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Advice/Help on cleaning up this bike 1986 gsxr 1100 resto *pics*

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#21 ·
You"re doing a great job Brad!

Don't get to complicated in the restoration, the more things you look at the more things you will find that need to be changed. Make it an easy restoration so you can go out and enjoy the bike.:cheers

It could get very expensive, just ask some of the guys here.
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
Thanks guys! Yesterday I got my red R yay!

I will post more pictures later.. they are taking forever to upload. But as of right now I have the engine off and i took off the front rack and all of the electrical stuff/ harness. Now I am going to begin cleaning the frame really nice. I have some questions that I need help with, so if you guys could please help me out that would be great!

How do I make the shocks look new? not the chrome tubes but the part that has the oil and spring in it.. How do I clean the rims? Should they be repainted? If so what paint or I have heard someone mention powder coating? IS there a guide/ tutorial on cleaning/ repainting the engine? I bought some heavy duty engine paint stripper but I haven't used it yet... I wasn't planning on taking apart the whole engine to paint it.. I am just not sure how its done.. etc. If someone could help me out that would be great!
 
#24 ·
Brad7r said:
Thanks guys! Yesterday I got my red R yay!

I will post more pictures later.. they are taking forever to upload. But as of right now I have the engine off and i took off the front rack and all of the electrical stuff/ harness. Now I am going to begin cleaning the frame really nice. I have some questions that I need help with, so if you guys could please help me out that would be great!

How do I make the shocks look new? not the chrome tubes but the part that has the oil and spring in it.. How do I clean the rims? Should they be repainted? If so what paint or I have heard someone mention powder coating? IS there a guide/ tutorial on cleaning/ repainting the engine? I bought some heavy duty engine paint stripper but I haven't used it yet... I wasn't planning on taking apart the whole engine to paint it.. I am just not sure how its done.. etc. If someone could help me out that would be great!
Click to expand...

Hey good work.... Now I'm feeling like I have to catch up to you with my build :wtf

So, like Rodriguez said, keep it simple, this could get expensive and time consuming so don't over complicate it.

1) The front forks are aluminum with clear anodizing... If it's too weathered, the clear anodizing will start to flake. If that's the case you have a few options. The most pricey is rebuilding the forks and having them re-anodized, or you could clean them up and paint them. I've seen a few that were painted black and that looked good or you could remove the anodizing and polish them shiny. It's up to you and your wallet what you decide to do. Of course the period correct clear anodizing would be preferable if you're going for a concourse restoration.

2) Try to clean the rims with Spray-9. That stuff is amazing. Maybe once you get them cleaned up you can reawaken them with a color back wax or something. If the paint is trashed you have a few options. Some guys do a rattle can paint job on theirs and it looks good for a few seasons. A paint shop is preferable but it's money again.

3) There are a few guys who have painted their engines.... I haven't decided whether I'll do mine or just drop in a spare I have for a season or two. If I do paint mine, I'll cover all of the inlets/outlets, give it a pressure wash and lightly sand between the fins. Then I'll hit it with a colour matched engine paint. I don't really want to do the whole strip and paint until I rebuild it.

Keep up the good work!
 
Discussion starter · #25 ·
OK! I am back! Not that I have gone anywhere.. It's just that my internet is slow and the pictures take forever to upload.. but I have been working on the bike everyday and now I will post some more pictures of my progress

Also thanks for the all the support and help guys I really appreciate it!

Rodriguez/ Awasson:Thanks! I will try my best not to get to complicated especially with my low budget, but It will be very hard for me because I am very much a perfectionist and if it isn't all perfect looking it will drive me crazy haha.. well not all perfect looking but I can tell you one thing.. 99% of all the bolt heads on this bike are rusted.. GAHHH :cursing its driving me crazy. Does anyone know where I can get a list of all the bolts/ types for my bike? I tried looking in the manual but I couldn't find anything specfic. I know you can just go online and buy them but they are so overpriced and you can get the same bolts for 1/10th of the cost at Tacoma Screw which has a store located near me. Also thanks for the help with the engine painting and anodizing, I still have to make up my mind on what I am going to do.. and I am going to buy some spray-9 today and clean those wheels up.

Ok so Now a progress update with pictures :punk

Image


Took off all of the electrical and the front rack

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Before I started cleaning, started with wd-40 and some brushes and scrubbers then I used this engine cleaner degreaser foam spray (that was aluminum safe)

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BEFORE: I thought this rack was a goner.. but after browsing ebay and finding out this rack in used condition would be around $150 bucks.. I decided to try out my brand new dremel 4000 (you can buy a brand new dremel 4000) for the price of a stupid headlight/ speedometer rack)

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AFTER! several hours of dremeling.. Not too shabby, yes it is pitting but I plan to remove all of the rust and apply metal patch/ fill and sand smooth then repaint and bam! good as new
Image

Here it is after several coats of naval jelly, I plan to sand blast the rest off

Well thats all I got for you today folks, I am in the process of getting parts right now.. but I will keep you guys up to date with my progress

Thanks again for the support!

Brad
 
#26 ·
Wow, it's looking better already!

Damn and here I am stuck in front of a computer screen living vicariously through your build. Can't wait until tomorrow so I can get back on mine!

Ok, so you're looking for bolts huh... Here: http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300443

Spoiler alert... Here's the best place I found for hardware: LINK
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
awasson said:
Wow, it's looking better already!

Damn and here I am stuck in front of a computer screen living vicariously through your build. Can't wait until tomorrow so I can get back on mine!

Ok, so you're looking for bolts huh... Here: http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300443

Spoiler alert... Here's the best place I found for hardware: LINK
Click to expand...
Thanks! and that is good to hear you will be doing some work tomorrow :biggrin

Thanks for the links.. but they are still a little pricy compared to tacoma screw and I will be needing much more than just fairing bolts. So there is no place that you are aware of that just has a list of all the motorcycle bolts, types, lengths, etc. ? It would sure save the poor guys at Tacoma screw a lot of time.. because my plan b was just showing up with my box of rusty bolts and saying "I need new ones of all of these... stainless please" :dunno don't think they would be to happy about that because i need a lot of new bolts :p
 
#30 ·
Brad7r said:
Posted my reply before I saw this... not bad... might consider getting one of these kits
Click to expand...
Yeah that stainless kit of engine bolts looks pretty complete. The other option is to blast your rusty bolts and then have them zinc plated or anodized.
 
#32 ·
if your in Washington state like your profile says hit up Fasteners when i worked there i got all the stainless bolts to do all the covers for like $25-30 retail they stock all the sizes or could send them from the main warehouse. The only issue is that when i worked there the only stainless allen screws that they had in stock had unfinished heads they are shinier they can get them with finished heads but those are cheaper. and they are 304 stainless so the same strength as the cover bolts.
Image
 
#33 ·
Brad7r said:
It would sure save the poor guys at Tacoma screw a lot of time.. because my plan b was just showing up with my box of rusty bolts and saying "I need new ones of all of these... stainless please"
Click to expand...
Just an idea, but you could make a count of sizes/types of bolts you need and give the guys at Tacoma Screw (I live in Snohomish:)) a list of quantities next to each bold you need. A little time consuming on your part, but it may be worth the effort and save you some scratch to put towards something else your project may need. Nice job on the rebuild!
 
#34 ·
rodriguez said:
You"re doing a great job Brad!

Don't get to complicated in the restoration, the more things you look at the more things you will find that need to be changed. Make it an easy restoration so you can go out and enjoy the bike.:cheers

It could get very expensive, just ask some of the guys here.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% clean it up, make sure it's safe, replace what you need to and go ride that thing.
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
latendresse76 said:
if your in Washington state like your profile says hit up Fasteners when i worked there i got all the stainless bolts to do all the covers for like $25-30 retail they stock all the sizes or could send them from the main warehouse. The only issue is that when i worked there the only stainless allen screws that they had in stock had unfinished heads they are shinier they can get them with finished heads but those are cheaper. and they are 304 stainless so the same strength as the cover bolts.
Image
Click to expand...
Yes I am from Washington, thanks! I might have to check to them out.

tomusk said:
Just an idea, but you could make a count of sizes/types of bolts you need and give the guys at Tacoma Screw (I live in Snohomish:)) a list of quantities next to each bold you need. A little time consuming on your part, but it may be worth the effort and save you some scratch to put towards something else your project may need. Nice job on the rebuild!
Click to expand...
Sweet! I live in Redmond :lol I might have to do this as well, thanks!


Thank you everyone for the positive motivations! :punk

Sorry I don't have any pictures for today, but today I took off both wheels and removed the rotors and rear sprocket. I am going to get the front rotors resurfaced and the back rotor is pretty worn but I will take it just in case they can resurface it. I also started to clean the wheels and yea thats pretty much it.. still trying to find parts :dunno
 
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