pugeyed: Yeah, I'm pretty fussy, but I might just call those "done" for now at least. I'd tried some filler primer I had laying around (which did help a little bit), but during the engine enamel curing process the paint bubbled up pretty bad... Had to strip and start over, this time without the primer. (I'm no painter so I had no idea what to expect with the primer, just thought I'd try it since I had it). Thanks for the opinion on the color. It's def grown on me. Pretty easy to change later on too after I see how everything looks once it's together.
Update: Got the engine out today! Huge milestone for me!!
It was a tough job, I'll be honest. I thought that I'd get the screws out of the side covers while the motor was still in the frame so it'd be more secure while I was banging away with the impact driver. Those lil bastards were really stuck... I definitely filled up the swear jar today.
Also, I'd like to note that I'll never again buy anything from Harbor Freight. Last year, in anticipation of these engine screws, I trekked out to HF just to see what all they had since I'd never been to one. Came out of there with an impact driver. Never used it until today... It lasted me for maybe all of 5 of the shifter side cover screws... I still had 3 or 4 more to go on that side and still the entire brake side cover! After those 5 screws, I was left with this... What crap.
Anyway, long story short, went to Sears, got a Craftsman impact driver and that thing doesn't have a dent in the fender after beating the hell out of it. Was able to get both side cover bolts off and the bits are still perfect. Will not be cutting costs on tools in the future by going to HF. Even when the screws were totally stripped, it still persuaded them to come out.
So, it was a pretty big day for me.
Sidenote: It's my bday next week (thank you) so I'm taking the opportunity to update my riding gear a bit. I'd won this jacket at one of my wife's 60 mile breast cancer walk fund raisers 2-3 years ago. My $10 in raffle tickets got me an awesome leather jacket that luckily fit perfectly! The only thing is that it's so thick and literally weighs 8 1/2 lbs... Perfect for the colder months, but it was my only riding jacket.
Until this.....
So..... I bought it few nights ago.
An old Schott jacket. Excited about it arriving!
Also, last year my family got me a Bell Star Aaron Gobert Replica helmet and this year my wife's upgrading my visor to the Bell Photochromic visor that changes from clear to dark tint based on the UV exposure (like Transitions eyeglasses). I'm really excited about that one. I'll definitely give an update on it if anyone is interested. Dying to try it out! (The box is sitting right over there....)
http://www.bellsports.com/powersports/other-products/shields-visiors/transitions-solfx-clickrelease-shield