Finally - Powdercoating begins

I finally have everything sorted out and have the pile for the powder coater, so I dropped it off on Friday the 28th. Of course, as soon as I got home that night I realized I had a couple more smaller items to have them do as well - so I will need to drop off when I pick up. That is how it goes. Here is how the frame looked before powder. It is actually in pretty good shape, but very very dirty. The engine that was in this bike had an oil leak and you can see much of that on the lower portions of the frame. I am excited to see how it looks when I get it back.

I also dropped off several other items including the swingarm, triple tree, the rear grab rail, and many other small components for the frame. The dude at the powder coater commented that they don't normally get that many small parts, but it wasn't a problem. I also am having them do the master cylinders for clutch and brake, and the two brake calipers. The item I forgot to drop off were the covers for the carburetors. I have seen a set with the covers powder coated and it looks awesome. I'll bring them in when I take the luggage racks down, so it will be OK.

Yes, I said luggage racks (plural) and in this case multiple. I decided that since I can't seem to buy a used luggage rack for this this bike I will make my own. I have purchased 25 feet of 1/2 inch round solid aluminum, and some 5/8 round solid as well as some 3/16 x 2 inch flat. I have also purchased a small cutoff saw, a rod bender, and will use a solder brazing technique to make the racks. I plan to make at least three, and more if I can sell them. The last one I saw on e-Bay went for over $200, so if I can sell just one at that price I will break even. Just what I need - another project.

I also hit a minor setback this past couple of weeks dealing with paint. When I had originally purchased the bikes, they came with all of the decals to do the repaint, at least I thought. Upon review it seems I was missing both of the decals for the rear fairing. This shouldn't be a problem as they are supposedly available from Honda, but when I did the ordering I found out I can get the right one is discontinued. I have found another source that supposedly has one and have it on order with them now, so I am hopeful. That is the last item I will need for this restore before I go to paint. I did find out the label for the fuel tank and the right side cover are discontinued, and are nowhere to be found. Great! So much for authenticity.

I have ordered the remaining parts I am getting new, and have ordered from three separate vendors as the first two didn't have or couldn't get everything. I just received the orders from the first two, and you just gotta love the look of new parts in bags. Now all I need to do is remember where it all goes and I am set.

Preparing Parts for Paint and Powdercoat

I have been disassembling my latest 700 for a couple of weeks now off and on, and sorting parts into piles. One pile to go to the powder coater, one pile to the painter, and one pile for cleaning and reassembly. This part sucks because you have major decisions to make that can affect every part of the project, and you don't want to impact it negatively. I decided early on to repaint as the tank needed body work, the fairing was scraped up from a crash I am guessing, and I had decals to do all of this. I was going to paint everything including the frame, but decided to powder coat it after to talking to a painter.

I really struggled with how to redo this bike as it was in decent enough shape that with a few parts and some cleaning it would have been a decent enough bike once put back together. The downside though is that it has sat for over 10 years, so all of the seals are likely shot, the bearings likely need replacement, and the bike was dirty as heck. The motor did run though and I had run it in my first bike for about 200 miles before swapping it out because it leaked oil from a crack in the lower case.

Taking into account all of the parts I would need to put into it, I decided the bike wouldn't be worth as much as my investment if I didn't do a 100% job on the rebuild. As such I have decided to do a ground up rebuild of the bike replacing much of the worn or broken parts with new OEM parts. I decided to replace every bearing and seal on the bike including the wheels, swingarm, and head. I would make the bike as near to showroom new as possible.

I have been acquiring other as necessary, some OEM and some aftermarket. The major components I have been able to get new are as follows:

• Dynojet kit for stage 1&2
• Carburetor kits for all 4 carbs - new O-rings and float needles
• Progressive springs for the front
• K&N air filter
• New fork seals and wipers
• Front brake pads and rear brake shoes
• Kits for the master cylinders for brake and clutch
• Kit for the clutch Slave cylinder
• Kits for the front brake calipers to make them like new
• New mirrors
• Wheel bearing kits for the front and rear
• Head-Pipe bearing kit and seals
• I have many others too numerous to mention, and have more to order

I am still looking for a deal on Galfer cables for brake and clutch as well as Progressive shocks and springs for the rear wheel.

The items I have decided to powder coat are the following:

• The Frame
• The Triple Tree top and bottom
• The swingarm not including the gear transfer case which is pristine
• The brake mechanism from the rear wheel
• The mounting brackets for the engine
• The rear grab-bar that mounts to the fairing
• The handle bars if I can figure out how to remove the plastic from the LH side
• The foot peg mounting brackets for the front pegs along with other Peg parts
• About 10 other small parts

I have decided to paint the following items:

• The tank - needs to be sealed and dents removed as well
• The fairing - needs repair and body work
• The tail fairing - in good shape except for the current decals
• The side covers - also in good shape except for the current decals
• The front fender and mounting bracket

My next steps are to work on the remaining parts I will need for this build. I need to get a brake master cylinder as the one I have is shot. I also need to get rear mounting brackets for the pegs as those are shot as well. I'll keep looking on Ebay for those items, and if weather permits I may go out to the junkyard to do some prospecting. I'll upload some pictures when I get a chance.