This is the only original picture I have from the CL ad. The guy had painted the plastics matte black and just threw them on the bike to make it look complete. He said all it needed was the carbs and gas tank put back on.
This is how she looked once I got her home and accessed the damage. She was missing the instrument cluster, the coils were not the correct ones and the bracket was missing, the fuel pump took a dump which I think was my fault. The carbs need a thorough cleaning, the fairing brackets were missing, the inner fairing covers were missing as well as the intake tubes, the intake boots also needed replaced, the windscreen was broken, the chain and sprockets were worn out, some of the coolant pipes were missing, she needed a battery, one of the fork seals was leaking, the tires were dry rotting, some of the fairing pieces were cracked or broken, there was misc hardware missing, the petcock needed rebuilt, the water pump needed a new gasket, the list goes on and on.
Fist thing I did was get her running so I could make sure she was worth putting the time and effort into getting her back on the road.
Then I started tearing her down.
Next I started sand blasting everything starting with the frame.
They all got a coat of rust-oleum rust reformer primer.
Then I finished them with rust-oleum truck bed liner.
Then the frame and swing arm got mated back together.
The fork lowers also got sand blasted and then painted with semi-gloss black.
The foot controls, foot pegs, rear caliper mounting bracket, handle bars, heel guards, wheels, and brake rotors also got painted in semi-gloss black.
Next I started assembling the bike further by installing wiring harness, the calipers, and then bleeding the brake system. I installed the spare wheels from the parts bike while I was working on the good wheels. She got an upgraded voltage regulator as that was one of the first things I heard should be replaced on these bikes. The fork seals got replaced and all the bearings got new grease after inspecting them.
I installed new Avon Roadrider tires. I went with a 150/70V18 on the rear and 110/ 70V17 on the front.
Then I installed the motor back into the frame as well as the gas tank. Before I put the motor back in, I checked the valve clearances. They all checked out okay.
I installed a cheap digital speedometer from ebay. I had to make a mounting bracket and welded it to the fairing bracket.
After I got her running I took her on a few test rides like this to make sure things were working alright.
After she was mechanically sound, I started working on the plastics. The upper fairing was cracked in multiple places so I used bondo glass to repair the cracks. I used a dremel to create a V shape to fill with the bondo glass. I did the same thing on both sides of the cracks. The side panels as well as one of the lowers also had some cracks that had to be repaired. After I got them all repaired, it was time for some bondo before I could start priming and painting.
After I got the body work straightened out, I did a test fit of the plastics to make sure everything lined up correctly before I started painting. I also drilled new holes for the flush mount turn signals.
Then I broke it all back down and started laying primer. This was my first time using an HVLP gun. I painted the plastics with a single stage acrylic urethane. The color is called cobalt blue firemist. I didn't realize that the paint was starting to harden and I kept spraying causing orange peel. The paint still looks really good out in the sun.
After I let the paint dry, I started assembling the plastics to the bike. I also installed mirrors with integrated turn signals. She got a new zero gravity tinted windscreen.
I ended up adding some black gloss vinyl decals to the bike.
This is how the bike sits now.
I installed leather seat covers as the rear was torn and the front was torn around the edges. The V&H SS2R can got repainted. I also put a 520 chain and sprockets on the bike. I went with 14T for the front and 47T for the rear. I also installed a clear alternatives tail light lens with red led bulbs as well as a hid head light. The carbs got a factory pro stage one jet kit as well as factory pro emulsion tubes. I did the timing advance mod as well. I've been running 93 oct in the bike and since installing the factory pro jet kit I have been getting 42-46 MPG. I also installed a ram steering stem phone mount as well as a USB/volt meter to keep track of my voltage and charge my phone. I also put some blue led's inside the lower fairings. She also got new ceramic brake pads all the way around. I hope it gets rid of my brake dust problem.
