It just looks like trash!

[Easter]

Used an old throttle cable with an electric drill and managed after an hour or so to get the supply tubes cleaned out sufficiently to flow water. Also took apart the petcock and scraped it clean. The PO had purchased Randakk's rebuild kit so my petcock is ready to go back on if I can get the gunk out of the tank. Will give acetone a go.
Thanks.

[wingrider]

Glad to hear you were able to open them up. I got tied up, but had found a thread that talked about using an old cable.

I hope the Acetone will work....nothing worse than going through all the work, only to find it won't work for your application.

[Easter]

My wife still thinks it looks like trash! Women just don't have much imagination! Wanted to get a feel for the stance of the bike with the new forks, wheels and tail piece. I will have to do some cutting on the frame and the tail piece but I think it is going to work. Also note my new 43 mm clip-on bars that turned out to be 45 mm! Fit is a little sloppy. If any of you Hyabusa guys need 45mm clip-ons I can make you a really good deal. I think they are unused.

[wingrider]

That Comstar actually doesn't look to bad with that CB front wheel....helps that they are shiny.

[Easter]

That Comstar actually doesn't look to bad with that CB front wheel....helps that they are shiny.

Yes, I have been debating about whether to powder coat the front wheel to match the Comstar or to make them both black with maybe a gold pen stripe. At this point I am thinking gloss black for the tank and panels. Have to finalize a plan soon because I can't go much further without starting to paint and powder coat.

[Easter]

Saturday was a beautiful day and I was able to spend almost the whole day on the '75. Primed and painted the engine, reinstalled the starter and fuel pump and continued my efforts to refurbish the fuel tank. I settled on rattle-can Rustoleum engine paint in a silver color that is very nearly the original engine color. Head covers and belt covers to be black powder coat. I got brave and cut off the frame ears behind the shock mounts. Now the seat and tail peace fits good. I ordered a different set of clip-on bars since the first ones were 45mm instead of 43mm as advertised.

Sunday was a long ride in the Texas hill country, unfortunately a cold front came through with strong north winds and temps back down in the 40's. And that after temps in the high 80's most of last week. Still, it was a fun day.

[Easter]

Well, another Saturday has come and gone. I spent a good part of today stripping the paint from the frame with aircraft stripper and a wire wheel on my angle grinder (just a little scary! but effective) Still took several hours but just at dusk I washed it down for the final time. I removed the brackets for the center stand and cut the ears off the rear of the frame. Spent about $300 on painting supplies so I need to get this right! I haven't done any painting with a gun for more years than I want to admit and everything is different now. Fortunately the folks at the paint dealership in San Antonio were very helpful and walked me all through what I needed for the first couple stages. Below are a couple of boring photos but they do show "progress".

And before anyone comments, that is not the permanent location for that fork leg, just a handy prop.

[Easter]

Also today I picked up the second of my timing belts and installed it. Note that I followed Octanes advice and recorded the date the belts were installed. Mileage is unknown so I didn't include that.

The main reason I wanted to mention the belts is to comment that they seem to be getting scarce. My parts store was able to get one from Dallas and the second from Denver. In both cases the warehouses only had one belt. These are the Gates belts and have been easy to get in the past. I don't know if this is just a coincidence or if Gates only runs them periodically or worst of all, no longer makes them but anyway, I hope they don't become like a lot of the other Gold wing parts and hard to locate.

[Roady]

You're showing some good progress there.

I wouldn't worry about the belts, they have a number of other applications.

[Easter]

My wife is away for the weekend so this seemed like a good opportunity to redecorate the kitchen. The nights have had a lot of dew lately so I didn't want rust forming on my freshly cleaned frame. Hope to get the epoxy primer on today but it is a busy day so don't know if it will happen.

[joedrum]

looks good in the house ...hmmmm wing art for the house hmmm i might try that just to get kicked a little

[Easter]

Yes, it does look nice there. Maybe I should title this thread "It just looks like sculpture".

Today was interesting! Ever try to paint outdoors in a wind gusting from 15 to 20 mph? Well, against my better judgement I did. The forecast is for wind all week and with the frame bare I felt I really needed to get the primer on. Usually the breeze or even the wind is a welcome thing while working in the carport in the Texas heat but painting is a challenge.

I erected a bit of a wind brake, suspended the frame from the rafters and using a HVLP gun that let me get in to about 8 inches I was able to do an acceptable job. Some parts are a little thin and I will need to give it a second coat but all in all I am pleased. I was surprised at how glossy black this primer is. Looks like a finish coat. It will be really difficult when I put the urethane over it to tell if I have covered everything.

[Snake Plissken]

Looks like you're making great progress. Hat's off to you painting in the wind. I'd surely have made a mess of things.

[evilratwing]

Also today I picked up the second of my timing belts and installed it. Note that I followed Octanes advice and recorded the date the belts were installed. Mileage is unknown so I didn't include that.

The main reason I wanted to mention the belts is to comment that they seem to be getting scarce. My parts store was able to get one from Dallas and the second from Denver. In both cases the warehouses only had one belt. These are the Gates belts and have been easy to get in the past. I don't know if this is just a coincidence or if Gates only runs them periodically or worst of all, no longer makes them but anyway, I hope they don't become like a lot of the other Gold wing parts and hard to locate.

I ordered mine from Amazon... didn't seem to have any trouble finding them?

[Easter]

It took a week but the wind finally died down a bit and I got the frame and tank painted with black urethane enamel over the epoxy primer, turned out nice. Wheels and engine covers are off for powder coating. After much deliberation, I selected a bright metallic silver. I am hoping the maintenance will be lower than polished aluminum. I hope to start putting it back together tonight after work. Starting with the frame "into the engine".
I just hope I have all the bolts and brackets, since someone else took it apart.