Kiwi Canuck tries his Luck with a Six Fiddy

[steve murdoch]

The Gibbs product certainly has great reviews on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Gibbs-Brand-Lubricant-2-12oz-cans/dp/B00AFJXIJQ

I don't see how paint would adhere after the surface has been treated.
Looking forward to your follow-up.

[Kiwi Canuck]

This is going to be gorgeous.

Small nitpick re. ultrasonic:



1. You can use an old tea sieve or similar to hold parts too small for the basket.
2. When using heating, always fill to the mark. The heating element on many of these cleaners is mounted on the side of the tub; if there's no water next to it, there's a risk of overheating it (Details of course depend on the construction of your particular model).

Thanks for the tips, not sure about the heater element(s) re; water level, but I ran out of distilled water for this batch, I have since filled it to the top.

A mechanic friend suggested that I can put all the small parts in a ziploc baggie filled with solution and toss it in the tank as well, but I'm probably going to make or buy a small stainless mesh basket for the small parts.

Cheers.

David

[steve murdoch]

I have used tea leaf holders like this for small bits.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Stainless-Steel-Mesh-Tea-Balls-With-Chain-Al-De-Chef-/311866175698?hash=item489cac30d2:g:OYoAAOSwR29ZEBC~

[roeme]

I have used tea leaf holders like this for small bits.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Sta...oAAOSwR29ZEBC~

Same here.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I love before and after shots, so here's one of each.





Actually those are not the same covers, the polished one is my new ebay purchase as the original one had a little too much road rash to repair.

[dorkburger]

Regarding the VHT chassis paint.. forgive my lack of proper painting terms, but how well does it cover, build or whatever the term may be? I may have a frame lined up, and it will be painted black before the swap -1150s are silver as you know. I used the VHT epoxy on my wheels and it took a lot of coats to cover the bare aluminum parts. I'm thinking its either peculiar to the epoxy or to do with painting the bare aluminum.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Glen, VHT is excellent in my opinion, each paint type is different, some require undercoat and others can be applied to bare metal.

I always read the instructions on each can to verify which method is recommended.

None of their paints will cover imperfections without telegraphing, so prep and using an undercoat and sanding it to smooth out any imperfections before final coats will provide a much nicer looking finish.

What I find works well is 2 light coats, (very light) to lay down a base, about 5-10 mins apart, (more time if it's cool out) then the final coat as the wet coat to make it shine and give it some depth.

About the only place I use gloss is on the frame, satin finish everywhere else as the amount of work between a good finish for gloss versus satin is quite a lot, and I love the satin finish from VHT.

BTW I have had issues with paint coverage when the surface is not clean, or there is something impregnated into the metal that makes the paint not want to stick, happened on a brake caliper on one bike, I cleaned that part 3-4 times before I got it to cover fully, I wonder if that was the issue with your rims. (I've heard that some paint strippers leave a residue that must be removed fully before painting and are really tough to eliminate 100%)

Nice to hear that you may have a new frame lined up.

What are your plans regarding the VIN number/sticker, getting a new one or re-registering the bike?

Regards,

David.

[dorkburger]

Thanks for the info David.
On my rims, I scrubbed them with green Scotchbrite pads, and hit the bare aluminum with 360 grit (I think) sandpaper and soap, and then rinsed, brushed, rinsed some more. The can stated that no primer is needed. Hindsight tells me that perhaps it was intended for pervoisly painted surfaces, as the can shows a car strut on it....
The only spots that I had problems with, and they were very small, were the sharp edges on the spokes. Certainly not enough in my opinion to warrant a do over.

The frame in question has a title, so I'll transfer the title to my name asap, then transfer registration when the time comes. Im curious to find out which year my 85 1150 will end up.... im hoping for an 85-86 so at least I'll get a spare 3.5" rear wheel. Its a weathered roller thats fairly complete, so im hoping to get good fairing brackets as a bonus.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Got a little painting started today, these things are hardly worth cleaning and painting but forgot to order them (twice) so I cleaned them up and gave them a shot of paint, (Bumper Chrome)



Also started on the brake calipers,




Used VHT Caliper paint in Satin finish.

[Charlie G]

I need to get some of this! Look'n nice.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I need to get some of this! Look'n nice.

That is nice paint for sure, here they are with the final coat.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Got a few more pieces done.

I've found a pretty neat way to mask calipers and any round hole, I use the packing material from a PC box, like this.




I use a utility knife to cut pieces that are about 1/2" too big and stuff it in the holes, I use a screw driver to make it fit in there nicely.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Got the engine prepped and painted, only had 1/2 can of VHT SP127 Universal Aluminum left over so I used VHT undercoat and a VHT caliper paint in Cast Aluminum.

They do not sell the SP127 in Canada so I will need to order some more from the USA, last time I bought a few cans about 4 years ago and they lasted until now.

Here she is starting to look better after the first coat of primer.




Now a few coats of VHT Cast Aluminum SP735 (CSP735 in Canada)





For the final coat I'll use the SP127. (or maybe not as that looks pretty nice the way it is)

[Kiwi Canuck]

Big Red showed up unexpectedly, last night when I arrived home he was in my garage parking spot.

Well it seems I had "offered" to look at a neighbours friends Honda a while back as it wouldn't start.

So he dropped it around yesterday while I was out and my boys had him put it in my garage.

I finally got his number and I called him tonight to find out what the issue was and how long since the bike ran.

Stopped running last Oct, Honda dealers won't touch it, has had 2 people look at it and they diagnosed as no spark, he has replaced the ignition coil, CDI unit and spark plug.

I tested the magneto coil (exciter coil) and the reading I got was way off the spec so I've ordered a new unit and a gasket kit, so hopefully that's the issue.




The exciter coil is the long one on the right side and supplies power to the ignition system, the other ones supply power for lights and battery etc.




Hopefully back to the GS650 soon, been busy lately.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Big Red got fixed, it was the exciter coil that was faulty and the new one resolved the issue.

Those things are fast , and pretty dangerous for a motorcycle rider to try out, as you don't lean like a bike you basically do the opposite and lean outwards when turning, almost bailed into some bushes on my first ride.

It was nice to give it back to the owner who was very appreciative as he had almost given up on getting it running after the dealer declined and 2 other people failed to figure out the issue.

More lucky than good, but happy I had a little experience with the Honda CT110's and the info on this forum has helped for sure.

The guy who owns Big red is a farmer and runs about 3500 free range chickens, so they dropped off a flat of very large eggs (half of which were double yokes) which was a nice treat and said anytime you want eggs feel free to drop by.

OK back to the six fiddy thread.

David.