A fellow rider is in the final stages of preparation before embarking on an epic solo journey to the most remote region in the northeaster corner of the continent -- the Labrador Peninsula. Check out Keith's blog here http://labrador2011.blogspot.com/ and join me in wishing him a great trip, along with a safe return.
About Me
- Henry Martin
- Henry Martin spends his nights writing fiction and poetry, which predominately deals with the often-overlooked aspects of humanity. He is the author of three novels: Escaping Barcelona, Finding Eivissa, and Eluding Reality; a short story collection, Coffee, Cigarettes, and Murderous Thoughts; and a poetry collection, The Silence Before Dawn. His most recent published project is a collection of Photostories in five volumes under the KSHM Project umbrella, for which he collaborated with Australian photographer Karl Strand, combining one of a kind images with short stories and vignettes. He is currently working on his next novel narrated in two opposing points of view. He lives with his family in the Northeast.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
CB750F Project: Part VII
I finally made some progress.
After messing with paint for weeks, I started on partial reassembly today.
First on the chopping block were the front forks. The seals did not leak, but since I had it apart, I decided to replace them anyway. And a good decision it was. The seals in there were probably the original set, and they were extremely hard. It took a few shots of PB Blaster and a warm cloth on the exterior, along with heavy prying to get them out. After that, I washed all parts with a solvent (I used brake cleaner, taking care not to damage O-rings and plastic rings), then blew out debris with compressed air, wiped everything clean, and reassembled. Damper-rod bolts received new copper washers, and a thin coat of RTV sealant.
I then reinstalled the centerstand in the frame, and proceeded with engine installation. I still have to do valves, take off side covers for polishing, and a few other things, but working on the engine will be easier if it is in the frame instead of laying on the floor. Engine installation is usually a 2-3 men job, but since the frame was completely stripped, I was able to position the engine on a piece of foam insulation (2" board, to prevent damage), set the approximate angle at which it rests in the frame, and slide the frame over/under it. It took a lot of careful wiggling and moving around, but I was able to set it just right. I then attached the engine to the frame and torqued all fasteners to the rights specs. With front forks installed, it was easy to lift the rear and kick the centerstand down, thus resting the frame with engine in it in the upright position.
To prevent the frame from falling forward while working on the rear, I temporarily reinstalled the front wheel. This allows the frame to stand up on the centerstand without falling over.
I then reinstalled the rear swingarm, with fresh lube of course. At this point -- engine mounted, steering head installed, front forks fixed and installed, swingarm installed, the rear shocks installed -- I attached the new handlebars and the fuse block.
Being nosy, I mocked up the tank and the tail section, which in turn allowed me to put the seatpan in place, and mark where I need to fabricate its fastening system. At the same time, I marked where to cut the seat foam, and next week I'll start on completing the seat.
After messing with paint for weeks, I started on partial reassembly today.
First on the chopping block were the front forks. The seals did not leak, but since I had it apart, I decided to replace them anyway. And a good decision it was. The seals in there were probably the original set, and they were extremely hard. It took a few shots of PB Blaster and a warm cloth on the exterior, along with heavy prying to get them out. After that, I washed all parts with a solvent (I used brake cleaner, taking care not to damage O-rings and plastic rings), then blew out debris with compressed air, wiped everything clean, and reassembled. Damper-rod bolts received new copper washers, and a thin coat of RTV sealant.
I then reinstalled the centerstand in the frame, and proceeded with engine installation. I still have to do valves, take off side covers for polishing, and a few other things, but working on the engine will be easier if it is in the frame instead of laying on the floor. Engine installation is usually a 2-3 men job, but since the frame was completely stripped, I was able to position the engine on a piece of foam insulation (2" board, to prevent damage), set the approximate angle at which it rests in the frame, and slide the frame over/under it. It took a lot of careful wiggling and moving around, but I was able to set it just right. I then attached the engine to the frame and torqued all fasteners to the rights specs. With front forks installed, it was easy to lift the rear and kick the centerstand down, thus resting the frame with engine in it in the upright position.
To prevent the frame from falling forward while working on the rear, I temporarily reinstalled the front wheel. This allows the frame to stand up on the centerstand without falling over.
I then reinstalled the rear swingarm, with fresh lube of course. At this point -- engine mounted, steering head installed, front forks fixed and installed, swingarm installed, the rear shocks installed -- I attached the new handlebars and the fuse block.
Being nosy, I mocked up the tank and the tail section, which in turn allowed me to put the seatpan in place, and mark where I need to fabricate its fastening system. At the same time, I marked where to cut the seat foam, and next week I'll start on completing the seat.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
CB750F Project: Part VI
Summer is here, and with it school vacation, family vacations, and a lot of work around the house. Needless to say, I'm not getting much of project time these days.
After what seems to be weeks of sanding, filling, fiberglassing, prepping, fixing user errors, more filling, more prepping, and more sanding, I'm finally seeing something.
The giant heat wave combined with humidity above 80% has made painting almost impossible (especially since I'm using lacquer), so everything is taking much longer than expected. The parts pictured are not completely done yet -- I'm waiting for the first clearcoat to fully dry before wetsanding and applying more clear. Thus, the orange peel in the pics. (currently the tailsection is base coat only waiting to be wet-sanded, while the tank has a coat of clear). After I lay down enough layers of clear, sand, rub, and buff, parts should look much better.
PS- the white line appears crooked to the left, but it is only the angle, along with a crappy camera.
After what seems to be weeks of sanding, filling, fiberglassing, prepping, fixing user errors, more filling, more prepping, and more sanding, I'm finally seeing something.
The giant heat wave combined with humidity above 80% has made painting almost impossible (especially since I'm using lacquer), so everything is taking much longer than expected. The parts pictured are not completely done yet -- I'm waiting for the first clearcoat to fully dry before wetsanding and applying more clear. Thus, the orange peel in the pics. (currently the tailsection is base coat only waiting to be wet-sanded, while the tank has a coat of clear). After I lay down enough layers of clear, sand, rub, and buff, parts should look much better.
PS- the white line appears crooked to the left, but it is only the angle, along with a crappy camera.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
CB750F Project: Part V
A short update on the CB750F saga:
I spent the last week sanding, prepping, cleaning, and taking things apart. When I bought this bike, I told my better half that it will be a winter project. Well, three weeks into it, I've been spending every night in the garage working on this and that, and my better half is getting annoyed. Perhaps even rightfully so.
Well, I keep telling her that I need to get all the painting done while the weather is warm, and that I will (likely) put things aside once that part is done. Nevertheless, as you probably know, dealing with an old motorcycle has its own challenges, and things never go as planned. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.) Still, I've been trying to stay true to my words, so I disassembled the entire bike, and started working on the paint scheme.
The frame presented one of the biggest challenges to date. Not only is it huge (compared to my other toys), but it also has a lot of welds, angles, and little crevices where rust tries to hide. While I would be happy to have someone sandblast and powdercoat the frame, after receiving a couple of quotes I had to abandon that idea. Powdercoating itself was expensive, and between the frame, swingarm, and a few other things, I would have to pay more than what I paid for the bike itself. The second difficulty was finding a place that would sandblast the frame, as it is larger than most of the blasting cabinets within 20 mile radius.
A week into it, however, I managed to convince my local body shop to let me use their sandblaster. Armed with a few bags of sand, I entered the blasting room with optimism. Two hours later, tired, dirty, and semi-deaf, I emerged again, holding a clean frame in my hand.
I ended up coating the frame with a white epoxy paint, and it is now hanging outside while I bring the garage to its former clean status so my better half can finally park there again.
In the mean time, my rear springs came back from the powdercoater, and they look like new. I can't wait to get my shocks painted, so I can reassemble them with those springs.
I spent the last week sanding, prepping, cleaning, and taking things apart. When I bought this bike, I told my better half that it will be a winter project. Well, three weeks into it, I've been spending every night in the garage working on this and that, and my better half is getting annoyed. Perhaps even rightfully so.
Well, I keep telling her that I need to get all the painting done while the weather is warm, and that I will (likely) put things aside once that part is done. Nevertheless, as you probably know, dealing with an old motorcycle has its own challenges, and things never go as planned. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.) Still, I've been trying to stay true to my words, so I disassembled the entire bike, and started working on the paint scheme.
The frame presented one of the biggest challenges to date. Not only is it huge (compared to my other toys), but it also has a lot of welds, angles, and little crevices where rust tries to hide. While I would be happy to have someone sandblast and powdercoat the frame, after receiving a couple of quotes I had to abandon that idea. Powdercoating itself was expensive, and between the frame, swingarm, and a few other things, I would have to pay more than what I paid for the bike itself. The second difficulty was finding a place that would sandblast the frame, as it is larger than most of the blasting cabinets within 20 mile radius.
A week into it, however, I managed to convince my local body shop to let me use their sandblaster. Armed with a few bags of sand, I entered the blasting room with optimism. Two hours later, tired, dirty, and semi-deaf, I emerged again, holding a clean frame in my hand.
I ended up coating the frame with a white epoxy paint, and it is now hanging outside while I bring the garage to its former clean status so my better half can finally park there again.
In the mean time, my rear springs came back from the powdercoater, and they look like new. I can't wait to get my shocks painted, so I can reassemble them with those springs.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
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