1980 GS1000S Progress!!

[nvr2old]

Cont.... Tank had the normal 5-6 dings and small dents..all gone.

This baby is straight, man...

Fender, side covers and tail section..

Should have the blue on by Saturday, white a couple days after that..

Just because there was room for another pic, and for blatant self-promotion....a 1990 Honda RC30 waiting in the wings for base coats..cool bikes to be working on, eh? Joe's VFR is next..oh boy!

 

[Vmass]

Looking Good.

Looking Good.

Coming along nice, Larry.

Glad to see you have a back log of work.....do you paint anything other than bikes?

 

[nvr2old]

Coming along nice, Larry.

Glad to see you have a back log of work.....do you paint anything other than bikes?

I've been very fortunate in the past year to stay working on 4-6 bikes at any given time. Many of them from members of this site. Along with yours, I have Joe's VFR, the RC30, another Wes Cooley, a vintage Triumph, a mid 70's Honda 750F, and a late model Moto Guzzi I'm working on right now, with a '79 CBX coming in after Thanksgiving. I just do bikes. I like it that way. Cars take up too much space and cost a fortune to do. Thanks again for your support, Rich.

 

[rustybronco]

Larry is hard at work on my S parts. He was kind enough to send some progress pictures. Parts were in great shape, with only a couple of imperfections.

Cont.... Tank had the normal 5-6 dings and small dents..all gone.

Larry, I'm confused. I can see the areas you filled, I can see the areas filled by the original paint and I know how crappy the center of those tanks are made... are you being sarcastic? or am I just nuts?

 

[nvr2old]

Not sure what you're asking. The black on top of the tank is just freshly sprayed at that point, first coat always looks a little wonky, but the tank itself is smooth as can be. No sand scratches, dings, dents, or waves at all, so I'm not sure what you're seeing.

 

[rustybronco]

Larry, sometimes I'm not so clear on what point I'm trying to get across. what I'm trying to say is, all the fill from the plastic filler and all the original paint appears to be covering more than 5 or 6 dents.

my comment had nothing to do with your paint work, which is excellent I might add.

 

[nvr2old]

Ohhhh..I think I understand what you're thinking maybe..the small round greenish blue spots on the tank is the plastic filler where the 4-5 dings were, and all the rest is still the original white paint feathered out around the filler and bare spots. I usually strip tanks, but this one was actually in excellent condition and didn't require it. I DA'd it and then primed right over it. BTW, no offense taken at all. Questions are always welcome.

 

[nvr2old]

Here's the parts with the black pinstripes and the white base coat applied. Blue and white stripes appear tomorrow.

6 hours of measuring and taping to get them all as perfect as possible..1/2 hr. of spraying..

 

[Vmass]

That is looking fantastic!!! I really appreciate you taking the time to post the progress pictures, it's really cool to see the process.

Certainly not for this bike, but that flat white appearance with the black striping is a pretty cool look on it's own.

 

[nvr2old]

That is looking fantastic!!! I really appreciate you taking the time to post the progress pictures, it's really cool to see the process.

Certainly not for this bike, but that flat white appearance with the black striping is a pretty cool look on it's own.

I really like the satin finish. When I had mine all painted and before the clear was shot on, I seriously considered leaving it that way. The only problem is, is that it looks good when it's fresh, but it's really hard to maintain..especially white..too bad, because it's such a cool look.

 

[Flyboy]

Damn Larry, your base and striping look better than my paint job, I say clear it and call it done.

Just a quick question Larry, why do you lay black before the base? Is it because black shows up the imperfections easier and better than any other colour, which make correction easy, or is there another reason?

 

[Vmass]

I really like the satin finish. When I had mine all painted and before the clear was shot on, I seriously considered leaving it that way. The only problem is, is that it looks good when it's fresh, but it's really hard to maintain..especially white..too bad, because it's such a cool look.

Maybe the next project we can come up with a satin option! It reminds me of the 2010 or 2011 Harley XR 1200, they have a satin white option.

 

[1980GS1000E]

Just about every one of these fairings I've done, mine included, all had damage in the same place..wth,,?

That is the part of the fairing that contacts the ground in a get-off.

 

[nvr2old]

Damn Larry, your base and striping look better than my paint job, I say clear it and call it done.

Just a quick question Larry, why do you lay black before the base? Is it because black shows up the imperfections easier and better than any other colour, which make correction easy, or is there another reason?

I spray the black first because it gives me a nice palette to work from. The tape is light colored so it's much easier to see when it's being applied. It also makes it easier to get them the correct width..5/16". All that's left is to then fill in the "pieces" like a jigsaw puzzle. If the black stripes are right on the money, the rest falls into place. The tank is really time-consuming. It looks like such an easy stripe pattern but to get them to narrow and bend correctly, plus be the same on both sides is surprisingly difficult. Even from the factory they're off a bit. Every one I've done has come to me with the stripes positioned differently. The stripes on the tail section of renobruce's S were off by a mile..as were the stripes where they meet at the back of the tank on this one. I have a factory template to follow, so with a little tweaking, they all now look the same. I'm pretty proud of that.

 

[nvr2old]

That is the part of the fairing that contacts the ground in a get-off.

I think what I found strange was the fact that each fairing was damaged on the same side. Seems none of them have flopped over onto the left side. Always the right side..maybe something to do with the side stand on the other side preventing it...

 

[nvr2old]

Maybe the next project we can come up with a satin option! It reminds me of the 2010 or 2011 Harley XR 1200, they have a satin white option.

A satin clear would make it do-able. You just can't wax it or rub on it too hard, otherwise it'll shine that area slightly, making it look inconsistent..but I do like the look. Here's mine with the Suzuki and Yoshimura decals.

This is after I replaced the decals with the painted graphics..mmmm..looks good in satin.

 

[Frank Z.]

I think what I found strange was the fact that each fairing was damaged on the same side. Seems none of them have flopped over onto the left side. Always the right side..maybe something to do with the side stand on the other side preventing it...

Could be that typical riders have more trouble with right hand turns (myself included), as throttle is in the "downhill" awkward position... resulting in more right side crashes???

 

[nvr2old]

Could be that typical riders have more trouble with right hand turns (myself included), as throttle is in the "downhill" awkward position... resulting in more right side crashes???

That's a good point. I'm faster through left-handers as well. :-k These all looked sorta like "driveway mishaps"... I hate that. Like when you're on the left side pushing it backwards..(with the side stand down..arrggh)..it hits, it pogos the bike to the right and then you pretending you're going to be able to hold it up once it starts to go..nooooooooo ..clunk..craaap.

 

[Vmass]

That's a good point. I'm faster through left-handers as well. :-k These all looked sorta like "driveway mishaps"... I hate that. Like when you're on the left side pushing it backwards..(with the side stand down..arrggh)..it hits, it pogos the bike to the right and then you pretending you're going to be able to hold it up once it starts to go..nooooooooo ..clunk..craaap.

I can't tell you how those scratches on the fairing got there. I haven't seen any other damage that would indicate a crash/drop. I thought it might have been a garage scrape of some sort.

The good news..... It doesn't matter now

 

[nvr2old]

I've had what I described..happen. That's how I know about that particular swift move.. It sucks, but it happens. Things get scuffed..

I just got the blue painted, Rich. Should be able to get a few clear coats on before wrapping up today.