GS450 Cafe / Fighter Style

[Tim Tom]

No worries mate... and there's a fella on here Tim Tom who does excellent Photoshop work if you need a mock up

Ohh sure pete just volunteer me why don't cha? I'd be happy to 'paint' your frame digitally if you cant visualize how it would look.

Personally I think that a dark silver / gunmetal looks the best. It's not the standard black, but also not bright enough to attract lots of grime and be a bear to clean. Plus it looks great.

About your shock situation, were you planning on using a linkage monoshock or not? Perhaps you could fab an upper swingarm support and use that to mount the shock to an area under the rear tank bolts? Sort of like the swingarm of a Vincent?

Since you now need to rebuild the rear shock mounts anyways, why not do something a little different?

 

[Guest]

Hahahaha sorry Tim ... but you know you love it

Collo, I used the POR 15 motorcycle tank repair kit.

I picked it up from the POR 15 reseller up here, but you can buy it from them direct here http://www.por15.com.au/ or if you check their reseller page they'll most likely have one near you.

Make sure you follow the instructions to the letter! And be 1000% sure the tank is dry before putting the liner in.

 

[Collo]

Hi Tim, thanks for the offer but it will probably not be necessary. In fact, I'm thinking along the same lines about the colour and figure if I'm going to the trouble of powder coating I might as well go something other than black. I saw a colour chart at the workshop and they have plenty of metallic greys so I will probably go something like that.

About the shock though, I'm pretty committed to go back to the original style. That said, there's nothing wrong with changing that later when the bike is assembled - despite having to touch up the frame / swingarm etc.

Thanks Pete for the POR15 info, something I will have to get into soon. The tank is off getting blasted a the moment.

Oh here's a question...

As for tank decals, I wanted to affix a belt buckle or cast iron logo type thing on the sides or middle of the tank. Does anyone know what materials would work best and those that won't work at all? Eg. Cast iron, pewter etc

Something like this...
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20084537...WAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_971

Thanks in advance

 

[Collo]

Hi all,

Got the bike back from sandblasting and zinc coating finally. The rearsets also arrived from Thailand and I'm pretty happy with the quality.

Jobs to go next:
Battery tray getting welded tomorrow.
Need a shorter swingarm bolt by about 20mm.

I don't really like how the tank tilts on an angle so I will be making a mount to sit it flat. Problem comes as the fuel petcock will then hit the frame, so may mount it backward or looking for any other ideas?

As for the rear shock mounts, have drilled them out 10mm and figure I will just bolt the new shocks to the frame through the holes. Should look neater and save some welding.

 

[wally]

I took my swingarm bolt to an engineering shop. They cut it down and recut the threads. I was too nervous to get a replacement rod for in case it wasn't the same hardness as the current one.

 

[Guest]

Is that the finish that will stay on the frame and swingarm?

One thing if you raise the rear of the tank... make sure you keep at least a small incline so the fuel doesn't flow away from the fuel tap when it gets low.

Also, what's the source for the rear sets? They look good!

 

[Collo]

Thanks for the tips guys. I got the rearsets on ebay and just typed in universal rearset. They were about $100 delivered so I couldn't pass up on that.

That it just the primer Pete as I was intending to get it powder coated. I called one place today and he said it's prob not a good thing I've filled the frame in places with body filler. Hence I'm probably going to paint with some good heavy epoxy or something.

Has anyone had any experience powder coating over body filler?
Decided to fill the rear tray area as I wanted it sealed from the elements and water splash from the tyre. I really can't wait for the frame to be completed so I feel like I'm getting somewhere when I put things back together.

 

[wally]

Stay away from powder coating - unless you have a really, really good supplier.

Endless hassles with getting holes and recesses clean...

 

[Guest]

Good stuff Collo, and yeah I've heard endless stories of guys having to clean up after powder coaters coat bits they shouldn't even though they're reassured that they know what they're doing...

I'll definitely keep prep'ing and painting my frames myself, although next time I won't hand sand and brush the POR 15 Blackcote on, I'll sand blast and look into some of that heavy duty enamel or something. I'd spray the POR 15 stuff if I was able to get some proper respiratory gear though... it moisture cures so you don't want it in your lungs!

 

[Collo]

Great thanks for the comments on the powder coating it's settled my mind. It would be pretty bad to have it powder coated only to find it's not good and have to do the whole process again. At least paint is easier to patch up again.

It seems there's many coatings out there. KBS and POR15 for example. Not sure where to get either of them here but at least I know what I'm looking for now.

I don't have an over to cure but can you use a hair dryer?
Another question: How do I know if my battery can be placed horizontally or if it has to be stood upright?

Cheers

 

[Zbradley1215]

are you military? i couldn't help but notice some of the boxes you have your frame sitting on are military style and then saw some combat boots in the pic.

 

[Guest]

That's one of the many good things with POR15... moisture curing means no heat curing required.

You can buy it from:

FYSHWICK AUTO PAINT MARKETING
145 - 147 Gladstone Street
FYSHWICK 2609
Ph 6280 6848

They seem to be the only resellers in the ACT, otherwise you can get it direct from www.por15.com.au

With the battery, the standard type you need to fill with acid needs to stand up, but maintenance free ones like AGM and the more modern lithium iron ones like Shorai I believe can go in any way.

 

[Collo]

Zbradley1215, I used to be military a while back. Thanks Pete for the info. I'll give them a call.

 

[Guest]

If you have *any* questions shoot the POR 15 guys an email directly or give them a call, I found them to be very helpful.

 

[Collo]

Happy New Year all,
I have been busy but without too much progress. Bought the frame paint (KBS) and have put a few coats on. I think a softer brush would work better it's a little dodgy.

Anyway here is some pics:
The parts hanging in there..

The frame side on..

And the extra bolt welded on.. came out okay as I used the body filler and the paint hides a lot...

Also did the triple tree but the dust has fallen on it and not looking so good. Was thinking to wet&dry the parts then put some more coats on with a soft brush. There's a few runs in it.

Probably a better idea would be to put it together, wait for the inevitable scratches and then paint?

 

[Guest]

Happy New Year Collo, good to see you back at it!

That paint job doesn't look any worse than mine, haven't heard of that paint before though?

I'd finish the paint off as good as you want it now, otherwise it will get tricky to get to later once everything's installed.

 

[Collo]

Had a productive day today...
Got some re-assembly started. The forks are now painted and the new head bearings are in and working well.

As you can see the forks sit high, but I want to lower the front end. I know theres a way of doing it internally so that it won't poke out the top. Can any one explain that and if it's worth it?

Really liking that KBS paint too!

Pete, where did you source the tacho eliminator plug from? Cheers

 

[nikosg]

great job so far mate!!!

 

[hillsy]

As you can see the forks sit high, but I want to lower the front end. I know theres a way of doing it internally so that it won't poke out the top. Can any one explain that and if it's worth it?

Like this:

If you don't have a spacer up top you need to cut down the springs so you can fit the fork caps back on. If you have a spacer up there it's an easily reversible procedure in case you don't like it.

If you do it exactly like this photo it won't change the performance of the forks - except you will have slightly less fork travel.

 

[Guest]

Good stuff Collo, that frame is looking pretty good too.

I noticed the fork caps on yours are quite different to mine... can you put air in yours or something?