mates bike

[Kev L]

OFM

[Virt]

Well done ap I hope ymv will be able to tackle jobs soon like you have .

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I have less than 2 square metres to work in and am surrounded by mouth-breathing degenerates who have already proven they want to steal my bike. Not a chance mate, you're garage is my second home (until I finally get one here )

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[Ckennedy]

Even if you do the jobs yourself but use his garage it'll be an improvement

[lloydie]

Even if you do the jobs yourself but use his garage it'll be an improvement

He's getting better !!! .
At least he now know what direction to undo and tighten nuts and bolts up (upside down ) .



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[VTRDark]

Have you been letting him practice on your nuts again

(:-})

[agentpineapple]

so a far bit has happened since I last posted on this thread.
the main issue being that my mate has decided he doesn't want a v-twin, and will be sticking with il4's....the fool.
this has left me with a bike that's had lots of time and some money thrown at it, but it's no longer wanted. so it's up for sale.
yes i'm gutted, but the guys a very good/old friend, so i'll take this one on the chin.
has it been worth it, yes and no.
on the plus side my spannering skills are improving all the time. and each time I use a rattle can i'm getting better.
on the downside, I've put a lot of effort into a bike which had been unloved for a long time, and my friend wont be seeing the benefit of it, some stranger will be.
another negative was dealing with the previous owner, what a PITA, just a total messer all round.
also I've robbed many oem parts off of my other bike and my spares bin, for a bike which will now be sold.
anyways today the bike passed it's mot, not without a little drama, but it got there, I still think the head bearings need doing, but the mot guy didn't even mention them..
I've got a buyer coming to look at it tomorrow, but i'm in no mega rush to sell it, so the price wont be dropping by much. someone's getting a well sorted vtr.
here's a few pics of the finished article.











new parts....
brake pads
clutch and brake fluid
cush drive rubbers
decals
indicators
oil/oil filter/spark plugs/air filter
numberplate
rear brake disc

parts from my spares....
chain guard
bellypan and brackets
screen
clutch and brake levers
end cans and hangers
loads of original bolts
sidelight
bar ends
refurbed starter motor

[bigtwinthing]

Great Job Marty

[sirch345]

That bike looks a very tidy and clean bike Marty A bit of a shame about your mate not wanting now, after all the time and hard work you've put into getting the bike to this stage.
On the plus side you've gained some more experience on working on bikes, so all is not lost.

Good luck with the sale,

Chris.

[agentpineapple]

cheers chris.
I did learn a few more tricks, it was the first time I used a tap and die set. and I learnt a few other things. it turned out to be a nice bike, and the new owner seems very happy.
it did take the dvla 11 weeks to sort out the logbook tho....
and the previous owner was extremely hard work to deal with.
live and learn, I won't be putting myself out again unless I can 100% trust the person....

[kev64]

Shame, you put a lot of work into that,
You at least will get the satisfaction that a new firestorm owner
will enjoy your efforts, well done !!

[Big_Jim59]

What a great looking bike. You did a wonderful job on that and you can be very proud of your work. I guess I am the most impressed with the transition of the fork slider from a pitted mess to beautiful smooth aluminum. How did you do that? I have a Norton with acres of dull and oxidized aluminum parts. I need to clean them up but just don't know how. (I always focused on the mechanics and didn't have much interest in cosmetics.)

[agentpineapple]

thanks for the kind words gents....
jim, the fork lowers turned out really well, and they were surprisingly easy to do, I didn't even remove the forks from the bike.
the first thing I did was clean and degrease them.
then I used a scotchbrite pads to rub any flaky old paint off. I did not go all the way back to bare metal.
then I sprayed them with acid etch primer, let it dry and gave it a little rub down with 2000 grade wet n dry, then another coat of acid etch primer. then I applied 2 or 3 coats of a silver enamel spray paint. I bought the paint and primer from a uk store called Halfords, cheap products nothing fancy.
I was unsure of using a clear top coat, I have used it in the past as it's added protection. but i'd not used enamel paint before, so this time I didn't apply a clear coat, so i'm unsure of how they will stand up against the elements.
but they really turned out well.
from this....


to this....


to this....

[TheGingerBeardMan]

Acid etch primer and Halfords silver enamel....

WOW - - now THEY look bloody smart, and that silver is the closest I've seen to OEM. The forks on mine are on the list of things to do, so, if I ask you (nicely) could you supply the Halfords can code for the silver you bought, as I'm heading to them on Monday to replace some tools that didn't last 3 months.

Was the acid etch primer from Halfrauds as well? Thanks in advance.....

[agentpineapple]

Hi GBM
the acid etch was also from Halfords it's called acid 8, it's in a red can, the enamel silver is in Halfords own range of enamel spray paint, very basic blue cans, and of course the paint is silver. i'll have a look on the Halfords website later this afternoon mate

acid etch primer
http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel ... tch-primer
silver enamel paint
http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel ... lver-300ml

[TheGingerBeardMan]

THANK YOU for that. Above and beyond once again Mr AP!

One can of each it is then on Monday!

I might as well buy a can of Halfords Satin Lacquer, as that'll give it a wee bit more protection from the elements up here. Not that I'm riding the bike at the moment.... *coughs

PS: LOOK CARL! - I made a fancy link!!