Sacha Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 Well, here goes... my first rebuild project. She's in a sad state as illustrated by the photos. I've had this bike over ten years, and (with the help of my dad) had taken the engine off the frame to fix the clutch because it was seized... plus I took the head off (don't remember why as I've slept since then, but it does look like there's some scoring on the piston). That was a long time ago and as you can see it's still in pieces... so I'm now picking up where I left off. I'm a complete newbie bike mechanic, but I figure what better way to get to know my bike? Hopefully you all don't mind me pestering you for help along the way since my pops can't help me because I don't live with him anymore (and he's got enough of his own sh*t to do). (I do have the tail pipe too just didn't make it into the photo) Today's progress: removed the front tire; attempted to remove the rear tire, but unfortunately the rear axle is stuck something fierce. I can't seem to loosen up the wheel alignment on the right side. (gir) I've soaked it with WD40 so we'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm going to enlist the hubby's help tomorrow to see if I can get that and then strip the wiring and the rest of the frame so I can get it ready to repaint. Luckily I know a guy who's going to re-foam and re-upholster the seat because the ones I've found (with Nayruf's help) are stinking expensive. Not sure how long this project will take as I'm just going to be able to do bits when I find time, but I'll keep you posted.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted July 14, 2012 Moderator Posted July 14, 2012 This is going to be a good one. Don't use WD40, use Plusgas or PB blaster (state side).
Moderator Airhead Posted July 14, 2012 Moderator Posted July 14, 2012 Nice one Sacha what a great little bike thay are. Well I must agree with DirtydT here while WD40 is a 'must have' great allrounder to have in the garage, a tin of PB Blaster? would be a better penetrating oil because it's what it's made for. as to the axle, if it comes to striking with a hammer, leave the nut on at first...unscrew it to level with the end of the axle it will prevent you mushrooming the end over and then needing a new one. Also place a stout piece of wood right next to the other end and jam it up to a wall, this will help stop the arm from flexing and more of your efforts will be directed to driving the bolt out
Sacha Posted July 14, 2012 Author Posted July 14, 2012 Thanks you two!! PB blaster eh? I'll see if I can find some this morning. If not the hubby also suggested deep creep. ?? Hopefully it will be a little better with two pairs of hands today to steady it. Thanks also for the tips on not mushrooming the threads... that's a lesson I learned the hard way eons ago as a powertool mechanic.
Sacha Posted July 15, 2012 Author Posted July 15, 2012 Managed to remove the rear tire and swing arm yesterday thanks to hubby's help and the PB Blaster. The rear axle was stuck on the spacer. Also got the old foam and upholstery off the seat. The base is fairly rusty so it'll need some cleaning up. Going to work on her a bit more today.
Sacha Posted July 15, 2012 Author Posted July 15, 2012 Here's the state of the seat (not so pretty is it? )... Unfortunately the brakes aren't in as good of shape as the ones on my little G7S, but hey, that's why I'm tearing it down right? Got the frame pretty much stripped today... Here's to getting everything cleaned up and back together again. Feels like I got something done this weekend (although it wasn't on my thesis)... so now it's out for dinner and a drink or two.
dt502001 Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 What a lucky guy no wonder he married you! but if that changes call me LOL. Great job so far I've seen muton heads take weeks to get that far. Before you recover the seat after cleaning up all the rust you might be faced with some holes,what I have done before when I couldn't find a new or better one,was to use fiberglass resion to coat the inside and stop the rust from comming back. Just tape over the holes and brush on the resin on the inside the the cover will hide your repairs, stinky job and the fuems will fry your brain so do this outside. If your not looking to show the bike you can reinforce the entire pan with fiber glass cloth. Just lay a coat of resin and lay strips of cloth down and recoat with resin. You need to work fairly quickly so pre cut the cloth to fit ,using smaller strips is easier than trying to fit 1 large piece down flat. Incase you havent done the brakes before just pop them off spring and all and change the springs on the bench,use a flat blade screw drive to open up the no pivot end, take some sand paper and clean up the rust in the drum.Pull the pivot out and clean and re grease lots of different companys make brake grease I like Loctight comes in a neat little tube and work's like a lip stick tube. also put a bit in the grove section of the rubber seal to keep the dust out of the bearings. Have fun I will be watching to see how it comes along Phil K
Sacha Posted July 16, 2012 Author Posted July 16, 2012 Thanks Phil! I'll try not to bore ya to death. This will be my first motorcycle brake replacement. I did the pads on my old pickup, but that was ages ago and they were disc brakes. I did notice a tear in the seat pan so might have a little welding to do, but I'll keep that fiber glass cloth in mind too. Thinking about getting a sand blasting cabinet... yay new toys! Probably won't get much done during the week... maybe some parts cleanup. Hubby's birthday is Thursday so I should probably get something together for him.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted July 16, 2012 Moderator Posted July 16, 2012 +1 fibreglass on the seat pan plus a little liquid metal if required.
Sacha Posted July 16, 2012 Author Posted July 16, 2012 Liquid metal eh? That sounds interesting. I'll have to google it. Thanks DirtyDT!
Moderator DirtyDT Posted July 16, 2012 Moderator Posted July 16, 2012 UK ebay but this type of stuff. Good for sticking captive nuts too. LINKY
Sacha Posted July 16, 2012 Author Posted July 16, 2012 Ah I see. I've used JB Weld before, but I'm sure there are better ones. Is there a specific one you'd recommend?
dt502001 Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 May i suggest he gets a nice shiny new sand blastin cabnit for his birthday or a nice hand held one for doing bigger things that won't fit in a cabinet like oh lets say a motorcycle frame Speedybond part #42267 works well comes in a putty form and can be apyled up side down un like jb that runs alover the place, Ive used it to even re thread a striped hole ,pack it in and put some grease on the bolt and insert wait 10-15 min and remove .It hardens in 60 min ,jb takes 24 hrs
Sacha Posted July 17, 2012 Author Posted July 17, 2012 JB Weld is good stuff isnt it it's always done the job i needed it to do. May i suggest he gets a nice shiny new sand blastin cabnit for his birthday or a nice hand held one for doing bigger things that won't fit in a cabinet like oh lets say a motorcycle frame Speedybond part #42267 works well comes in a putty form and can be apyled up side down un like jb that runs alover the place, Ive used it to even re thread a striped hole ,pack it in and put some grease on the bolt and insert wait 10-15 min and remove .It hardens in 60 min ,jb takes 24 hrs mwah ha ha ha! love it! only, he'd never use it. speedybond sounds good too... might have to add that into the birthday present.
Sacha Posted July 27, 2012 Author Posted July 27, 2012 Okay, so I haven't given up on my project just yet. I've been busy putting together the parts I'll need and getting all the bits and pieces ready to take to the sandblaster. I figure it will be better to have it all done in one go and then get it all painted after. So... here is what I'm planning on having sandblasted (frame and swing arm not pictured ): Does that seem reasonable, or a good idea? These are the pieces I thought needed rust removal and/or new paint. The rest of the pieces cleaned up fairly well or are plastic and will be cared for differently... or they're being replaced. How should I prepare these pieces for the sandblaster? AJ told me to mask off the threads and small holes to avoid having to clear them of the grit (brilliant ). What's the best way to do that? He suggested wooden dowels and bolts. If I use all the old bolts are there kits you can buy to replace them all or would I need to purchase them all separately? I'm also not sure how to mask off the stem on the triple tree to keep it from getting buggered. What's the best way to block the head stock? I am wondering about a few other pieces too... namely the tank, forks, exhaust, and barrel. Before I have the guy sandblast the outside of the tank I was thinking I should take care of the inside first so I don't mess up the outside. Needless to say I've spent a good deal of time searching the forum and have found several threads with lots of suggestions for cleaning and sealing tanks. But I'm still not sure which one to use. Some have suggested citric acid, others have suggested available kits, and others have said reverse plating works. After all that, I'm inclined to use the instructions provided on the real classic site. Do you all think if I use his method of caustic soda followed by spirits of salt and phosphoric acid and then seal the tank with the ethanol resistant sureseal it will suffice? Or should I just use the sureseal kit? Or something like the KBS kit? There's just too many choices it makes my head spin. :/ And speaking of tanks, should I rinse out the oil tank with diesel? If I do, should I rinse it with something else after to clear out the diesel? Then dry it with a hot air gun? What about the fork sliders (the lower part)? Should I have them sandblasted and painted? And how do I clean the stanchions? Do I understand right that the stanchions are the upper part of the forks? Mine have some rust on them and I had a helluva time getting one side out of the triple tree. You can probably tell which one from the pic. Should I replace the fork seals just as a good measure? I've drained all the old oil out of them, but should I also clean them with something before reassembly and re-oiling? I don't think I'll be cleaning the exhaust myself. From what I've found I would need a torch and oxygen to heat it and burn off all of the old build up (bet the neighbors would love that). But is it a good idea to have the exterior of the exhaust (and silencer) sandblasted and then painted with high temperature paint after they inside has been cleaned? Should I have the barrel sandblasted and then painted with high temp paint while I'm at it too? I'm probably going about this whole process backward. I guess I thought it would be nice to have all the frame and components ready for the engine and then get the engine work done. ??? During the process I have found that I'm missing most of the intake as well as the keys! I'll be searching mom and dad's garage and sheds for any sign of them this weekend. Apologies for asking so many questions! Don't mean to be a pain in the ass. Thanks in advance!!
beef Posted July 28, 2012 Posted July 28, 2012 i have the fork lowers on my kwak powder coated, had them blasted first. sooooooo much easier to clean and look after than the bare/ polished ones i had on my chop. as for the stanchions give them a good clean and thourghly inspect for pitting in the travel area, if there is any it will wreck new seals quickly. if they are fubar* then replace or rechrome, but would need to be hard chromed, was cheeper to buy new stanchions when i was rebuilding my kwak, as for new seals then thats a yes, when you take the forks apart you will probably damage them, but as you have dropped the oil out of them they will dry out and if they have been stood may already have started to perish, i painted the engine with vht paint and it has started to peel in one or two places, so i would suggest not painting it unless you can get it done somewhere professionally. when i did mine i used all the right primers ect, was clean and even heated up in the oven first, and then paint cooked on in the oven after wards. just a couple of spots where its going and it bugs me becaues it aint right.. heres the kwak am on about. fork lowers, wheel rims, hubs, swingarm, frame, brake plate, yolks, headlight brackets and kick starter are all pwder coated. spokes are stainless polished engine cases and exhaust chromed headlight levers and footpegs everthing else painted. engine and exhust down pipes in vht. *fubar = f&*%^d up beyond all recognition
Sacha Posted July 28, 2012 Author Posted July 28, 2012 FUBAR... that used to be a nickname of someone very dear to me. (terrible I know) The Kawasaki looks very nice. And it would really drive me crazy to have peeling paint... especially after going to such lengths. My husband calls me anal retentive... I call it detail-oriented. Do you recommend powder coating over paint then? Hubby is an auto body painter so we thought we'd prime, paint, and clearcoat most everything rather than powder coat.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted July 28, 2012 Moderator Posted July 28, 2012 Masking: Frame head stock - 2 peices of wood or ply with a hole in them bolted through top and bottom with some threaded rod and nuts. Keep these for pulling in the new head bearings Anything else threaded - old bolts/nuts Anything else non threaded - a good measure of masking tape. quite thick. Make sure to de grease everything first. Paint for me. Degrease (Gunk) Wet and dry with a little washing up liguid in the water Dry Wipe with a tackcloth Paint.
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