Not bad for an afternoon's work + pics

[Mike_H]

Well, I started the disassembly process today. Got most of the wire harness out, and the rear of the bike is pretty bare. Gonna try for the front end and engine tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get the frame to the powdercoat place before I go away for Thanksgiving. Got the exhaust off too...No broken bolts Whaahooo. Well, heres a couple pics...

where I started

Where I am Today...

Oh yeah, I hate body work, so if anyone who is located near me (Grand Rapids, MI) wants to trade body work for mechanical work...I'm game. I can do just about anything with a set of wrenchs and screwdrivers, but man...I hate Bondo.

 

[txironhead]

I've had much better results with DynaGlass, myself. Available at O'Reilly's.

 

[steely]

I really dig the way that rear fender looks. Is that from a rebel? What was the deal with the side covers being merged with the air box (or are those merely the air box covers, with an after market air filter behind)? Nice job!

 

[Mike_H]

Steely,

Thanks for the compliments. The rear fender is from a dynaglide. Fits almost perfect, and the taillight came with it . The side panels are air box and battery covers. On an L model, the side panels are 2 pieces, one chrome, and one painted. The chrome covers the stock plastic manifold. I don't like chrome very much, so I'm going to paint over it. I wanted to smooth out the appearance of the side panel as well. I used bondo to fill the gap, but that has since cracked...so now I get to redo it with fiberglass. Wahoo... (/said with as much sarcasm as possible).

 

[snowbeard]

that sorta fender can change the entire attitude of these bikes, nice work so far!

I think I saw on another thread that you're thinking solo seat right?

 

[Mike_H]

Snowbeard,
probably not going to do a "real" solo seat. I'm thinking about making one up similar to the new style cruiser seats. Nice seat for my rearend, but narrow pillon. I don't ever carry passengers anyway...

 

[MissFabulous]

I like that fender a lot! I'll keep my eyes peeled for one for my 1100.

Definitely am interested in following what you do with the seat. Planning on buying something or fabbing something yourself? I'm kind of torn myself with the seat issue. The original seat on mine is ridiculously long, I don't want passengers, but I do want cargo space if needed. I'm trying to come up with some ideas in between... maybe using the long pan but making a single seat yet with some kind of storage or platform behind that... I've been reading up on fiberglass and it shouldn't be too complicated so I might be able to come up with something unique but styled for the bike. Ideally, I think I'd liek to have a couple seats on hand to suit different purposes.

Looking forward to your progress!

 

[bhppy101]

Nice work there!....as for the seat...you should check into using a V-rod seat. Looks like it would fit nicely. I see a bunch of them on Ebay all the time for about $40.

 

[Mike_H]

miss fab...I think I'm going to try my hand at fabicating a seat. I'm pretty good at woodworking (which was my hobby till I got the zuki, and lost my shop space) So i'm thinking a wooden frame...Maybe balsa, cuz it will steam curves and shape easily, then a couple layers of fiberglass to stiffen and strengthen the structure. I have already done one seat cover, and it will be even easier to do a second. Only problem I forsee is getting foam. Local Jo-Anne Fabric has upohstery foam, but there is no way it will work as a motorcycle seat. Way too soft. I know its available, just gotta find out from where. Or I just might go the easy route, and buy a harley seat. I've been looking at the sportser 883R's seat for a while...shape looks good, and it looks like it would fit w/o too much trouble. They go for about 100-150 on ebay though...V-rod is somthing I'll have to check out. Thanks Bhappy for the tip.

 

[bhppy101]

miss fab...I think I'm going to try my hand at fabicating a seat. I'm pretty good at woodworking (which was my hobby till I got the zuki, and lost my shop space) So i'm thinking a wooden frame...Maybe balsa, cuz it will steam curves and shape easily, then a couple layers of fiberglass to stiffen and strengthen the structure. I have already done one seat cover, and it will be even easier to do a second. Only problem I forsee is getting foam. Local Jo-Anne Fabric has upohstery foam, but there is no way it will work as a motorcycle seat. Way too soft. I know its available, just gotta find out from where. Or I just might go the easy route, and buy a harley seat. I've been looking at the sportser 883R's seat for a while...shape looks good, and it looks like it would fit w/o too much trouble. They go for about 100-150 on ebay though...V-rod is somthing I'll have to check out. Thanks Bhappy for the tip.

As far as the foam is concerned.....just find a local automotive upholstery shop. They should have some really dense foam that you can buy. I use a thicker layer of dense foam with little layer of soft memory foam for comfort.

If the HD seat doesnt work out for you....just glass up your own! It might cost you about the same for the materials....but the satisfaction of making a one off is always nice!

 

[MissFabulous]

miss fab...I think I'm going to try my hand at fabicating a seat. I'm pretty good at woodworking (which was my hobby till I got the zuki, and lost my shop space) So i'm thinking a wooden frame...Maybe balsa, cuz it will steam curves and shape easily, then a couple layers of fiberglass to stiffen and strengthen the structure. I have already done one seat cover, and it will be even easier to do a second. Only problem I forsee is getting foam. Local Jo-Anne Fabric has upohstery foam, but there is no way it will work as a motorcycle seat. Way too soft. I know its available, just gotta find out from where. Or I just might go the easy route, and buy a harley seat. I've been looking at the sportser 883R's seat for a while...shape looks good, and it looks like it would fit w/o too much trouble. They go for about 100-150 on ebay though...V-rod is somthing I'll have to check out. Thanks Bhappy for the tip.

If/when you do it, take lots of pics and try to document & share how you do it if you can! Really looking forward to your progress and what you learn along the way

 

[ifly85]

I haven't redone my seat yet, but I bought a pad for kneeling and doing garden work from Home Depot (less than $10, maybe $5). It is very dense and should do nicely. I also bought a thermafoam pillow from Walmart to put a little over the dense foam for comfort if I decide I want it.

I am just going to reshape my seat with the stock seatpan.

 

[Mike_H]

Well, quick update here. I haven't had too much time to work on the ol suzy lately. Been super busy at work launching a job 2 OSRVM (outside rearview mirror) I have basically stripped the frame of all components, and the engine has one more bolt in it, before its ready to come out. After the engine is out, I will dissassemble the swingarm and I'm going to grind all of the frame welds smooth. Then its off to the powdercoaters. A guy I work with is going to do it for me. He better do a good job to, because I can give him hell everyday if he doesn't ! I would post a picture, but I think we've all seen bikes stripped down to the frame before. The all look pretty much the same.

 

[Mike_H]

Progress...well some, anyway

Progress...well some, anyway

Well, with the holidays finally over, now I can get back to real life. New year's day had me spending quality time with my sandblasting booth. Loaded it up with glass beads, and went to work on the miscellaneous frame brackets and engine mounts from my bike. here are a couple pics of the newly cleaned pieces...


engine mounts

frame brackets, battery box, fork brace

I have decided just to paint my frame. I was going to powdercoat, but I figure I can have the frame bead blasted, (for free ) and spend about 35 bucks on rattle cans, vs 250 bucks for powdercoating. The paint I am using has held up pretty well on everything else so far, so here we go. BTW, I'm using Duplicolor Truck and SUV 2 part (base and clear). Gunmetal Grey Metallic

 

[Mike_H]

update 1-11-07

update 1-11-07

Wahooo. Frame is back from the sandblaster, and its in pretty good shape, aside from the crappy welds that seem to plauge all GS's. heres a pic

here's a teaser of the color I will be painting the frame. These are the motor to frame brackets. They have not been clearcoated yet, but you get the general idea

The body work is going to be a deep, dark red, and I will probably run a stripe or two of the frame color through it. I'm really getting excited about this project.

 

[Guest]

That's coming along nice! Keep the pics coming!

You used glass to blast your frame? How was the process? Did the glass strip the paint easily? The shop I am using to blast my frame uses steel grit #80. Do you think that's too aggressive?

 

[Mike_H]

That's coming along nice! Keep the pics coming!

You used glass to blast your frame? How was the process? Did the glass strip the paint easily? The shop I am using to blast my frame uses steel grit #80. Do you think that's too aggressive?

I sandblasted the small brackets myself, and used a glass bead. Stripped the paint and rust pretty well. The shop that did my frame and swingarm used silicon carbide, which is quite a bit more aggressive than the glass beads. They also had to normalize the frame to remove the paint. Not really sure about the specifics, I dropped the frame off, and when I picked it up, it was uber-clean. Only thing left for me to do is shake the excess grit out of the frame tubes. if your painting, I would recommend a silicon carbide to you. It left a pretty smooth surface to paint over. I'll hit it with a filling primer, and then spray it. If your powdercoating, your going to need a much rougher surface than I have, and I would trust the shop thats doing it.

 

[Nessism]

It might be too late now but you might want to check out the cost of some good automotive paint instead of rattlecans. A good two part epoxy primer is superior and well worth the cost. Harbor Freight sells low cost spray guns. Once you make the jump, it opens up a whole new world.

 

[Guest]

If your powdercoating, your going to need a much rougher surface than I have, and I would trust the shop thats doing it.

Yep, I'm getting it powdercoated, so I guess the aggressive steel grit will be good.

 

[Mike_H]

A progress Update

A progress Update

Well, I finally got to my buddies, so I can use his welder. I will be posting a how to article on changing the rear fender soon. Quite a few pics, but I still have one last task to do. Anyway, My Frame has paint! Here are some pics

All Wrapped Up from the painter...Well me, cuz I painted it at my Dad's

Here's the color

I really hate polishing aluminum, but it sure is worth it.



A note about the side covers, the messy looking part on the clutch cover is actually a reflection of the camera flash. Its hard to take pics of shiny aluminum. Oh yeah, I also have new emblems to go on the side covers. Anyone know of a good way to get the old glue residue off?