:
Looking Good
Nice progress!! The green paint looks awesome. It looks even better in the metal than in my photo shop mock up I did seemingly ages ago
. Your gonna have a great looking bike when its all finished. I cant wait to see the result. As far as engine paint goes, I think it would look good silver or black. You can always leave it silver and post pone painting till next off-season too.
Keep at it, its looking nice :clap::clap:
R
Redneck
Guest
Thanks Tom I will hopefully get all the pretty stuff done in the next month. I want it all done this season because I want to start work on the chopper build next season with the orginal motor and frame I had. So my goal is to get this put together well enough that I don't have to mess with it much the next couple years while I pursue other projects. This one will be my daily ride for the season while I begin work on the next project which will be mosty fund restricted in its progress I am sure. 
What a fund restricted project...say it isn't so..lol.
What a fund restricted project...say it isn't so..lol.
R
Redneck
Guest
Well got a few things done last night. I now have a PCed Tank rear fender, light mounts, light housing, and brake light bracket. I am pretty stoked. I have pics of tank on frame.. the parts that got PCed and a pic of the light brackets and the housing so you can see the color scheme.
I intend to make the front ring of the light PC black also.
I intend to make the front ring of the light PC black also.
R
Redneck
Guest
It is amazing that as you go through the resotration process you begin to see things and realize "Oh boy, this is going to add up." Guess I should start ordering small amounts at a time. I am primarily talking about rubber grommets and spacers. Many of the bolts need replacement or I would rather replace them with Stainless steel to ease the rust factor.
Anyway, last night I got the back tire off, all the rear break parts, including master cyclinder. The Frame is naked from the engine back. Will take pictures after I get off work tonight. Was in the process of pulling the motor when the Wife came down and suggested that I come upstairs and spend some time with the little one before she went to bed. I could not argue that. Of course it kills the roll your on and I did not make it back down, cause then it was time to spend time with the wife and we ended up watching "Holmes on Homes". I like the show also and I have worked all weekend so needed to spend some time with the wife. Hopefully the engine is out tonight and then all I have left is to strip the front end and save the $300 bucks to get the frame blasted and Powder coated. Woot. We won't discuss the electrical nighmare ahead of me.
Anyway, last night I got the back tire off, all the rear break parts, including master cyclinder. The Frame is naked from the engine back. Will take pictures after I get off work tonight. Was in the process of pulling the motor when the Wife came down and suggested that I come upstairs and spend some time with the little one before she went to bed. I could not argue that. Of course it kills the roll your on and I did not make it back down, cause then it was time to spend time with the wife and we ended up watching "Holmes on Homes". I like the show also and I have worked all weekend so needed to spend some time with the wife. Hopefully the engine is out tonight and then all I have left is to strip the front end and save the $300 bucks to get the frame blasted and Powder coated. Woot. We won't discuss the electrical nighmare ahead of me.
I know exactly how you feel right now Redneck as I'm going through the same stuff. Spent two weeks in the hospital and trying to get back to spending time with the family so I haven't even stepped foot outside yet to work on mine. It's in the same condition as yours right now and I can't wait to have the money to go buy parts.
Take care and looking forward to seeing more progress on yours.
Take care and looking forward to seeing more progress on yours.
R
Redneck
Guest
Well two things happened today. I got my new base gasket in to replace the one that got messed up in shipping. Kudos to Cyclepartsnation.com for the good customer service. Second with the help of my son i managed to get the engine pulled. 
.. The ironic thing is that the engine is sitting on the exact same table that the original 550L engine sat on two years ago. Talk about deja Vu. At least this time i know a lot more about what I am doing and I have the parts on hand to rebuild the engine. The one problem i was looking at for now is I have a very greasy oil coated engine bottom that needs serious cleaning and it is still way to cold to take it outside and pressure spray the engine clean. The damn thing is to heavy to tote up to base and try and use the hobby shop parts washer. So it looks like it is going to be a lot of grease lightning and tones of scrubbing sponges and cheap tooth brushes to get it all clean till i break it down and take the individual parts in for wet blasting and paint. I wonder if I need to break down the crank case and do a good clean on them also. I just get very nervous about that because I don't undertand transmissions at all. Not even motorcycle ones. I know the workings of engines well enough but after the torque leaves the crankshaft I am clueless..
.. The ironic thing is that the engine is sitting on the exact same table that the original 550L engine sat on two years ago. Talk about deja Vu. At least this time i know a lot more about what I am doing and I have the parts on hand to rebuild the engine. The one problem i was looking at for now is I have a very greasy oil coated engine bottom that needs serious cleaning and it is still way to cold to take it outside and pressure spray the engine clean. The damn thing is to heavy to tote up to base and try and use the hobby shop parts washer. So it looks like it is going to be a lot of grease lightning and tones of scrubbing sponges and cheap tooth brushes to get it all clean till i break it down and take the individual parts in for wet blasting and paint. I wonder if I need to break down the crank case and do a good clean on them also. I just get very nervous about that because I don't undertand transmissions at all. Not even motorcycle ones. I know the workings of engines well enough but after the torque leaves the crankshaft I am clueless..
R
Redneck
Guest
Grease and Crud removal
Grease and Crud removal
Well I did my search on the forums for cleaning engines. Most seemed to agree that a toothbrush, bottle brush, a good degreaser and a lot of elbow grease is the best way to clean an engine. Well let me say it may be the best way but man does it suck.. Nothing therapuetic about it in my mind. Anyway, i don't have the bottle brush and man do I see why one is necessary. Here is a glimpse of what i started with.
here is where I am currently.
That last shot is where I currently am at. Still have a ways to go but wife is ill and gets gripey if I stay down in garage too long.
Here are my faithful cleaning utensils.
Hope to get a bunch more done tomorrow. Well as far as the frame goes I am going to pay a company to do it, for $275 they will blast and PC it. Exhaust pipes will cost my $150 for blast and VHT.
I was wondering though, there is a hole in the bottom of the Crank case that is there by design. My other engine has it too. What is it for. Here is a pic.
Anyway there is a photograpic update of the work in progress.
Grease and Crud removal
Well I did my search on the forums for cleaning engines. Most seemed to agree that a toothbrush, bottle brush, a good degreaser and a lot of elbow grease is the best way to clean an engine. Well let me say it may be the best way but man does it suck.. Nothing therapuetic about it in my mind. Anyway, i don't have the bottle brush and man do I see why one is necessary. Here is a glimpse of what i started with.
here is where I am currently.
That last shot is where I currently am at. Still have a ways to go but wife is ill and gets gripey if I stay down in garage too long.
Here are my faithful cleaning utensils.
Hope to get a bunch more done tomorrow. Well as far as the frame goes I am going to pay a company to do it, for $275 they will blast and PC it. Exhaust pipes will cost my $150 for blast and VHT.
I was wondering though, there is a hole in the bottom of the Crank case that is there by design. My other engine has it too. What is it for. Here is a pic.
Anyway there is a photograpic update of the work in progress.
H
Hoosier Daddy
Guest
Tedious for sure but once you are done stand back and see the beauty that you have restored! Keep at it you a doing good so far.
A cheap Shotgun cleaning kit with brass brushes are my choice for when you get to the fins on the cylinders and head.
A cheap Shotgun cleaning kit with brass brushes are my choice for when you get to the fins on the cylinders and head.
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R
Redneck
Guest
Well I got most of the road grime off the bottom of the engine and on the cases. So last night I took the engine apart. Removed the heads and cylinder block. Came apart with no real issue. I started my next tedious evolution, removing the old gasket material.
Slow meticulous and I still dropped a piece of old gasket down the crank, do you think it will cause a problem? It was about a 1/2" by 1/4" piece.
Hopefully I will get pictures up today. I am going to get all the gasket residue cleaned up then take the top end parts up to the Wet Blaster and give them a good soda blasting.
Thats all I have to report for now.
Paul
Slow meticulous and I still dropped a piece of old gasket down the crank, do you think it will cause a problem? It was about a 1/2" by 1/4" piece.
Hopefully I will get pictures up today. I am going to get all the gasket residue cleaned up then take the top end parts up to the Wet Blaster and give them a good soda blasting.
Thats all I have to report for now.
Paul
R
Redneck
Guest
Well finally got some garage time yesterday. I stated cleaning up the old gasket material off the cylinder block and heads. That when really well. I came to the conclusion that the engine probably has original silver paint on it. It is faded a yellowish brown and won,t clean up unless it comes off and then the metal shines through. I took a brass wire wheel and cleaned the heads out real good they are all shiney and pretty like now. Started pulling all the valves. (Thank you Jethro once again it went smoothly)
Then it went bad. I went to remove the intake boots and three out of four boot bolts philips slot rounded out. I was even using an impact tool when they did that. I stopped working at that point I had company over and it was close to dinner. Tonight I hope to cut slots in with dremmel and see if the come out that way. If not it will be easy out time. The good news is the intake boots are all nice and supple. I just need the o-rings and I will be good to go. Unfortunately Mr. Barr is still out of stock for the 550 model.
I will upload pics tonight. The kid was online doing homework and I did not want to bog down bandwith with the upload last night.
Then it went bad. I went to remove the intake boots and three out of four boot bolts philips slot rounded out. I was even using an impact tool when they did that. I stopped working at that point I had company over and it was close to dinner. Tonight I hope to cut slots in with dremmel and see if the come out that way. If not it will be easy out time. The good news is the intake boots are all nice and supple. I just need the o-rings and I will be good to go. Unfortunately Mr. Barr is still out of stock for the 550 model.
I will upload pics tonight. The kid was online doing homework and I did not want to bog down bandwith with the upload last night.
H
Hoosier Daddy
Guest
Sounds like two steps forward, one step back. Still comes across as progress 
If I have my orientation right, that hole in the case you asked about earlier is the drain hole for the stater well.
If I have my orientation right, that hole in the case you asked about earlier is the drain hole for the stater well.
R
Redneck
Guest
That could very well be it. The hole is directly below the starter. Going to get the dremmel out tonight and hopefully that takes care of my bored out screws. If not I have to move on to the Easy out. I hate those it alwasy gets iffy. I will take pictures of the evolution.
R
Redneck
Guest
Okay here are the pictures promised.
Cylinder section all the gasket stuff cleaned up
Crankcase section still needing some cleaning
Cylinder Head and combustion chamber all cleaned up
The magic valve remover curtesy of Jethro
Its the tool the neighbor never returned.
The part that had to be made 1 inch pvc pipe threaded/slip on joint
Time to play operation
Everything out.
And bagged
All valves out and valve caps and shims are marked and bagged.
Cylinder section all the gasket stuff cleaned up
Crankcase section still needing some cleaning
Cylinder Head and combustion chamber all cleaned up
The magic valve remover curtesy of Jethro
Its the tool the neighbor never returned.
The part that had to be made 1 inch pvc pipe threaded/slip on joint
Time to play operation
Everything out.
And bagged
All valves out and valve caps and shims are marked and bagged.
R
Redneck
Guest
What I have to deal with tonight
