650 Katana - from basket case to... time will tell!

[SVSooke]

Just about there!Open a new tab for the PB,click the IMG and when it flashes a yellow copied come here and paste it.Opps got one wrong but...............

[Cyrano]

Nice job with frame, Ian, keep it up.

[IanW]

Thank you all for your kind comments, and also for the help with the photo uploading!
I WILL get the hang of it soon!

[Higgibaby]

Frame looks great!!

[GateKeeper]

Da one that was missed.....LOL

[60ratrod]

Ian, if you were here in the states, i'd send you my spare 650g signal generator.

[SVSooke]

Well, here we go!
Here's some truly horrible "before" pictures. Wish me luck!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]37944[/ATTACH]

Dude you are a man after my own heart.Looks like something I'd drag home

[IanW]

Ian, if you were here in the states, i'd send you my spare 650g signal generator.

Thanks for the thought man...

Luckily I've found one on ebay, and it's on its way.

As I mentioned earlier we've had one postal workers' strike after another for the past year or so, which has left our whole postal service in chaos. So I hope it gets here!

[IanW]

Just sorting out a few photos. Here's a before and after of the instrument cluster.



And this next one amazes me.
Here are two identical cam chains - one in reasonable condition, and the other badly stretched. I can hardly believe how much the one chain has stretched.

[IanW]

And here's my nice shiny re-conditioned crank with the 0.5mm U/S big end bearings. Hope it holds up!

[GS-cafe]

looking good!,

its almost scary how far that chain stretched ..

[IanW]

It's been a while since I updated this thread, but the restoration has been progressing slowly and steadily.
So now I thought it about time to post some updates.

Here is a picture of some stages in restoring the tank.




The tank currently looks like this...



Next stage is the clear coat.

Using a similar method, I fixed up the side covers.



You will probably notice that I used more of a blood red than the orangey-red used on the original.
This was partly accidental as it was the only red caliper paint that I could get, but then I decided I preferred it so I've used it all over the bike, such as in the discs in this next picture.




Finally, a tip from me to the forum.

If you are having trouble with those finicky jobs, such as swapping out cam shims, and in particular getting the cable tie under the valve (if you are using that method), then my advice is:

Use your eight-year old !!!



Have a great day,

Ian

[2BRacing]

Excellent job you have done so far, Ian! Did you do the paint yourself? Your bike is going to look like new!

[steve murdoch]

Nice seeing the progress.
An excellent way to spend time with your son.

[IanW]

Nice seeing the progress.
An excellent way to spend time with your son.

That's for sure - one of the main reasons for doing this project in the first place. He's enjoying it almost as much as his @!#$%! computer games!!

Excellent job you have done so far, Ian! Did you do the paint yourself? Your bike is going to look like new!

Thanks!
Yes I did all the work at home, it was fairly straightforward, just very finicky cutting out the stencils. Trick is to go slow. As with most jobs on the bike I suppose!