its a Dutch Cafe...

[GS-cafe]

a small update..

started the bodywork, the dent in the tank came out pretty decent, used just a small amount of filler compared to the 1/2 inch of filler that was on there..









after that some wet sanding and then it was time for the color, i chose an Audi color, sort of brown/orange-ish metallic




looking pretty!

[GS-cafe]

after that it was time for something i have never done before.. goldleaf..

i used some fine-line tape, layed out 3 line and after that removed the middle line..





then the goldleaf.. here it is already with a clear coat over it.




painted the tank and seat covers black



soon some outlines and more goldleaf on the seat..

[ShadowFocus603]

Absolutely stunning. Looks great. Love that color.

[Good Times]

wow you are a true craftsman

[mikerophone]

Nice work! Digging the way you are going about this. Looks like you do a little bit of everything - weld, paint, fab, wire, not just a wrench, I take it you've done this before. Those rolled tank, side and seat covers are very cool.

Interesting font (lettering) choice on the tank. Not my cup of tea, looks a little too...perhaps...playful for me. But hey, to each his own, right? Love the color by the way. Can't wait to see the complete finished product.

[posplayr]

Looks great, I think it is going to surprise everybody with how good it looks when all done.

[jbird7262]

Everything looks great, side covers and tank panels turned out well! How long did you let your size tack up for the gold leaf? and did you turn it or just leave it as it came off the sheet. I like to turn it with a piece of velvet wrapped around a pencil eraser for that "wheel turned" effect.

[GS-cafe]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!,

@Jbird7262, i did turn it, with velvet with a piece of fabric inside it rolled up like a ball, but im gonna try with a pencil like you said...,but also found out that you have to be really gentle with it, push to hard and your through

i let the glue tack up for almost 2 hours, instructions said 1-3 hours depending on the room tempurature..

[jbird7262]

Yes, it depends on the size of the stripe your trying to get that "machine turned" look on, 1/8-1/4 the pencil eraser wrapped with velvet works good, larger areas use a larger velvet covered pad. The varigated gold would also look cool with that base color.

[GS-cafe]

got some more work done..

[GSXR7ED]

^^Now that is dedicated work. How wonderful your Cafe bike is coming to life! Thanks for the updates with pics.



Ed

[GS-cafe]

i've been busy the past few weeks..
did some more work on the GS.. its almost finished, got my buddy to do the outlines on the goldleaf and do some custom lettering on the seat.
some more clearcoat, some polishing and putting it all together.

i also needed a new fuel tap. i ordered first a universal one but that was to long, it would sit on the carbs,
found a tap ment for a Harley, made a bracket for it, and it fits perfect, i now have on/off and reserve without a need for a vacuum.

but on with the picture's

here's my buddy busy.








then some more clearcoat and putting it all on the bike..




together with my other bike..

[GS-cafe]

sanded and polished everything, looks so much better now.


made a temporary seat for it and tested it,.. it needed some adjustments on the carb. it pulled really good from idle, up to 3500 rpm then started to stumble and hestitate and from 6000rpm pulled again. i already had put in a kit from Sigma-6 , so i raised the floatlevel 2mm ,added some shims under the needles, and that solved everything, i think the better option is getting some thinner needles since they are on the lowest setting (the clips that is)

but man this is fun to ride, its a world of difference from the KTM.

i replaced the front brake cylinder with a smaller one ,from 16mm to 14mm, and now its brakes better, needs less effort , i also mounted a clutch lever from accossato, that really helped for comfort, using the clutch is so much easier now, they are a bit pricy, but in my opinion , definitly worth it..

[GS-cafe]

some more pictures,..








also drove it a lot lately,.. its real fun to drive , had some issues with the jetting/pods, a slight stumble /heasistation around 3500rpm, tried some settings with the needles, but that didn't do much,

so i ordered a stage-3 kit from dynojet and put that in,.. now its all good,.. it idles,cruises and pulls so good now!

really happy with it

[GSXR7ED]

Beautiful Ride!

Bike looks great! Glad you got the carbs sorted. Thanks for posting pics--she looks great!