TOPIC:

The footpeg is beautiful. Do you carry out the surface preparation yourself before taking the parts to be chrome plated?

Have you considered a radiator grille similar to the one mizztheman has fitted to his 1300?

Yes, 90% of the time I do the prep work. It used to be dozens of hours by hand - sand paper and wire brushes. Then I discovered a place (far away unfortunately) where I can bead or soda blast, and that's where I go. Of course, removal of old chrome plating can't be done this way. That is done with chemicals at the chrome plating place. If I had a place where I can freely use electrical tools, I'd do much more in terms of cleaning up welds and surfaces. A belt sander would do miracles. Also a Dremel set. A small compact sand blasting cabinet would be heaven's send as well, and they are quite cheap and it would have paid for itself by now had I opted for one early. It's not worth getting one for this project at this stage. I've been lucky enough to have an ultrasonic cleaner, and it proved to be a blessing. Mine is big, but they sell small ones cheap. Those would be enough for all the carburetor and brake jobs. Mine is quite large and I will have no problem fitting in a 4 cylinders bike blocks and heads, would I ever came to having one.

I will have to look at that grille to see what you have in mind. I chrome plated the original, so I am covered for now. I might add some custom enhancement accents to the bike in the future, but for now the funds are needed for making all work and looking refreshed and taken care of.

Today I started my methodological restoration of the crank case (a couple of first picks tomorrow).

The first step, accomplished today, was cleaning up the crankshaft's connecting rods and anything visible on the crank. There was a bit of rust residue on a couple rods where the water dripped from the pistons. As much as I wasn't happy about where it all started, there is a blessing in disguise in the bigger picture. I am glad the piston rings got all rusted and stuck in the cylinders - it sealed everything in the top end and prevented water from flooding the engine. There was a minimal amount of water which attached itself to the rods superficially. It was easy to remove the, what basically was, a discoloration. No rust around the bearings, all clean!
So, I just used a toothbrush, rags, and Metal Rescue, to clean everything up.

Photos tomorrow

First, as a reminder, a couple picks of where it comes from.





Fast forward to the present. The whole process involved turning the crank to different points and cleaning up everything in sight. Dip the toothbrush in Metal Rescue, brush the parts, wipe them off. Repeat, and repeat.

All done and wrapped around to prevent any gasket debris from falling in when I will be cleaning up the sealing surfaces. This will be my next step.
I just want to have it out of my way first.





Next will be all the crankcase body from where it sits, all around, to the point of being prepared for painting. Then removing old gasket from around left and right covers, and the clutch. What will come next will require a bit ingenuity and some wood. I will raise my case (again, no pun intended) and lift the engine and tip it so I have clearance underneath for access and also a good angle for emptying the bottom. With a tray in place, I will spray the crank and all around it with oil and let it come out at the bottom, wiping the inside of the crank clean. Then the flip on the front og the engine, and I will have a full access to the bottom to clean the oil pan sealing surface and the body. It might take a couple more flips to make sure all is clean, and then the masking will start. Painting first the whole top, flip it, paint the bottom, flip back and correct whatever got scratched. It will be easy to touch up the bottom on the center stand after all is running good.

When the frame is back from powder coating, and the crankcase painted, the two will become one again and this will be the point where things will really start getting back together.

Just to add more information, all the piston rod connection surfaces are superb. There is absolutely no play on the crank as well. Just by superficial examination, this engine is very low mileage. All the inner surfaces are not yellowish discolored like in engines with considerable mileage, the all look silver and clean. I am very happy to confirm my initial assessment - the engine is close to new indeed. I am not going to cheap on the initial oil and filter changes. The first will come in about 200 km along with valve clearance adjustment. The second one a 1000 km later? Then probably another 3k and then I will be on the usual maintenance schedule. All oil changes will include filter change as well. You would be ignorant to cheap out on properly cleaning up the engine in the first period of it's new life! I can't wait to hear it!