Post by suzsmokeyallan on Feb 7, 2011 23:02:16 GMT -5
I have been away from the Rotary board for a while due to some OTHER bikes I was working on, namely three 1200 Bandits under going restoration, one built up totally from parts off of ebay being made into a personalized version, and a 93 900 RR I obtained from a friend of mine that I also restored.
The Rotary was in great shape visually when i got it, but a lot was wrong with it and so I deemed it unsafe to ride as it was.
For starters it had bad tyres, leaking forks, seized up front brakes, bad steering bearings etc and thats just the front end so far.
As I have a glass bead blast cabinet this makes cleaning parts faster and easier for paint etc. Adding to this I started painting again and since I have many small parts for the bikes I'm working on this is a great help since I can control the quality of the work firsthand.
After dealing with a high humidity atmosphere on the island clear-coat on polished aluminum is very delicate, so while its not stock looking, painted lowers are more durable, so thats why they got altered on this bike.
In the following photos you can see how things were progressing within the last few days work once I had the forks reassembled and started working again on the bike.
The fork lowers glass bead blasted, painted and clear-coated. I also had to slip the tubes into my lathe and spin polish them as the previous owner had sanded them along their length making them look ugly and scratched. All the related parts were cleaned up with new seals and spacers installed along with the damper rod mod and Maxima 15W high performance fork oil. The action now is about as good as its going to get on these stock forks.
The harness forward of the socket under the tank was stripped, cleaned and re-taped. The terminals were cleaned and the sockets renewed, along with one that was replaced as it was broken.
Frontal view of the bike showing the polished HL ears with new rubbers and polished trim covers. The black trim cover isn't on the bike yet.
I blasted and repainted the upper and lower triple trees and fitted a tapered bearing kit and I also refurbished the strg lock.
The ft fender was also cleaned inside and out then polished, all the fastener hardware has been cad clear re-plated as well as the calipers being rebuilt and all new brake hoses will be installed.
A new Bridgestone Spitfire tyre also went on the front
The view from the right side, the indicators are being completely rebuilt, the bars are Emgos Euro sport type, the rebuilt brake master and clutch perch are on now but were not in this photo.
The previous discolouration on this rotor shows how it was overheated by sticking/seized calipers.
Top triple tree paint detail; the fork internals on RE5s are unique, they carry longer damper rods and an extra spring at the top which allows them to sit higher than a GT750.
Since I'm adding longer rear shocks I've raised the tubes in the top tree to offset their static ride height a bit.
Some other photos showing paintwork detail and quality. This is Glasurit 22line from West Germany with two part clear on a metallic base colour.
Rider footrest brackets and other parts I've restored
Blasted and repainted metallic silver parts fitted onto one of the Bandits I'm working on.
The Rotary was in great shape visually when i got it, but a lot was wrong with it and so I deemed it unsafe to ride as it was.
For starters it had bad tyres, leaking forks, seized up front brakes, bad steering bearings etc and thats just the front end so far.
As I have a glass bead blast cabinet this makes cleaning parts faster and easier for paint etc. Adding to this I started painting again and since I have many small parts for the bikes I'm working on this is a great help since I can control the quality of the work firsthand.
After dealing with a high humidity atmosphere on the island clear-coat on polished aluminum is very delicate, so while its not stock looking, painted lowers are more durable, so thats why they got altered on this bike.
In the following photos you can see how things were progressing within the last few days work once I had the forks reassembled and started working again on the bike.
The fork lowers glass bead blasted, painted and clear-coated. I also had to slip the tubes into my lathe and spin polish them as the previous owner had sanded them along their length making them look ugly and scratched. All the related parts were cleaned up with new seals and spacers installed along with the damper rod mod and Maxima 15W high performance fork oil. The action now is about as good as its going to get on these stock forks.
The harness forward of the socket under the tank was stripped, cleaned and re-taped. The terminals were cleaned and the sockets renewed, along with one that was replaced as it was broken.
Frontal view of the bike showing the polished HL ears with new rubbers and polished trim covers. The black trim cover isn't on the bike yet.
I blasted and repainted the upper and lower triple trees and fitted a tapered bearing kit and I also refurbished the strg lock.
The ft fender was also cleaned inside and out then polished, all the fastener hardware has been cad clear re-plated as well as the calipers being rebuilt and all new brake hoses will be installed.
A new Bridgestone Spitfire tyre also went on the front
The view from the right side, the indicators are being completely rebuilt, the bars are Emgos Euro sport type, the rebuilt brake master and clutch perch are on now but were not in this photo.
The previous discolouration on this rotor shows how it was overheated by sticking/seized calipers.
Top triple tree paint detail; the fork internals on RE5s are unique, they carry longer damper rods and an extra spring at the top which allows them to sit higher than a GT750.
Since I'm adding longer rear shocks I've raised the tubes in the top tree to offset their static ride height a bit.
Some other photos showing paintwork detail and quality. This is Glasurit 22line from West Germany with two part clear on a metallic base colour.
Rider footrest brackets and other parts I've restored
Blasted and repainted metallic silver parts fitted onto one of the Bandits I'm working on.