Project Cafe

[jonesti]

This is my winter project that initially started 3years ago....no time, no money!! . It's a 79' GS550E. The wiring was/is knackered, the coils shot, fires on 3 cylinders, exhaust sounds like someone dropped a roll of dimes in each baffle, someone painted the entire engine-carb-plug wires at once with aluminum rattle can8-[ .
To do: Strip to frame, chop and brace frame, powder coat frame/swingarm/wheels, shim valves, clean and re-jet carbs, metal finish engine, paint carbs, rebuild front end, ZRX shocks(maybe looking at some Ohlins stuff to fab up), resurface and cross-drill rotors, clubman bars, master cyclinder from R6, glass up a rear cowl, House of Kolor KBC paint, Honda reg/rect., Dyna S ignt., total re-wire.....
I've got till Feb. to get this done, working Sundays only...yikes! I'll try to post up pics each Monday on the progress.

 

[Beef]

Wow looks like you def got your hands full. Keep us posted

 

[jonesti]

Sunday's work....

chop, chop

Light is right...total savings .5oz!!!! But looks trick.

Time for some powder coat

 

[jonesti]

Items of their way. Clubmans, Nissin radial master cylinder, Nissin radial front brake caliper.

 

[isaac]

Now that's what I call a naked bike. It'll be nice to see what it's like when it comes together again.

 

[bhppy101]

Keep up the pics!

 

[jonesti]

UPDATE......

Just got the powdercoated frame, swingarm, and wheels back this afternoon. AND I'M P*SSED!!!! Let me just start off by saying if you own a business act like it. Meaning...crap work is crap work. Fix it till it's right before giving it to the customer. This guy said they'd be done by the 26th. It's the holidays so some slack was in order. Ok fine, another week isn't long. Besides most of my parts are on backorder.
On to the work itself....Honestly, I've done better work with Krylon in a dusty garage. Here's a xr50 I did with Krylon. You can't see in the pic but the frame(apple red), wheels and engine were spray can painted glass smooth.

The frame has runs and more debri in it then I can count. The swingarm is coated so thin that you can see 600 grit sand marks. The wheels, lord the wheels had 2 coats, according to the owner, applied. There are what appear to be fisheyes(where paint and usually grease interact while painting) all over. And on the lips it'll be glassy for about an inch or two, to a rough thin layer that has a flat texture and appearnce.
He didn't high temp tape up any of the places that I said was imparative to do. Now I get to spend the next week with a dremel and tap cleaning out the crappy powdercoating.
I'm some what anal about these things and this just really irks me. Granted the bike was never going to be in the Concour de' Elegance, but I take a ton of pride in things I build. Hell that 50's carb, intake, valve caps, brake lever and kicker where all hand polished to a mirror finish and it's a friggin 50. And when people look at my work I don't want them thinking "Wow he spent a alot of time on this but why the ass powdercoat...."
I'll try to post pics Tuesday if I can stomach going into the garage!!!

 

[jonesti]

I little bath never hurt anyone!!

 

[UncleMike]

Lookin' better.

 

[Commodus]

UPDATE......

Just got the powdercoated frame, swingarm, and wheels back this afternoon. AND I'M P*SSED!!!! Let me just start off by saying if you own a business act like it. Meaning...crap work is crap work. Fix it till it's right before giving it to the customer. This guy said they'd be done by the 26th. It's the holidays so some slack was in order. Ok fine, another week isn't long. Besides most of my parts are on backorder.
On to the work itself....Honestly, I've done better work with Krylon in a dusty garage. Here's a xr50 I did with Krylon. You can't see in the pic but the frame(apple red), wheels and engine were spray can painted glass smooth.

The frame has runs and more debri in it then I can count. The swingarm is coated so thin that you can see 600 grit sand marks. The wheels, lord the wheels had 2 coats, according to the owner, applied. There are what appear to be fisheyes(where paint and usually grease interact while painting) all over. And on the lips it'll be glassy for about an inch or two, to a rough thin layer that has a flat texture and appearnce.
He didn't high temp tape up any of the places that I said was imparative to do. Now I get to spend the next week with a dremel and tap cleaning out the crappy powdercoating.
I'm some what anal about these things and this just really irks me. Granted the bike was never going to be in the Concour de' Elegance, but I take a ton of pride in things I build. Hell that 50's carb, intake, valve caps, brake lever and kicker where all hand polished to a mirror finish and it's a friggin 50. And when people look at my work I don't want them thinking "Wow he spent a alot of time on this but why the ass powdercoat...."
I'll try to post pics Tuesday if I can stomach going into the garage!!!

Yeah, I've had problems with powdercoaters too. It really does make a guy mad, it's not like it's cheap to get something powdercoated.

Good luck getting them to redo it well, fight the good fight!

 

[jonesti]

I'm getting over my tizzy about the powdercoat. But it seems that my scheduled completion date of Feb. is gonna be pushed back. Backorder is the new dilema. Oh well, no sense in getting my panties in a wad! Here's what I've been able to do with the lack of parts. The carbs were the only area I could complete.
Carbs: cleaned, machine finished float and top caps, re-jetted, new gaskets, bench synched

Wheels: powdercoated(badly), new bearings

Triple: machine finished, re-packed stem/head bearings

Clubmans/Brakes: test fitted, Nissin radial master cylinder from a 636(broke lever)

 

[jonesti]

Clutch Perch: also from a 636

Caliper: Tokico radial 4pot/4pad

 

[Billyboy]

Lookin' good.

 

[jonesti]

Thanks Billy!

 

[Albert257]

where did you get the replacement gaskets for your carbs?

 

[beergood]

I started stripping my top yoke today so that I could paint it some time next week. That idea is out the window now. That thing is getting polished.

Lookin good so far.

 

[jonesti]

Albert check out these two links they should fix ya right up! http://www.z1enterprises.com/
http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/

 

[jonesti]

Beergood, I was stripping the upper and lower triple to paint too and the idea came to me after seeing how rough the casting was on the upper. I figured I wouldn't get the finish I was after by just painting. To polish, it'll take a ton of sanding because of the quality of the casting but it can be done. Mines not really polished but more of a brushed finish, I call a metal finish. The picture makes it look shiny but it's more of a statin look, same as the carb float bowls and caps. My engine will, is, being done in a similiar manner. Basically, sand with 400grit then take a wire wheel bush to it at a certain angle as not to mar it terribly.

 

[jonesti]

Been sometime since the last post. All I've done is rebuilt the forks with new Progressive spings and started working on shimming the valves. The gasket on the valve cover is being a complete pain to get off. Of all the bikes and cars I've worked on this gasket has been the most stuborn!

Parts paid for but yet to arrive: ZRX1200 KYB Shocks, 2003 GSXR 1000 300mm front rotor to match up to the Tokico caliper. '

Sunday plans are to paint the forks, brake torque arm and test fit the suspension(if it arrived when I get home). Pics on Monday.

 

[jonesti]