A bit more work done

Over the past week or so some more minor work has been done to Vicky. As the paint used has been an acryllic enamel of sorts, all parts painted to date have been left to dry good and hard. The last couple of days a few parts here and there have been sanded down with wet-n-dry paper to get ready for the next coat. There have been some runs so those will be all taken care of prior to the next coat. Also, today it was decided to try and take the cranckcase bearings out. But instead of the old tried and true method of bunging the cases in the oven to roast for a wee bit, something else was tried. A heat gun from Home Depot was used to locally heat the areas where the bearings lived. A few minutes and some taps with a BFH and an appropriate sized socket did the trick. While Bodger was on a roll, the long cylinder studs were replaced as one had a slight bend near the threads at the top. Figured just replace them all and be done with it. The dishwasher was employed to do some cranckcase washing. Put one half in, used some dish soap, turned it on, went aboot doing something important like watching a movie while it went through the cycles. BIG MISTAKE!!!! Don't think the dishwasher had been used in quite some time along with maybe a little too much dish soap as the floor was covered in soap suds. Thought the place had gone Titanic at first but it wasn't as bad as it looked. But in future will clean things the old fashioned way by using plenty of grease, steel wool and brake cleaner, More rubbing down of painted parts will carry on while it's cool right now and the second coat applied when it warms up some before it really gets cold here. We just had a cold front move in from somewhere which dropped temps down fron the high 80s mid 90s to in the mid 50s these past few days. Loved it, but not good for painting things in a garage as it tends to have an effect on the paint and it's drying. Also went to a local Oktobeerfest a few miles away along with a wine fest in another town so teri and Bodger both could relax and unwind from the stresses of the salt mines we both are obliged to toil at. Ah well, work continues.

Paint it black......

Yes, that is the title of a Stones tune and also what I did to a few parts as of late. Seeing how the compressor had to stay at the old location and the hard earned is being used for parts obtaining, it was decided to go the traditional route and paint by hand. Horror, Eek, Are you insane? and other descriptive adjectives I hear you utter in disbelief. But it's true. Started out by doing the frame a few weeks back and today, a few other bits. Later some other parts will get the treatment as well. So far so good......

The frame

Seat base

Oil tank

Skid plate This was just the first coat, put on regular without being thinned down some. After sanding down with some wet-n-dry paper, two more coats will be added but cut by 50% each coat. All this while listening to Radio Caroline CDs to get in that "working in the shed" mode..... Meanwhile, more parts have been got such as the clutch/brake/decompressor cables, the phosphor bronze bushing for the little end, the rubber grommet where the wiring harness goes into the headlight shell, complete plug wire stuff as well as the wee rubber grommit that is in the crankcase for the alternator wire to pass through. More parts of the jigsaw puzzle to get while the paint dries as well as trying to get the forks completely apart. It goes on.............

A celebrity

Back about 18 months ago, March 28, 2011 to be exact there was a posting on here about my mate Kawa/Iain (his Sunday name) at a Scottish show, with an actual picture.

Well sir, Kawa has done it again and is in this months issue of "Practical Sportsbikes".

Seems there was a section there on AMA replica machines and their owners and Kawa has one whole page to himself to include a picture of him himself.

If you want to know more, go down to your local bookstore (Barnes and Noble) and buy one. Don't stand there and read it for free, buy one!

It's not the library ya know!!!!!!

Painting prep

Yesterday while out and about, a trip to ye olde paint shoppe was made and the stuff to do the painting, paint itself for the frame, a gallon of thinners, some small mixing cups and brushes were bought.

After talking to the mannie in the shop and explaining what was to take place, namely the painting by hand of the frame and other parts, he suggested that some type of alkyd based paint be used.

Said paint doesn't need a catalyst but needs some work to apply. So a quart was got and will be used.

The frame and a few sundry bits were already sprayed with an etching primer and then with a coat of a filler/gray primer combination and the frame hung in the garage for the painting.

The sundry bits such as swing arm, oil tank, battery tray etc will be hung on wires from the garage door tracks. The frame is hanging from chains and s-hooks from the tracks already.

Small turnbuckle type fasteners were used to support the rear frame assembly while a long eye-bolt was put throught the headstock and then hung by chain.

The large eye-bolt has two large flat washers and a couple of nuts to keep everything in place and secure. Also should keep any paint from inside the head stock and bearing races.

A little bit of work on the fork sliders has gone on. Seems that rust has taken it's toll and made things difficult but it'll get done.

Here's a useful tip.....for working with delicate things such as aluminum, some type of soft holder needs to be used in a vise. If you don't have any and need some for a quick job, a pair of aluminum beer cans can be used.

A pair of Guinness cans were used for the forks. The small round white thing was found inside the can. A drink and a prize, can't beat it!

As the weather is a little cooler today, there's a good possibility that the frame may get painted tomorrow. There may be a chance of rain so we'll see.