And away we go . . . . LTD style

[Rat]

YIKES ! That's a shame. Whoda thunk it would get that bad that quickly.

Hope it comes of as easily as it went on.

Gord

[Fred Camper]

Wow, never seen one go bad so fast. At least it will not require any parts replacement but a lot of labor will certainly result. Looks like you have your wrenching stacking up high right now. No time for socializing lol.

[Dog Boy]

Looks like your pole barn became a terrarium. You stated recently poured, dont know about Ohio's code but some states allow adding NaCl to the concrete mix to prevent freezing during cure. Your pole barn atmosphere may have been "marine like" causing accelerated corrosion and rusting. Sorry for the additional labor to bring it back but know you have it in you.

Good luck
AL

[robin1731]

First, a vapor barrier under the concrete would have helped some.
Second, old floors do it too. And wooden floors also. Some of my bikes stay in a trailer. I would have the same problem, but.......... I have a fan running in there 24/7 starting about mid February. The moving air helps a lot.

Or if possible keep the place heated above freezing.

[Marc]

This is typical when storing bikes in our Oregon coastal weather. We have to spray them down with a preservative oil prior to storage or stay right on the cleaning and polishing all winter long. Storage rot has kill many fine wings!

[Jimbo1]

I live in Avon Ohio and can tell you that I've had the same experience with moisture in the garage. The garage floor begins to sweat in February. I had to wipe things down throughout that month. I'm sure that it has something to do with the freezing and thawing the subsurface. The moisture gets on everything too. So, you're certainly not alone polkadot.

[Fred Camper]

I bet several parts can be polished back up with Mothers without removal, but certainly the muffler needs to be removed and that is not my favorite job. I just installed a lifting block on an I beam in my garage roof so future muffler changes do not need to continue to be such a pita. Removal is a significant limitation of the horseshoe yet I agree with Honda that is a nice quiet low pressure drop design.

[polkadot]

OK, so I have learned my lesson. As long as I own the LTD, she will winter in the garage. Maybe even with a fan circulating the air. Anyway, I did not really count on the work, but it will give me a chance to redo a couple of things the right way. So here are a couple more "before" pictures.






So on with the "refresh" . . . I removed the muffler and headers. My powdercoater does ceramic too, so as soon as I can get them to him . . .



I also had the tell tale signs of my fuel pump going bad, so I pulled it. As expected the diaphragm is on its way out. I do not have the skills to replace it, so a new one will be ordered.


I have also started removing nuts, bolts and screws and removing the rust. Some I will paint, some I will put wax on and some I will replace with new chrome. I am also upgrading some parts with nicer parts I have since acquired. Most notably the rear blinkers. I have those all apart for cleaning, re-wiring and polishing. More later

[Rat]

Look on the bright side ..... you don't have to buy another project for a while ......

Gord

[polkadot]

Look on the bright side ..... you don't have to buy another project for a while ......

Gord

Thanks Sunshine! My next project is waiting patiently.

[polkadot]

A rainy Sunday here in NW Ohio, so I decided to spend some time on the LTD. I found a local source for my chrome parts. I removed everything from the bike that needs to be rechromed. Basically if it has rust or the chrome is completely worn off I am going to see if I can have it redone. One of the pieces that I need to replace is the center stand spring. Mine is "sprung". Does anyone have an extra that I could chrome? Let me know. Thanks





Also working on the rear turn signals. Anyone know where to find these end "connectors"?

[mopehead440]

South Mississippi is the worlds' worse enviroment for corrosion and rust. A little bit of salt, mixed in with 70-90 percent humidity. A ten dollar, oscillating fan will eliminate all these problems. I run mine 24 hours a day; it is never shut off. I usually will get better than 2 years out of a fan. Keeps any humidity from staying on your ride. Everyone used to pick at me about the power going out, and me running to crank the generator to run the fan. After they all made fun, now they all run fans 24/7! I've never been able to find any rust on any of my Wings!

Another mistake that I have witnessed on several occasions is keeping a bike covered all the time. Keeping a covered bike under a carport, or in a garage, will produced rust from one end to the other. Think "condensation". All that cover does is speed up the process. I've always said..."dust will wash off". And so it goes.........

[polkadot]

Major progress on the "Refresh" of the LTD today. Here are a couple of pics of the covers after a good wash. You can see the staining caused by the corrosion.



I purchased the 1 hp buffer by Eastwood from Sunbob a while back. I finally got around to ordering the goodies to go with it. They came on Friday, so I got her put together. What a difference this machine makes! Eye protection and a mask are a must! This machine can throw a part down on the floor in a major way! (don't ask - no harm, no foul)


While I had the timing covers off I removed the belts. They looked fine but the tensioners needed some work. They were pitted so I filed and sanded them smooth. I think that was causing the rubber dust.



I worked on the timing and valve covers and a couple other smaller pieces. They turned out beautifully! I bought some spray coating from Eastwood to try out on the covers. I will report my findings as time goes by.



Here is how she sits now. I feel much better about her now. She will definatly look better than before!

[Dog Boy]

Nice work Ern!!

AL

[Roady]

That's a lot of work for a little humidity.

Very nice result, I can't wait to see her done.