PROJECT LOG Page 2

January 01 2001

    Sprayed on the silver coat on the frame. Completed clear coat all silver parts. Spent the majority of the week improving the surface finish on the fork parts. Started out using a coarse emery cloth, then went to medium and fine emery cloth. followed this with coarse steel wool, then #1 steel wool. Following this procedure the parts were smooth with a slight luster.
    Bought a bench grinder and a buffing wheel and medium buffing compound. Set up one side of the grinder with the buffing wheel, loaded it with the buffing compound and buffed the prepped parts. Following buffing the parts have a high chrome like luster! I did the top triple clamp. the handle bar clamps and one lower fork leg this way. This surface finish is a higher luster than stock but looks great! I need to sand down the other lower fork leg and axle clamps, then buff them and the fork will be ready for assembly.

January 07 2001

    Continuing work of refinishing fork parts. Also polished up and removed rust from swing arm bushings and seals. Swing arm axle endcaps were a little rusty, so I decided to strip and repaint them. I also put a primer coat on the lower triple clamp after removing all the rust on it with a wire brush. Looks like I will have to wait at least another week before assembling the swing arm. Applied clear coat to frame. Once paint cures frame will be ready for assembly.

January 14 2001

    Spent the week cleaning internal fork parts. I finally have everything clean. What a job! I've never seen so much black junk to clean off of parts before. Reassembled pistons and other parts on internal fork legs. Need to clear coat polished lower forks then I can reassemble both fork legs. Applied clear coat to upper triple clamp parts, pretty tricky to clear coat polished metal. Need to apply several very thin coats or it will run. These parts will need to cure for about a week. Completed painting of swingarm axle endcaps. Looks like I have enough parts ready to go to finally start putting the frame back together. I have given a lot of thought on how to best support the frame while I reassemble it. I don't want it falling over and getting scratched. I think I have decided on using one of those workmate stands. I will build a jig to support the frame through the motor mounts, then I can keep it on the stand until the motor is ready to go in. Thanks to the VJMC mailing list for all the ideas on how to support a motorcycle frame!

January 21 2001

    Finally started assembly this week! Set up my workmate stand and attached a 1x6 pine board between the lower frame rails. Then I used that iron plumbers pipe strap to attach the board to the frame over the lower cross member and the front motor mounts. Assembled and installed the swing arm in the frame with lots of grease on the bushings. Also pumped grease into the zerks on the swing arm axle. The swing arm moves nicely now with no apparant slop.
    Completed clearcoating of all the fork parts and buffed out the hardware for the top triple clamps. Started attaching parts to the frame like the chain guard. I wasn't happy with how the stock, rusty hardware looked, so I went to the home improvment store and bought replacement cad plated hardware for all visible fasteners. So far I have the chain guards, tool box and battery box installed in the frame. Next is the assembly of the triple clamps and the forks.

January 28 2001

    Assembled the triple clamps on the frame. It was real fun opening 37 individual ball bearing bags! I bought a full set of NOS ball bearings and races from a VJMC list member. I put lots of wheel bearing grease on the races and then dipped each ball bearing in the grease to hold it to the race until it could be bolted together. I managed to get the thing assembled without dropping a single bearing. The triple clamp moves nice and smooth, and the polished upper clamp looks great! Also started reassembling the forks, but had to stop until I get the new fork seals. Once the fork seals come in I can install the forks in the triple clamps.
    Disassembled and cleaned the drum brake and speedometer drive in the front wheel, another really messy job. Looks like I need to get new front wheel bearings, but the brake shoes still look good. I scotch brited and then buffed the brake plate and all the linkage, and the headlight mounts. The front rim also came out nice after polishing with a wet SOS pad.
 

February 04 2001

    Received my fork seals and new dust seals, completed assembly of the forks and installed them in the triple clamps along with the polished headlight brackets. It's starting to look like a motorcycle again! I decided to  start on the body work next rather than the engine. I need to get all the paint work done before it gets too hot. I stripped the paint off of the fenders and the headlight bowl. Took care of the rust on the rear fender with Naval Jelly and scotchbrite. Tried several suggestions for removing the dents from the gas tank, including JB Welding nails to the deepest part of the dent and then trying to pull them out. I couldn't get the metal to move before the epoxy would break at the nail head, so it looks like I will just have to fill the dents with bondo and call it good.

February 11 2001

    Continued working on the fenders this week. Filled the minor dents in the rear fender with bondo and then wet sanded it smooth. I need to Naval Jelly the front fender, then fill the dents in this one as well. Purchased the front wheel bearings at the local bearing shop and installed them in the wheel hub. Assembled the speedometer drive and brakes on the front brake plate, then attached to the front wheel and mounted the wheel in the forks. Took some fooling with the fork tubes and triple clamp bolts to get the axle to line up right but once everthing was in alignment it went together without a problem. The front end is basically done now. Everything works smootly and is nice and shiny. Once my rear brake shoes come in I am ready to mount the rear wheel then the project will be ready to stand on it's own wheels again!

February 18 2001

    Completed rust removal on the front fender. Spent a fair amount of time trying to improve the "roundness" of the front fender. It looks like the fender was bent down at some point, so it had a bad crease all the way across it. I was able to make it look more like a fender again, but I'm not sure how well it will fit on the bike. It needs bondo now to smoothe out the hammer marks. I think I will proabably end up looking for a better front fender, but it doesn't hurt to try, and I need the body work practice. My rear brake shoes came in so I mounted them, then mounted the rear wheel on the frame. I then put handlebars on just to see what it looks like! My handlebars which I thought were OK are pretty scratched up and bent. Seems like the longer I work on this project the more I find wrong! looks like I need to find another set of handlebars to go with the fender.

February 25 2001

    This was Bondo week. I have never spent so much time wet sanding parts! I have the front fender ready for primer. Spent a total of about 6 hours putting on the bondo and then wetsanding until I ended up with what I think is the proper contour. The back fender went a lot better and there were only a few dimples to fill. Spent all day on Saturday filling the large dents on the top and left side of the tank. I used a sanding block with 240 grit wet/dry sandpaper and lots of water. I would apply a thin coat of bondo, let it dry about 30 minutes then wet sand until the edges featherd out nicely. With each coat the dents slowly filled in until after 6 coats I got a nice smooth surface with the proper contour. I still need to work on the right side of the tank but it should go much quicker as the dents are light on this side. I need to sand down the fenders and headlight shell with 1000 grit paper then I'm ready for the laquer primer coats and I will be able to see how good my Bondo job is!