ConnorDTR Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Well here is my first ever project, bought myself a 1990 DTR frame. My plan is to convert it into a supermoto (may not happen considering DTX wheels are hard to find) have it with a white powdercoated frame, swingarm and fork legs. then maybe have a secondary colour of red or blue, undecided yet. Well here goes Starting off with a poorly painted frame by the previous owner, apparently it was one of his projects which he gave up with after being unable to find a wiring loom and needing money to get a new engine for his car as his current one had shat itself. Amazing how you can post something so large from London to South East Wales for only £15!!! Even got the frame numbers on it Hint: Old microwaves work really good to set the frame on Also bagged myself a swingarm with the chain guide and brake cover. A quick test fit to make sure that the swing arm fits correctly All fits good Swingarm bearings are however crusty... Very very crusty. After inspecting them i found out why, seems like instead of selling me just the swingarm, chain guide and brake cover he also wanted to chuck in some extra soil samples So a big clean of the swingarm is needed, have already started getting all of the mud off of it and cleaning it up a little bit. Don't have a picture of it yet but it's still not pretty. Needs a good sandblast and lick of paint. Also decided to get all of the bolts that hold on the rear grab handle, some of the bolts had already been snapped so i tried to cut a slot in them and undo it with a flat head screwdriver.. this didn't work. The bolt is too skinny to accept enough force, just snapped off. I then swiftly realised that the previous owner had painted the frame without taking any of the screws out... then left the bike out in the elements for a good 3 years (MOT expired that time). So none of these bolts are coming out. My best bet now is to drill and retap the threads. Any recomendations for a good drill and tap set? Seems like this project is going to involve alot of money spent on tools aswell.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Soak it with oil and if it still won't budge cut it off so the top is flat, centre dot the bolt and use a good centre drill to start off before following up with a drill of the tapping size of that hole (i prefer cobalt drills for this) followed by a tapered tap and finishing tap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dt502001 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 If you heat the bolts red hot they will come out,dont heat the bolt but rather the fastning nut so long as you some thing to grab hold of. some times it easier to grind off the nut and weld a new one on than piss about drilling and taping Tools are a investment not money spent unless you buy cheap crap so buy wisely and spend once. Did you buy just a frame and intend to buy each part to finnish it up to a bike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted October 2, 2014 Moderator Share Posted October 2, 2014 Pictures are way to big, it already takes an age to load up and you only posted once Connor!, make your pictures a sensible size fella 1000 pixels wide is plenty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnorDTR Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Fixed the pictures, they did seem way too big for the page. I did soak all of the bolts in WD40 after snapping the only bolt that still had its head. I think the problem is with the paint :/. Will try to wire brush the paint off and do the old screwdriver slot trick. If that doesn't work then it will have to be a drill and retap. I have no way of heating up the bolt and no grinders or welders. And they seem a bit too expensive for my budget. I will agree with you that the tools are going to be more of an investment, i'd rather spend some more money and get something i can use again and again instead of a one off thing. Edit: Yes I did buy the JUST frame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Don't use WD40 use a penetrating oil otherwise you will be there till hell freezes over, as dt says heat - more heat and just a little bit more heat, getting the picture? Then grab it with the biggest pair of mole grips and pray it don't shear off, leave the fluid on for a good day or 2 and keep giving it a squirt every so often. Surprisingly enough if you can tighten it a tad before you loosen it that sometimes helps as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnorDTR Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 What's your recommendation on a penetrating oil? Also think there may be a heat gun in the shed, worth a go heating it up with that? Thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dt502001 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Buy a MAP gas torch hand held not much more than a propane 20 -30 bucks, but heats better/ faster,will heat it up red hot just will take longer than oxy/ax.Heat gun will take forever and cost a fortune in elec. The guys here swear by' plus gas" penetrating oil,don't get it here but must work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Yes as above PLUS GAS and a butane torch, don't heat the frame if you can help it just the area around the hut and bolt, heating the frame can warp it, even just a little can make getting bolts back in a right bastard. Just look up plus gas on google it comes in spray and the old fashioned tin. Should also have added that it pays to heat the part just before you try to take it off and then give it a squirt to drive the fluid home, sort of capillary action, so as it's cooling squirt it then grab it and GENTLY wiggle it back and forth, sounds like a girl I used to know, Oh wrong forum!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadley8899 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Got alot of work in front of you Just so you know i have a fair few DT parts which i accumulated doing my dt project so if you need anything give me a quick shout All the best 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnorDTR Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Seems like a good investment in a mapp torch and plus gas is in need. Hahaha Slice! I suppose any information is appreciated . Cheers Hadley, may need to take you up on some parts when it comes to them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnorDTR Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Small update time, nothing interesting here. So I decided to do some more work on the swingarm. Just removing bearings and bushings from the swing arm, actually turned out to be quite a hard job. So these are the swingarm bearings, these actually didn't turn out to be too hard to change. A few hits from a hammer with the aid of a spark plug socket to hit on the edge of the bearing and they came free Reusing these bearings is out of the question, but i planned to change every bearing whilst it was apart anyway. That's the point of rebuilding a bike right? Now came the fun part of this evening, removing these bushes. I had previously tried to get these out with a screwdriver and hammer. But no luck. So back refueled and with a little google knowledge i had a new plan of attack Instead of just trying to straight hit them with a screwdriver and hope they get pushed out, i found out that you have to actually split the bush in half so it releases the tension of the bush pushing up against the swingarm. So after cutting a slot with a hacksaw blade and mauling it with a screwdriver i finally got the bushes out. So the hydraulic press at college is going to come in handy if they let me use... so will the sandblaster Sorry this one wasn't exactly too interesting, but that will come when i get paid... at the end of this month 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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